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Warren Zevon
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Warren Zevon preludes 2007
Warren Zevon
invaded the mainstream only briefly during his career but in so doing forged a memorable persona with the public. Preludes, a double disc package of unreleased demo recordings combined with an interview on cd, illustrates how much more there is to the man than the combination of comic absurdity and latent violence in songs such as “Excitable Boy” and “Werewolves of London.”
A collection of demos unearthed by Zevon’s son Jordan reveals the depth of Warren’s musical resources even though most are recorded with the composer alone at the piano. “Accidentally Like A Martyr” and “The French Inhaler” do not exhibit the polish of subsequent studio recordings, but Zevon’s exacting musical sense is as readily apparent as is a self-deprecating humor that only partially camouflages a heart-on-the-sleeve vulnerability.
Ironically the demos of well-known songs such as “Poor Poor Pitiful Me" are ultimately less interesting than tunes he never officially recorded such as “Going All the Way” and especially “I Used to Ride So High.” The often stentorian vocal intonations and classically-trained piano skills can’t lessen the surgical precision with which he dissects emotions on “Tule’s Blues,” while the author draws vivid character sketches of an LA cowboy scene (that ultimately affected him as much as he affected it) in “Desperadoes Under the Eaves.”
Tossed glib observations for comment, on the interview disc included in Preludes. Zevon clearly bore no illusions about his work and consequently sounds somewhat diffident when first asked about the creative process. He resignedly alludes to the artistic impulse as a burden, but it’s particularly insightful to hear how Warren clearly warms to his subjects, such as his time with The Everly Brothers and especially the pleasure he derives from stage performance.
The generally superficial nature of this conversation
is fully offset by the music on the other disc as well as the inclusion
of a well-designed booklet of rare photos and essays, equally touching
and insightful, from Zevon business associates like Artemis label founder
Danny Goldberg and musical peers such as Jackson Browne. The colorful side
of Warren Zevon’s person may pervade the mainstream, but Preludes captures
subtle personality traits just as essential to his unique character.
Prelude
The initial release of expanded remasters from Warren Zevon’s Elektra/Asylum catalog were clearly chosen carefully to reaffirm the man’s musical strengths as well as the public persona with which the mainstream audience is most familiar.
Contrary to the studio professionalism of his accompanists and the polished Jackson Browne production on Excitable Boy, a latent violence permeates Zevon’s most famous songs including this titletune. The most infectious piece Warren ever wrote, “Tenderness on the Block,” is also present and provides continuity with 1982’s The Envoy, itself an exhibition of how Warren’s predilection for the hammering guitar riff, as evidenced on its title song, was a proportionate balance to the pop instincts represented on “The Next Best Thing."
But it’s the reckless abandon of Warren Zevon’s stage performance, brought to a boiling point by the gung-ho bar band Boulder behind him, which makes Stand in the Fire his definitive album. The otherwise unrecorded originals included here, the title song and “The Sin,”(where the dated sounds of synthesizers are minimized in favor of David Landau’s brutal electric lead guitar) reaffirm that impression of absurd humor laced with kamikaze aggression epitomized in a frenetic “Werewolves of London.”
In its debut on compact disc, Stand in the Fire is the only reissue of the three with extra cuts that add more than a curiosity factor to the original. In stark contrast to the hell-bent intensity of the music that precedes them, the understatement and vulnerability displayed in four extra tracks are the antithesis of the stereotyped Warren Zevon persona.
“Johnny Strikes Up the Band” and “Play It All Night
Long” invoke the bonding power of music, while the other two encore numbers
comprise a fond adieu offered by the performer to his audience at the conclusion
of the show. Zevon’s gracious expression of gratitude to the remaining
attendees immediately follows an invitation for suggestions of what to
play, the result of which are solo piano renditions of “Frank & Jesse
James (an allegory for The Everly Brothers with whom Zevon once toured)
and “Hasten Down the Wind:” bereft of sentimentality, yet imbued with deep
passion that solidifies the performer’s connection with his audience, these
recordings prompt the thought that there has been no rocker simultaneously
more down-to-earth and larger than life than Warren Zevon.
Warren Zevon Preludes
|
Audio CD • Original Release Date: May 1, 2007 • Number
of Discs: 2 • Label: New
West Records |
Warren Zevon passed way from mesothelioma, a form of asbestos related lung cancer in 2003. A few months later, his son, Jordan, drove out to one of his dad's storage spaces in the San Fernando Valley to begin the sorting the process. He discovered over a 100 unreleased outtakes and demos in a piano-sized tourinQ case. Warren Zevon Preludes features 16 of the best of these discovered recordings, including 6 unreleased tracks "Empty Hearted Town," "Going All The Way," "Steady Rain," "Stop Rainin Lord" "Studebaker" and "Rosarita Beach Café." All songs were recorded pre-1976. Other gems are previously unheard versions of "Werewolves of London" and "Accidentally Like A Martyr". The 2nd disc features an in-depth radio interview Warren did with Jody Denberg in 2000.
