Both exceptional and essential.ĭesperados Under The Eaves from Warren Zevon is my first near miss. The real Warren deal kicked in with his two 70s albums some years after Wanted Dead Or Alive, namely, Warren Zevon (1976) and Excitable Boy (1978). And, to be honest, even though I’d like to have a listen sometime, I don’t know the songs. You can also get hold of even earlier Warren as part of the folk duo, lyme and cybelle (lower case!), on The First Sessions CD but, luckily, that one’s not in my remit. It’s been rubbished but it’s a really interesting listen and speaks of things to come. Even a not-very-good Zevon song is good enough for me, and Werewolves is a very good Zevon song.įeel a bit guilty leapfrogging over Warren’s first album, Wanted Dead Or Alive (1969). Like a lot of listeners I suspect, my first encounter was with his signature song, Werewolves Of London. And while the songs could be about all kinds of doom there was a gentler side to this great writer and I hope that this impossible listing reflects that: The artwork on the inner sleeves and back covers of the early LPs contained mixed-imagery of everyday life with revolvers and submachine guns thrown in. The threat of violence is apparent in many of the songs but Zevon could also do funny the personification of gallows humour. His father was a professional gambler with gangster connections. Warren Zevon sure had the right background to inspire his mini-movies of cut-throats and ne’er-do-wells and people you should cross the street to avoid. His timeless masterpieces – often aided and abetted by the musical precision of David Lindley, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar and Jorge Calderón. The reason: the charm of the man and the resonance of his songs. There had to be a reason why everyone wanted to record with him, a reason why he was the best connected man in rock – Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Garcia, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and many more all came on board. The same man who stared death in the face and didn’t flinch. The man whose songs were often about the brevity of life and inevitability of death. The master practitioner distinctive singer, electrifying writer.
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