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The Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville is reputed to be a place where ghosts dwell, but on Tuesday night, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Earle will bring along his own.

It won't be the sort of apparition that causes cold chills or appears as a wisp of fog in the theater's darkened shadows. If anything, Earle will be the only one who sees him -- probably somewhere on the second or third row, cowboy boot-clad feet propped up, watching with that wizened smile that spoke of equal parts mirth and pain while he was alive.

But those who attend the concert will no doubt hear him, in the lyrics and music that Earle will play, sitting alone on a stool with only a six-string guitar to accompany him. No doubt, Earle will perform some of the songs that have made him famous -- "Copperhead Road" chief among them -- but for the most part, Tuesday's performance is a tribute to that spirit, who's never far from Earle's mind -- his old friend and fellow troubadour, the late Townes Van Zandt.

Musical monument

Earle's new album is a musical monument to Van Zandt -- simply titled "Townes," it's the first album in Earle's career that doesn't feature an original song. Instead, it's a collection of songs written by a man who, after his death in 1995, Earle declared to be the best songwriter in the world. ("And I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that," Earle declared at the time.)

The album itself is augmented -- some songs by a Nashville bluegrass band that included respected musicians Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott; others by Earle's family -- his wife, fellow musician Allison Moorer, and his son, Justin Townes Earle, who's also a noted Americana artist. The tour, however, is strictly Steve -- just as "Townes started out."

"The original 12 songs were recorded in my apartment in New York City, and I intentionally recorded them solo, which is normally the exact opposite of the way I like to make records," Earle told The Daily Times this weekend. "In this particular case, I wanted to reflect, to the best of my recollection, Townes performing solo. That's how I was introduced to a lot of these songs. I mean, I heard him on record first, but I saw him in person for the first time when I was 17, and from then on, I saw him on a really regular basis.

"His records had their moments, and I still listen to them, but he wasn't involved in that process. He didn't exert himself, and they sort of missed the mark sometimes. But I saw him perform every one of these songs solo, and that's when they became something special."

Similar paths

For years, Earle and Van Zandt walked very similar paths. Earle was 11 years Van Zandt's junior, but both hailed from Texas -- a state of rich songwriting tradition and a rebellious streak that made it hard for both men to find acceptance in the mainstream world of country music. Van Zandt never really cared for fame; songwriting was his focus, and during the 1970s, he was hailed as something of a legend in American and European songwriting circles.

Earle followed in Van Zandt's wake -- playing clubs around the Lone Star State before making the jump to Nashville. According to the liner notes of "Townes," the two men met at one of Earle's shows; Van Zandt sat in the audience, heckling Earle to play "Wabash Cannonball." When Earle admitted he didn't know it, Van Zandt said, "You call yourself a folk singer, but you don't know 'Wabash Cannonball?'" Earle responded by launching into a cover of one of Van Zandt's little-known songs -- "Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold." From that point, the two men remained close, with Van Zandt taking the younger artist under his wing.

After moving to Nashville, Earle found success as a songwriter first, then in the 1980s as a country artist in the outlaw tradition. "Copperhead Road" put him on the map, but after three albums, addiction claimed him. It wasn't until the early 1990s, after a stint in jail and a trip through rehab, that Earle got back on his feet and began a steady output of critically acclaimed, politically charged material that continues to this day.

Van Zandt would struggle with the same demons -- but unlike Earle, he was never able to shake them. On Jan. 1, 1997, he succumbed to health problems brought on by a lifetime of alcoholism and addiction, often blamed on his long battle with manic-depression. Earle's own battles, he said, could have easily led him down the same path.

"There's some survivor's guilt on this record, no doubt about it," Earle said. "But I think I knew there wasn't anything I could do. I was so (messed) up at one point, Townes showed up and gave me the temperance lecture. He was drunk, but he showed up.

"Townes never even tried to get clean. He would dry out from time to time, but that's all his intention was. I didn't go to treatment to get clean myself; I went to get out of having to wear an orange jumpsuit."

For whatever reason, however, recovery took, and Earle remains committed to it to this day. He's never forgotten his old friend, however; Van Zandt's songs have been a staple of his live performances for years, and he always intended to do a tribute record along the lines of "Townes," he said.

"I'd talked about doing it for a long time, but other things would happen, or there were other things I felt like I needed to say," Earle said. "I always found some reason to write another record -- someone would fly a plane into a tall building, or the president of the United States would do something particularly stupid, or I'd fall in love and move to New York City."

Musical challenge

Last year, however, it became clear -- while finishing up his first novel (he's written a collection of short stories, "Doghouse Roses"), he could make time to record "Townes." Because the songs were already written by Van Zandt, the process of making a new album would be considerably shortened. The challenge was in choosing the right songs.

"There were 28 songs on the list when I first started recording, and it was hard," he said. "Some I'd already recorded; others, like 'If I Needed You,' Guy Clark had already recorded. I just kept working at it. I knew I had to do 'Pancho and Lefty,' and I recorded that on the first night -- that was just a song I couldn't not record, like 'Lungs.' And then there was '(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria,' which is the one song I learned directly from Townes. He actually showed me the chords, because I couldn't quite figure them out when I learned it."

After this tour to support "Townes," he'll return his attentions to songwriting and a new album of his own material. While on tour, he hopes to finish up his novel -- "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," about a drug-addicted former physician who supports his habit by performing illegal abortions, Earle said.

"It's set in 1963 in San Antonio, and 10 years earlier, he was traveling with Hank Williams when he died, and when he gets really (messed) up, Hank's ghost shows up," Earle added.

There's also acting -- after a stint on the HBO series "The Wire," Earle has found work here and there in both television and film. ("It's something I like to do, and the insurance is better," he joked.) He has a role in the forthcoming film "Leaves of Grass," directed by Tim Blake Nelson, and now that he calls New York home, he's acted in the one project that seems to be a prerequisite for Big Apple actors -- "Law and Order." He's looking at acting in a new series, "Treme," in development for HBO by "The Wire" creator David Simon.

"It's about post-Katrina New Orleans, through the eyes of musicians who live there," Earle said. "I'll get to spend some time in New Orleans, which is always nice. (All in all), I feel very fortunate to be able to make a living doing this. I don't think I ever felt entitled to anything; I always knew how lucky I was to be able to do what I do.

"I may have lost sight of nearly everything else, but I never lost sight of that. I do understand that anybody who gets to make a living doing all of this is very, very lucky."