The deluxe 2CD package in a hardbound slipcase contains a 44-page booklet with dozens of family photos, all previously unpublished. Pictures are placed within excerpts from the forthcoming memoir IÂ1ll Sleep When IÂ1m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon. Released by Ecco/Harper Collins.
Comment
After Warren Zevon's death in 2003, his son Jordan
was clearing out a storage space when he found a large stash of demos and
home recordings Zevon had made before 1976. Winnowed down from many hours
of tape, this selection is so satisfying you're left awaiting another volume
almost instantly. Warren Zevon Preludes
has been generously packaged with a booklet overflowing with reminiscences
and insight from peers and family, as well as a bonus disc with recent
interview extracts and choice selections from 2000's Life'll Kill Ya. The
rough sound quality is more than made up for by the performances. Highlights
include a speedier, country-punk garage take on "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me"
and the original demo of "Werewolves of London," here presented in a slowed-down
reggae-ish (and campier) take. Only two of these 16 takes fall flat: the
vocals on "Accidentally Like a Martyr" are just too bleak even for Zevon,
while the faux-sunshine Eagles-y production on "Ride So High" is interesting
but just too anachronistic. The versions of "French Inhaler" and "Carmelita"
show Zevon in his angry, post-Dylan singer-songwriter style. It's reminiscent
of the best John Cale solo recordings. Poignant, beautiful and bitter,
it's no wonder the guy didn't fit in with his California contemporaries.
As with Townes Van Zandt, there's something of a great short story in Zevon's
songs; confronted with them in all their ragged, stripped-down glory, it's
clear what a major talent he was. -- Mike McGonigal
Warren Zevon Preludes
|
Disc: 1
1. Empty Hearted Town (3:05) (solo piano)
2. Steady Rain (4:23) (full band)
3. Join Me In L.A. (2:33) (solo guitar)
4. Hasten Down The Wind (2:34) (solo piano)
5. Werewolves Of London (3:36) (full band)
6. Tule's Blues (3:08) (solo piano)
7. The French Inhaler (3:34) (solo guitar)
8. Going All The Way (2:19) (full band)
9. Poor Poor Pitiful Me (3:12) (full band)
10. Studebaker (2:23) (solo piano)
11. Accidentally Like A Martyr (3:02) (full band)
12. Carmelita (4:01) (solo guitar)
13. I Used To Ride So High (2:54)
14. Stop Rainin' Lord (2:13) (solo guitar)
15. The Rosarita Beach Cafe (4:12) (solo piano with
backing vocals)
16. Desperados Under The Eaves (3:49) (full band)
Warren Zevon Preludes
|
Disc: 2
1. I WAS IN THE HOUSE WHEN THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN (3:02)
2. Warren speaks on songwriting and the early days
of his career (7:14)
3. Musings on mortality, song noir and The King of
Rock n' Roll (5:07)
4. A chat about producers and the stark sounds on
the album Life'll Kill Ya (5:09)
5. BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE (3:11)
6. Warren's take on Winwood's classic and Warren's
inspirations (3:58)
7. Talk of TV, movies, acting and performing (5:14)
8. DON'T LET US GET SICK (3:10) (solo acoustic)
Recorded live 12/3/99
at Austin City Limits Studios for 107.1 KGSR Radio
Austin 9th Anniversary Concert
Zevon Music
Mr. Bones Publishing
Cups N Strings Studios
- resotroation - archiving - transferring to CD
Warren Zevon - band leader for the legendary Everly
Brothers
To listien to him talk is to enjoy every sentence - Danny
Goldberg
THE WIND http://members.aol.com/zevonfan1/private/wind.htm
|
| http://members.aol.com/zevonfan1/private/zevon.htm
| Fan site
SONGS http://members.aol.com/zevonfan1/private/SONGS.HTM |
CDs http://members.aol.com/zevonfan1/private/DISC.HTM
|
"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (1969)
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Hitchhikin' Woman
She Quit Me
Calcutta
Iko-Iko
Traveling In The Lightning
Tule's Blues
A Bullet For Ramona
Gorilla
Fiery Emblems
"Warren Zevon" (1976)
Frank And Jesse James
Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded
Backs Turned Looking Down The Path
Hasten Down The Wind
Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
The French Inhaler
Mohammed's Radio
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Carmelita
Join Me In L.A.
