Amazingly, there doesn’t seem to have ever been an AW thread on WZ – one of the most criminally under-rated of all US singer-songwriters-musicians. As Bruce S said of him “ Warren nails part of the American psyche rarely ever touched on in pop music”
As Monday would have been our Warren’s 75th birthday, I think it’s high time we redressed the balance.
My love affair with WZ dates back to the late 70s when my mate, Phil Bonner, loaned me a copy of Excitable Boy and Television’s Marquee Moon in exchange for a couple of selections from my own record collection. The fact that the only one of the albums I can remember exchange-loaning Phil was Jethro Tull’s Minstrel in the Gallery will give you some idea of who came away with the best of that particular arrangement! Fast forward 30 odd years to 2013 when I returned to Ireland after decades of working around Africa, Asia and the Middle East and got access to the 500-odd vinly records I’d left behind. There nestled amongst all the stuff (a lot of which I wouldn’t be seen dead buying or playing now) were the two albums I loaned from Phil. He and I are still in contact and as he mainly listens to electronic/ambient stuff nowadays, he doesn’t want WZ or TV back.
Back then, there was no internet and apart from NME and ZigZag before it went all glossy, there were few ways to learn more about Warren’s backstory – the Russian mafia/professional gambler/quasi-alcoholic Dad…the early musical relationship with avant garde musical legend, Karl Heinz Stockhausen… his friendship with hard-boiled thriller writer, John D McDonald. Then there were the songs he’d written for the Turtles, his stint as leader of the Everly Brothers’ band and the fact that the covers of Poor, Poor Pitiful Me and two other early songs Linda Ronstadt had included on her mid-70s albums made him more in royalties than did his own first record for Asylum.
All that lay ahead of me. In those innocent pre-punk days, quirkily literate full-tilt rockers like Excitable Boy, Lawyers, Guns and Money (“Dad, get me out of this!”) and more wistful, bittersweet ballads like Accidentally Like A Martyr(“The hurt gets worse/and the heart gets harder”) and Tenderness On The Block (“Wide-eyed, she’ll be streetwise/To the lies and all the jive talk”) sounded like nothing anyone else was doing. Today, almost 40 years later they sound just as fresh and unexpected…
What I most loved (and still love) about WZ’s songwriting was the wrly warped humour with which he uses to lighten the many, many darker corners of his work. Excitable Boy, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and the frequently-maligned (though never by Warren himself) Werewolves of London (“I’d like to meet his tailor”) – are all excellent examples. I wasn’t alone, either. Those jostling for places at the altar rail at the Church of Warren include(d) writers Hunter S. Thompson, Will Self (who eventually wrote some typically trenchant sleeve notes for the Genius compilation that came out just before WZ died) and Stephen King (with whom he would eventually tour in the Rock Bottom Remainders). Then there were the shedloads of respected singer-songwriters like Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen who seemed to just intrinsically get what it was this most literate and left field of musos was trying to say and so hailed him as a peer.
Eventually, I went back and discovered the delights on Warren’s “official” first eponymously titled album from 1976 – still regarded by many as his best – where the many standout tracks included Mohammed’s Radio, Poor, Poor Pitiful Me and this oft-overlooked little gem:
As I got deeper into all things Zevon, I was equally delighted to catch cynical treats like Gorrila, You’re A Desperado, Looking for the Next Best Thing and Play It All Night Long off Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School (1980) (apparently a euphemism for brothel for those who’d like to know). Packed with definitive versions of songs of our hero’s first three albums plus a climactic segue of two full tilt Bo Diddley songs, the live album that appeared not long after – Stand in the Fire – was up there with Van M’s Too Late to Stop Now, BOC’s On Your Feet or On Your Knees and Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous as one of the great releases during that vintage decade for live albums. Sadly, it was around about this time that the wheels began to fall off in Warren’s personal life and career.
