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Review

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon

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by Ian Mann

December 21, 2008

/ ALBUM

Memorable melodies and barbed, literate lyrics combine on this re-mastered seventies classic

This double CD from Rhino offers a re-mastered version of Zevon’s classic 1976 album together with a bonus CD of demos and alternate versions. The latter stand up surprisingly well in their own right but we’ll come to those later.

To all intents and purposes “Warren Zevon” was the singer/songwriter/pianist’s debut album. A little known 1969 recording “Wanted; Dead Or Alive” had long since been deleted and when “Warren Zevon” finally emerged the critics fell over themselves praising the “new discovery”. And rightly so. Zevon mixed memorable melodies with barbed, often autobiographical lyrics that displayed intelligence, a sharp observational eye and a black sense of humour. Zevon was significantly different to the regular cast of California singer/songwriters that he was often associated with, due in part to his recording for the Asylum label, home of The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt etc.

Zevon’s life story is well told by Bob Mehr in the CD booklet. Born in Chicago in 1947 he had a troubled childhood before moving to California and scrabbling around the music scene in Los Angeles. After “Dead Or Alive” sunk without trace Zevon worked as pianist and musical director for the Everly Brothers and also struck up a friendship with fellow songwriter Jackson Browne. It was Browne who helped Zevon to secure a contract with David Geffen’s Asylum label, ironically at a time when Zevon was thinking of quitting the business. Browne was to go on to produce the “Warren Zevon” album.

A self destructive character Zevon had difficulty coping with success. He had several spells in rehab for alcohol and drug abuse and died of cancer in 2003. Despite his problems he produced a series of fine albums such as “Excitable Boy” (1978) which contained probably his most famous song “Werewolves Of London”. This was followed by “Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School” and the live album “Stand In the Fire” (both 1980), “The Envoy” (1982), “Sentimental Hygiene” (1987) and “Transverse City” (1989). The nineties were less productive with “Mr Bad Example” (1991) followed by the live acoustic “Learning To Flinch” (1993), an interesting retrospective of his career to date, and “Mutineer” (1995). There was then a flurry of new releases before Zevon’s untimely demise beginning with the prophetically titled “Life’ll Kill Ya” (2000), My Ride’s Here” (2002) and “The Wind” (2003). Ironically after year of commercial decline his final album was to be his biggest seller since “Excitable Boy”. There are also several “best ofs” available including “A Quiet Normal Life” (1986) and the doubles “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” and “The Genius Of”. 

Zevon left Asylum after “The Envoy” and subsequently recorded for Virgin among others. Although mainstream success largely eluded him the quality of his output was generally very high and he maintained a dedicated cult following.

“Warren Zevon” and “Excitable Boy” are generally held to be his high water marks although I must admit I’d not listened to him in years until this review copy of “Warren Zevon” dropped through my letter box. I have to say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering this music and had forgotten just how good this album is.

“Warren Zevon” begins with Zevon’s paean to “Frank And Jesse James” casting the brothers as heroic Robin Hood figures in a mythic wild west. The song borrows from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” for some of it’s structures but is none the worse for that. With sharply observational/narrative lyrics and a stirring chorus it’s something of an epic and a memorable way to kick start an album. Apparently Zevon used to perform this with the Everlys long before it was committed to vinyl. In it’s way it’s a homage to Phil and Don too.

The autobiographical “Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded” is darker in tone but no less memorable. There’s a strong tune and chorus to offset the bitterness of the lyrics. It’s not easy to make a song that is both catchy and cathartic but Zevon does it brilliantly here.

“Backs Turned Looking Down The Path”  combines further autobiographical detail with a country tinged arrangement. Somewhat overlooked, Zevon considered this to be one of his finest songs.

“Hasten Down The Wind” heads further into country territory with keening pedal steel guitar and bleak lyrics. Linda Ronstadt enjoyed a hit with her version of the song but Zevon’s version brings out the essential hopelessness of the protagonist in the lyrics.

