Cheap Heartworn Highways (DVD) (James Szalapski) Price

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Customer Reviews of Heartworn Highways

Excellent!
I am a songwriter based in Nashville and I'm so glad to see that this movie has made it to DVD. These guys, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, etc., are the ones who made me want to become a writer in the first place and it's so great to see them so young and hopeful, like they might be able to do something new and inpired, heartfelt and intelligent. The most moving scenes, for me, are the ones with Townes Van Zandt. He had such a sparkle in eyes back then in '75.

The songs are wonderful and the performances are rough and real, like country music was for a time. Check it out!

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This one is for the fans
I found the music of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle when I was 20 years old. By that time, Townes was dead, Steve had used 8 of his apparent 9 lives, and Guy was...well, Guy was still Guy. When I discovered these poets, I had the luxury to took look at their life's work, like knowing the end of the movie before you watch it. Heartworn Highways is a piece of americana music history, that offers you the chance to see these guys before they were anything bigger than wannabe musicians like so many of us are. If you are into americana music, you have to buy this right now. You can not pass on this one.

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A time and place
This film is not a great documentary from a film standpoint but it is from the music standpoint. It captures a group of songwriters who were living in Nashville in 1975 during a period of amazing creativity. Most never became famous except to that small group of music afficionados around the world (my copy is Swedish!) who appreciate a songs lyrics. It is a joy to see a young Townes Van Zandt singing "Pancho and Lefty" and "Waiting Around to Die." Other gems are Guy Clark's "Desparadoes Waiting for a Train" and the underrated Steve Young doing a stirring rendition of "Alabama Highways." Rodney Crowell's work is fun to see and the final scene includes a teen-looking Steve Earle sitting at the feet of his elders. The documentary does capture a time a place and a sense of community. However it never gives us any context. We learn little of the people and the place other than some vignettes that usually work. But I wanted to know more about the songwriter world, the open-mics, etc. However, the music stands up and thank God it was saved. There are some good performances in the extras as well which have been thankfully saved.