Lauded by critics and jam packed with all-star guests, 1982’s The Envoy was yet another great album – the last of our hero’s first flowering. Extraordinarily, like SITF – sales were so disappointing, the album remained unavailable on CD until a couple of years after Warren’s death. Charlie’s Medicine and Ain’t That Pretty At All are well worth checking out. Highlights of the album – for me, anyway – are two songs that show the two very different sides of WZ’s talent – the melodic if somewhat acidic Jesus Mentioned – one of the best songs about Elvis ever recorded (“He went walking on the water/With his pills”) – and the incredibly infectious Hula Hula Boys (“I saw her in the Lua with the one who parks the cars/And the fat one from the swimming pool/They were swaying arm in arm”) – Warren’s wit and tunesmanship both at their razor-sharp best.
The inevitable quality comedown after the euphoria of the previous decade, the 80s saw the great record buying public start buying aural shit like hair band metal (if you lived in the US) and re-heated glam cum new romantic acts like Spandau Ballet (if you lived in the UK) than investigating Warren’s brand of musical noir.
Learning about his being dropped by Asylum in the Random Notes column of Rolling Stone was all it took to push our hero over the edge again. Ultimately, the only bumper sales on the Zevon front were over the till at his local offy and guns and ammo shop. That strange bang sound at the start of the title track of Bad Luck Streak is apparently Warren firing a Magnum .45 into a dustbin. More worryingly, it was around this time that Warren started using pictures of himself as target practice.
Eventually, long before it was seen as being a sort of badge of pride among so-called celebs, off to rehab Warren a-went. Sometime in the mid- to late-80s after his first major dry out (check out Detox Mansion and Trouble Waiting to Happen (“Read things I didn’t know I’d done/Sounded like a lot of fun”), the musical (i.e. non-Michael Stipe) portion of REM rode to the rescue, They subsequently contributed virtually all of the backing to the album that launched WZ’s first great comeback, Sentimental Hygiene. REM and our hero apparently subsequently fell out very badly when Warren’s then record company decided to release some casual jams he Buck, Berry and Mills had cut in the studio and never intended for release as the Hindu Love Gods. Like Cooder, Lowe, Hiatt and Keltner in Little Village around the same time, the idea sounds a whole lot better on paper than it did on record. If you have to listen to one track? Make it their take on Prince’s Raspberry Beret, an excellent example of the several inspired covers that pepper WZ’s back catalogue.
Sandwiched between the above two releases came the darker concept album that was 1989’s Transverse City. Frustratingly, top-notch ballads like Splendid Isolation and Nobody’s in Love plus a couple of the more sardonically humorous tracks (Networking and Down at the Mall) aside, the album proved too downbeat for most listeners. It remains my least favorite of all his records.
Dropped by Virgin due to poor sales, Warren recorded the stripped-back (and all the more excellent for it) Mr Bad Example (check out Suzie Lightning and Angel Dressed in Black for our hero’s more melodic and “heavier” sides, plus the title track and Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead if you prefer your Warren “Dressed in black/Knocking back a shot of wry (sic)”). There then followed the alone-with-his-guitar world tour songbook that was Learning to Flinch (must-listen cuts here include The Vast Indifference of Heaven, a track in which he neatly skewered Bruce and Patti Springsteen and Billy and Chrissie Joel and he would subsequently revisit on his next studio album.
Warren’s next release, 1995’s Mutineer, was recorded in his home studio and saw him retreat still further from the mainstream. While far from being his best work, the title track and his cover of Judee Sill’s Jesus Was a Crossmaker are essential suggestions in any overview of this nature.