Desperados Under The Eaves
"Excitable Boy" (1978)
Johnny Strikes Up The Band
Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
Excitable Boy
Werewolves Of London
Accidentally Like A Martyr
Night Time In The Switching Yard
Veracruz
Tenderness On The Block
Lawyers, Guns And Money
"Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School" (1980)
Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School
A Certain Girl
Jungle Work
Empty-Handed Heart
Interlude No. 1
Play It All Night Long
Jeannie Needs A Shooter
Interlude No. 2
Bill Lee
Gorilla, You're A Desperado
Bed Of Coals
Wild Age
"Stand In The Fire" (1980)
Stand In The Fire
Jeannie Needs A Shooter
Excitable Boy
Mohammed's Radio (Stand In The Fire Version)
Werewolves Of London (Stand In The Fire Version)
Lawyers, Guns And Money
The Sin
Poor, Poor Pitiful Me (Stand In The Fire Version)
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Stand In The Fire Version)
Bo Diddley's A Gunslinger / Bo Diddley
"The Envoy" (1982)
The Envoy
The Overdraft
The Hula Hula Boys
Jesus Mentioned
Let Nothing Come Between You
Ain't That Pretty At All
Charlie's Medicine
Looking For The Next Best Thing
Never Too Late For Love
"Sentimental Hygiene" (1987)
Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
The Factory
Trouble Waiting To Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even A Dog Can Shake Hands
The Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone
"Transverse City" (1989)
Transverse City
Run Straight Down
The Long Arm Of The Law
Turbulence
They Moved The Moon
Splendid Isolation
Networking
Gridlock
Down In The Mall
Nobody's In Love This Year
"Hindu Love Gods" (1990)
Walkin' Blues
Travelin' Riverside Blues
Raspberry Beret
Crosscut Saw
Junko Pardner
Mannish Boy
Wang Dang Doodle
Battleship Chains
I'm A One Woman Man
Vigilante Man
"Mr. Bad Example" (1991)
Finishing Touches
Suzie Lightning
Model Citizen
Angel Dressed In Black
Mr. Bad Example
Renegade
Heartache Spoken Here
Quite Ugly One Morning
Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead
Searching For A Heart
"Learning To Flinch" (1993)
Splendid Isolation
Lawyers, Guns And Money
Mr. Bad Example
Excitable Boy
Hasten Down The Wind
The French Inhaler
Worrier King
Roland Chorale
Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
Searching For A Heart
Boom Boom Mancini
Jungle Work
Piano Fighter
Werewolves Of London
The Indifference Of Heaven
Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
Play It All Night Long
"Mutineer" (1995)
Seminole Bingo
Something Bad Happened To A Clown
Similar To Rain
The Indifference Of Heaven
Jesus Was A Cross Maker
Poisonous Lookalike
Piano Fighter
Rottweiler Blues
Monkey Wash, Donkey Rinse
Mutineer
"Life'll Kill Ya" (2000)
I Was In The House When The House Burned Down
Life'll Kill Ya
Porcelain Monkey
For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer
I'll Slow You Down
Hostage-O
Dirty Little Religion
Back In The High Life Again
My Shit's Fucked Up
Fistful Of Rain
Ourselves To Know
Don't Let Us Get Sick
"My Ride's Here" (2002)
Sacrificial Lambs
Basket Case
Lord Byron's Luggage
Macgillycuddy's Reeks
You're A Whole Different Person When You're Scared
Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)
Genius
Laissez-Moi Tranquille
I Have To Leave
My Ride's Here
"The Wind" (2003)
Dirty Life And Times
Disorder In The House
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Numb As A Statue
She's Too Good For Me
Prison Grove
El Amor De Mi Vida
The Rest Of The Night
Please Stay
Rub Me Raw
Keep Me In Your Heart
Other songs
Bujumbura
Figurine
Follow Me
Like The Seasons
Outside Chance
Real Or Not
It's really too bad that Warren Zevon had to die before
hearing how spectacular his albums sounded in these latter-day remasters.
Excitable Boy
remains his best-known document, awash with blood
and guts (especially on the horror-laden title track) and a famous, phenomenal
touch of lycanthropy [In folklore, lycanthropy
is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into
a wolf]. The trick is in Zevon's ironic distance, his dispatch of killer
narratives that touch on mercenary internationalism and undeserved indulgence
in due course. Zevon's writing is musically simple -- pianos and guitars
and mid-tempo pacing -- and those touches here only underscore how crisp
the remastering sounds. To wit: The raucous undertow of "Lawyers, Guns,
and Money" is delirious and ironically rhapsodic. As for "Werewolves of
London," it's here twice (once in the expanded rack of four additional
tunes) in all its tilted glory. As for the other extra content, "I Need
a Truck" is the short gem, a 50-second a cappella litany of Zevon's raffish
ways: "I need a truck to haul my percodan and gin" and one to "haul the
womens from my bed," he sings... followed by this apt note, "I need a truck
to haul my body when I'm dead." He had a mordant side. -- Andrew Bartlett
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