Townes Van Zandt's passing on New Year's Day 1997—echoing the death of his hero Hank Williams on New Year's Day 1953—led to a glut of albums of live recordings and any other tracks that can be found. This collection is said to feature vocals Van Zandt recorded at a neighbor's home studio sometime in the early '90s and music that was added posthumously by some of Nashville's most seasoned session musicians. The results are much grander than the usual Van Zandt fare, and purists will likely take issue with what appear to be arrangements at odds with the downcast lyrics that were Townes' specialty. Two new songs appear. "Sanitarium Blues" is a spoken tale, with Van Zandt's vocals paced for effect alongside a fairly raucous electric band; it tells the story of a struggling mental patient battling a faceless institution. "Squash" is one of Townes' shaggy-dog tales that show he also had a deadpan sense of humor. The remaining songs are mostly among his most familiar.