After that it was a few more years of silence broken only by stints on William Shatner’s TV Show Tek Wars. On the sleeve notes of the peerless 1996 2-CD collection I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, WZ recalls late night calls from the former TJ Hooker ordering “We need more guitars! More driving guitars!” For best effect, try enunciating the above quote, Word…By…Word… a la… Captain…. Kirk…)
While the recipient of the usual inevitably glowing reviews, Warren’s second great “comeback” in the late 90s was, like Mutineer, a far more low-key affair than his first in terms of “superstar” guests. Yet the two albums he cranked out in what for him was very quick succession around this time are brimming over with strong songs. Stripped to pretty much the bare minimum, the best songs on 2000’s strangely portentously titled Life’ll Kill Ya and My Ride’s Here from two years later are as strong as those from the days when Werewolves was riding high in the charts some 20-odd years before. Try I was in the House When the House Burned Down, Porcelain Monkey (a second great Elvis song!) or Don’t Let us Get Sick from LKY or the title track from MRH and see if you don’t agree. Described by WZ as a “meditation on death”, the album attracted some mixed reviews with the writer in Uncut even going so far as to comment on MRH’s strangely ominous cover of Warren gazing back out of what looked like a hearse window.
Warren’s original MRH
Springsteen’s live cover just after Warren’s death
[youtube]watch?v=FJomp47BliE[/youtube]
Then came the life-changing visit to the dentist, who heard Warren’s wheezing and told him to make his first appointment at the doctors in what proved to be waaaaaaaaaaaay too many years. Amazingly, having spent virtually all of his life as a heavy smoker (WZ apparently used to frequent a tobacconist in Hollywood where he would send back the packets with health warning photographs he didn’t like), it wasn’t the coffin nails that did for him. Nope, our hero didn’t develop lung cancer from the piggies, but mesothelioma from laying carpets while younger (as celebrated in Mr Bad Example.
The writing not so much scrawled on – as indelibly carved in – the wall, WZ decided to fill the very little time he had left by making a farewell album. In doing so, he amazingly managed to string out his doctor-allotted two or three months into the best part of a year. Along the way he was granted the then (and probably still) unprecedented accolade of being given a one-man show on longtime fan David Letterman’s late night programme, performing Roland the Headless Thompson, Gunner, Genius and a poignant version of Mutineer (the whole show is up on YT if you’re interested). He was also the subject of a very moving VH1 “making of album” special (also up on YT). While he didn’t quite managed to fulfil the vow he made on Mr Bad Example and “ live to be 100 and go down in infamy”, he happily hung on just long enough to see his first grandson enter the world shortly before he himself left it on September 7, 2003.
Not that it really mattered – he died just days after its release – but Warren’s last album, The Wind, was probably his most star-studded affair since Transverse City in the late 80s, attracting such luminaries as Bruce S, Ry C and Tom P. Laughing off Warren’s seemingly curt dismissal of he and Patti Scalfia in The Vast Indifference of Heaven, even long-time admirer and collaborator (Jeannie Needs a Shooter), the Boss himself stopped by at the studio to contribute backing vocals and an incendiary solo onDisorder in the House.
Somewhat sentimentally viewed by many as WZ’s best album – it’s not, the five album-run from the eponymous first album through to The Envoy is far better and the ideal place to get into his songwriting imho – The Wind received two 2004 Grammies Warren never got to hold. In April the year before, fighting for breath as he sang, the last track WZ ever recorded remains as fine an epitath as any artist could ever hope for.
“Inspired cover versions peppering his catalogue” and here’s another.
Inspired – this is outstanding
From Life’ll Kill Ya, Back In The High Life Again
Great write-up – I think I may spend the weekend extending my WZ ownership from 2 albums and a compilation to several more.
There’s an excellent Original Album Series featuring WZ’s first five albums* for £12.79 on the Tax Dodgers’ UK site.
* WZ disowned Wanted Dead or Alive from the late 60s/early 70s
Ordered
Amazon Prime will ensure my Saturday and Sunday is entirely Zevoned
I love him. My starting point was the A Quiet, Normal Life compilation and I moved backwards through his back catalogue while also buying each new release. This is from My Ride’s Here, probably my favourite WZ album. The lyric is by poet Paul Muldoon..