Ronstadt also covered “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” delivered here as a pounding rock ‘n’ roll stomp with some salacious lyrical content. This was an example of Zevon’s black humour at it’s best. Great, if slightly warped fun.

“The French Inhaler” is a bitter put down of a former lover with Zevon delivering the scabrous lyrics with relish. Bob Dylan was another big influence on Zevon and this is reminiscent of Dylan at his most vindictive, a cousin to “Idiot Wind”.

The enigmatic “Mohammed’s Radio” also owes something to Dylan in it’s surrealistic imagery. With it’s naggingly catchy chorus this proved to be one of Zevon’s most popular compositions. It’s strange looking back on this song post 9/11when the title and lyrics could be interpreted with a very different slant.

“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” is a pounding bar room fuelled roar of defiance complete with barbed lyrics and a Spanish sub text courtesy of Jorge Calderon. Slightly throwaway by Zevon’s standards but great fun nevertheless.

By way of contrast “Carmelita” is a tender and convincing ballad telling the tale of a junkie “all strung out on heroin on the outskirts of town”. The detail in the writing is quintessential Zevon right down to the narrator meeting his supplier by the “Pioneer Chicken stand”.Zevon manages to capture the hopelessness of the situation without ever descending into bathos. The use of Spanish guitar gives the song a distinctive flavour that helps to implant it in the listener’s consciousness. This is a great song even if it’s structure sometimes seems to borrow from Dylan’s “Desolation Row”.

“Join Me In L.A.” combines a skeletal funk beat with honeyed vocal harmonies courtesy of Bonnie Raitt and Rosemary Butler. Prominent guest artists appear throughout the album, among them Phil Everly and J.D. Souther plus Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac. Good as Mehr’s liner notes are it would have been good to have a full track by track listing detailing who did what plus a transcription of the lyrics. There may be legal reasons for this omission but I can’t help feeling that Rhino missed a trick here. There is some excellent guitar work on this record, presumably from Zevon’s ex Everlys colleague Robert “Waddy” Wachtel but it would have been nice for this to have been properly accredited.

The album closes with the epic “Desperadoes Under The Eaves” buoyed by a vocal arrangement by the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. There is a true sense of ennui and existentialist despair as California sits waiting for the big one. Lines like “Don’t the sun look angry through the trees” evoke the coming apocalypse and the hum of the air-conditioning is transformed into some kind of valedictory hymn.

There isn’t really a weak song on “Warren Zevon” and this sophisticated album wears it’s age well. Lyrically it still stands up, Zevon was a highly talented wordsmith inspired by his literary heroes from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane to Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and Norman Mailer, the latter name checked on “The French Inhaler”.

Bonus discs are often superfluous, with sub standard material exhumed from the vaults to fleece over enthusiastic fans. Often it’s quite apparent why the stuff wasn’t released first time around-it wasn’t fit to hear in the first place.

The second CD in this package is something of an exception. There is no “new” unreleased material but there are credible alternative versions of songs from the original album.

Several of these are for piano and voice only and it is a testimony to the strength of Zevon’s writing that songs like “Frank And Jesse James”, “The French Inhaler” and “Mohamed’s Radio” still stand up in this format. It also brings into focus Zevon’s ability as a pianist (as something of a child prodigy he was introduced to Igor Stravinsky) and although not a classically “great” singer his voice sounds pretty good in this exposed situation. As a vocalist he was capable of dispensing withering scorn on some songs and a strong degree of empathy and compassion on others. 

There are interesting band versions and alternative takes of “Hasten Down The Wind”, “Carmelita”, “Join Me In L.A.” “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” “Frank And Jesse James”, “Mohammed’s Radio”, “The French Inhaler”, “Desperadoes Under The Eaves”, “Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. Pretty much the whole album in other words.

These versions stand up well enough but are probably of interest to hard core fans only as they add little to the finished album versions. The solo piano pieces are the most interesting items on the second disc as they show the songs in such a radically different light.

If you missed out on “Warren Zevon” first time round, worn out your vinyl copy or just drifted away this welcome re-issue is well worth searching out.

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