Audio Mixers: Ray Kennedy; John King ; Ray Kennedy.

Liner Note Author: Steve Earle.

Recording information: New York, NY; Room and Board, Nashville, TN; Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN.

Photographers: Jim Herrington; Al Clayton; Ted Barron.

With the appropriately titled TOWNES, Steve Earle pays tribute to his mentor, the late singer/songwriter legend Townes Van Zandt. Like Earle, Van Zandt was a Texan who made his way to Nashville even though his music didn't fit the mainstream country mold. Earle, who learned a lot from Van Zandt, honors his hero's mix of country, folk, and poetic lyricism with an affectionate trip through the Van Zandt songbook. Whether he's tackling a dark, moody tune like "Marie," a post-Dylan flight of lyrical fancy like "Lungs," or a trad-tinged country song like "White Freightliner Blues," Earle brings just the right mix of reverence and renegade fire to the table.