Nice work. I first came across him via a Jackson Browne bootleg where he talked him up and played a couple of songs from the first album. Carmelita and Mohammed’s Radio I think. Bought the album before he got popular and have enjoyed the ride ever since.
My wife saw him at a small pub in Sydney while I minded the kids. Didn’t like it, called him a misogynist. Maybe he was cantankerous that night as well he could be. But we are divorced and I’ve still got my Zevon records.
The clip mentioned in the lead. A sad and poignant clip. Letterman was a big fan. This is his last interview, and they both know it. Turned out to be his last performances too.
Good idea! This is a favourite – love the randomness of it, very WZ.
Thanks for posting. I’ve known about his work only faintly, and had a greatest hits album, but was convinced to dig deeper when David Hepworth lauded his biography I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead on the podcast. A difficult and complex man by anyone’s reckoning, it serves as a good example of why you should separate the person from the art (I was arguing about Eric Gill the other night in the same way). The book – a jaw-dropping read – inspired me to buy the 5 album box mentioned above, and later on Sentimental Hygiene. Some absolute crackers in every album I’ve got.
Excellent piece of writing @Jaygee. WZ is one of my absolute favourite artists, and Splendid Isolation one of his best songs. I have all his albums and your piece is a great excuse to give them another spin.
I don’t know much of his work to be honest, but his version of Knocking’ On Heaven’s Door is both beautiful and, given the circumstances when he recorded it, very moving
Here’s the link to the very, very moving VH1 doc about the recording of The Wind
Listening to his first album proper right now and perusing the back cover – has any introductory album had a better bunch on backing vocals?
‘Warren Zevon’ boasts, on various tracks but not all together:
J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Phil Everly, Lindsey Buckingham, ‘Stephanie’ Nicks, Glen Frey, Don Henley, Carl Wilson and Bonnie Raitt.
Not a bad supporting cast to help you announce yourself.
Great write-up and great to be reminded of him. I don’t have it all, but I love what I’ve got. Think Genius was my way in. The biography (by his ex-wife I think) is jaw dropping. I know who ill be listening to for the rest of the day!
Great piece of writing/reviewing Jaygee, simply great
I “discovered” Zevon when I was 12, watching this scene from the immortal The Color Of Money.
Later that same day, I came across Excitable Boy in my dad’s record collection, spotted it had Werewolves of London on and wolfed the whole thing down.
Johnny Strikes Up The Band, Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, Excitable Boy, Werewolves, Accidentally Like A Martyr… what an astonishing opening run of tunes that album has.
Many years later, I bonded with my now best mate over our appreciation of the Werewolves scene in TCOM. To this day, whenever we do karaoke together (which isn’t all that often, considering my passion for the art), Werewolves remains our go-to. And our hair is perfect.
Great piece @Jaygee, thanks for putting this up here. I’ve been a WZ fan for a long time. I guess I first knew of him by rumours over the ether of how great his first albums were, and then via my own amused investigation of a song called ‘Roland.etc..’ which intrigued me. My first personal investment was a copy of ‘Sentimental Hygiene’ which I discovered to be a fantastic collection of strong and individualistic songs. I was in from there, going both backwatds and forwards with his career as the years went by. Prompted by your post I’ve filled in a couple of gaps today, ordering copies of ‘Learning To Flinch’ and ‘Mutineer’ which together pretty much sew things up for my WZ stack. Thanks for the reminder and the reminisce; a truly great talent, lost to us too early like so many others.
@Bingo-Little
“…came across Excitable Boy in my dad’s record collection…”
Suddenly, I feel so very old….
Key tracks for me:
Splendid Isolation
Hasten Down the Wind
French Inhaler
Roland Headless Thompson Gunner
WOL
Accidentally Like A Martyr
Veracruz
Lawyers Guns and Money
Tule’s Blues
Play It All Night Long
Never Too Late For Love
Mutineer
Renegade (Live)
and of course the extraordinary Desperadoes Under The Eaves
Gosh, just watched him play and sing Mutineer on Letterman. Dust in the air.
@Vulpes-Vulpes
Dylan’s take on the song not long after WZ died.
Dylan apparently still dusts of WZ’s songs to this day
That’s a fine album @Jaygee – one of my favourite tribute albums. Friend of mine got me into him with Sentimental Hygiene and I’ve picked up a few albums over the years. Stand In The Fire is one of my favourite live albums. Got to see him in Dublin – Olympia Theatre I think – around the time of SH in 1988 – really good gig but I wasn’t familiar enough with the back catalogue to appreciate it fully. I’ve been meaning to pick up that 5-album set for a while – now is as good a time as any.
I have them all, and I have read the book. Ashamed to say that I haven’t played him for a long time. I will rectify this next week.
Great post Jaygee. Ta muchly!
Where did all that time go. I don’t have them all, but I do have 10. The book I said I had read was the letters one, written by his wife. All so long ago. Cds in a pile and ready to go, and a biography ordered. That’s the next couple of weeks sorted!
Long time Warren Zevon fan here, one of the finest songwriters of the last 50 years. I can play any of his albums and thoroughly enjoy them so I don`t have a favourite.
Thanks for the superb piecs @Jaygee, I really enjoyed it as many others above.
Great piece of writing there – Stand In The Fire was reissued as an expanded set covering the full show a couple of years back, and is well worth checking out if you’ve not heard it.
@Bargepole
Sadly as yet no CD version….
That’s the regular version. The one B mentioned is a full set spread over 2 LPs
A couple of days after he died I was at a concert and the band played this.
So this one for today.
Love the opening lines.
I hear Mariachi music on the radio
Excellent post @Jaygee
And the tubes they glow in the dark
Great write up. I’ve tried several times to ‘get’ him over the years and you’ve prompted me to try again. His voice and melodies have never resonated with me and I found his lyrics smug. I’ll give him another shot.
Thanks for a lovely write up for my second favourite artist. (After Bruce). I fail to understand why he is not more widely known. I do my best to educate where I can. It’s the range of styles and type of songs that floor me. The slow ones are so tender and warm.
Long ago there was a show on Melbourne Radio called “Lawyers Guns and Money.” It was a light hearted look at the local legal fraternity.
When he was in town Warren had a meeting with the hosts which turned into a long boozy lunch. It was very convivial and a splendid time was had by all, or so they thought. The next day they got a cease and desist letter from Zevon’s lawyers and had to change the name of their show to something like “Breakfast with Ross and Dean.”
I can hear Warren laughing loud and full over this, with a twinkle in his eye. No need to fall out with the guys, just get ’em to stop taking the piss and pour another beer. Much more likely to do as they are asked after finding out that the guy is a solid gold dude.
“I got a part-time job at my father’s carpet store
Laying tactless stripping and housewives by the score
I loaded up their furniture and took it to Spokane
Auctioned off every last Naugahyde divan”
That’s pure Zevon.
Great OP and thread, by the way.
Wonderful, wonderful post, Jaygee. Thank you.
Thanks everyone for your nice comments. Given that his music has got AW running through it like a stick of rock, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only person here who loves his stuff
There are a few excellent “unofficial” recordings to be found in the usual shady places.
I have an excellent solo (plus Dr. Babyhead from time to time) soundboard recording from 1996 at The Bluebird in Denver.
A good selection of the hits and some good acerbic banter.
If you go to WZ’s official website you used to be able to (and maybe still can) legally download all available live shows free of charge
In the meantime, here’s a stunning live show from 1982. Well worth using Clipgrab and keeping if you’re a fan.
Not sure if this was the tour where W fell of the wagon, fell off the stage, broke his leg and had to do the remaining dates while singing in a wheelchair
JFYI, the guy WZ is handcuffed to at the start is George Gruell (as name-checked on SITF) who has also done a very good book about his dirty life and times with our Warren