Warren Zevon R.I.P.

Cancer claims singer-songwriter two weeks after last album

A year after learning he had an inoperable form of lung cancer -- and more than twenty-five years after he began obsessing over death in song -- Warren Zevon passed away in his Los Angeles home on Sunday; he was fifty-six.

Zevon was born in January 1947 in Chicago, the son of Russian immigrants, and grew up in Arizona and California. After meeting composer Igor Stravinsky, he began to study music in junior high and started a few local bands in high school. In 1969, Zevon recorded his debut album, Wanted: Dead or Alive, which generated almost no interest. He threw himself into musical odd jobs, including writing jingles (for Ernest and Julio Gallo wines, to name one) as well as songs for the Turtles ("Outside Chance") and serving as pianist and bandleader for the Everly Brothers.

Though Zevon initially had no luck putting his own music over, Linda Ronstadt made his "Hasten Down the Wind" the title track of her 1976 album. Zevon had been living in Europe at the time and was talked into returning to the U.S. by Jackson Browne, who produced Zevon's self-titled 1976 album, which included "Hasten" in addition to other favorites-to-be like "Desperados Under the Eaves," and "Poor Pitiful Me," which Ronstadt covered and scored a hit with in 1978 (she has also put her stamp on Zevon's "Carmelita" and "Mohammed's Radio").

Warren Zevon earned a warmer reception than Wanted, and almost plays out like his debut album. Two years later, it was followed by Excitable Boy, which paired the more fragile songcraft of the self-titled album with gonzo bursts of cartoonish violence on "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Excitable Boy." Zevon's role as rock's macabre jester worked for him, as Excitable Boy reached Number Eight on the charts in 1978 and included his only hit single, the iconic "Werewolves of London." Three years ago, Zevon told Rolling Stone that the brutality of the songs was a mask to cover his other anxieties. "Sickness, doctors, that scares me," Zevon said. "Not violence -- helplessness. That's why I turn to violent stories."

Two years later, Zevon issued Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, which reached Number Twenty on the charts. The larger-scale popularity of his previous album began to wane, but Zevon had established a foundation for cult fandom that would keep him in business for the next two decades.

Zevon struggled with alcoholism and had kicked the habit before releasing The Envoy in 1982, but a fall off the wagon and its ensuing publicity would prompt a five-year hiatus before he sobered up again and released Sentimental Hygiene. The album boasted a bigger sound and songs like "Detox Mansion" and "Trouble Waiting to Happen" that addressed his alcohol addiction and media coverage of it. The album also featured music by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry, with whom Zevon would later record an album as the Hindu Love Gods in 1990.

In the Nineties, Zevon recorded Mr. Bad Example (1991), Mutineer (1995) and Life'll Kill Ya (2000), which featuring beautiful ballads (like "Mutineer") along with obsessive musings on death and failure ("Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," "My Shit's Fucked Up"). He would also turn up on David Letterman's late night talk show in the Nineties to fill in for musical director Paul Shaffer.

And while none of the albums put Zevon's name back into the Top Forty, he retained a reliable legion of listeners -- particularly among musicians (including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty) and writers (Hunter S. Thompson, Carl Hiassen) -- drawn to the lovely, awful duality of his music. As for the writers, Thompson, Hiassen, Paul Muldoon and Mitch Albom contributed lyrics to Zevon's 2002 release, My Ride's Here.

Hiassen's novel Native Tongue included a protagonist who played Zevon's music "in whatever state of despair or frustration he was in," the author says. A few years later, at a book signing in Los Angeles, Zevon was among the readers in line. "I looked up and I couldn't believe it," Hiassen says. "I'd never met him or anything, I had all his music, but he introduced himself very politely and said, 'I'd like to thank you for mentioning my music in your book.'"

After his diagnosis last September, Zevon set about to make a final album. Several of his musical friends, including Springsteen, Petty, Ry Cooder and Don Henley, offered their services, and the result was The Wind released two weeks ago. Though My Ride's Here only mustered sales of 34,000 in more than a year, death was up for a collaboration on The Wind, prompting almost 50,000 people to snap up copies of the album in its first week, giving Zevon his first Top Forty album (Number Sixteen) in twenty-five years.

More important than sales figures was the album's role as Zevon's farewell note. Songs like "She's Too Good for Me" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" found him in sentimental mode, making amends with some whom he has left behind and "My Dirty Life and Times" is self-deprecating and smirking. And the closing "Keep Me in Your Heart" was as earnest and vulnerable as he ever allowed himself to be on record.

ANDREW DANSBY
(September 8, 2003)
Rolling Stone

Мама рОдная! Опять смерть!

и опять рак... :((((

RECONSIDER ME: BRUCE, DYLAN, ON ZEVON TRIBUTE

Springsteen and the E Street Band paid tribute to the late, great Warren Zevon last fall in Toronto with a performance of "My Ride is Here" -- and that Rising tour performance will soon be part of an official Zevon tribute album. Slated for the fall on Artemis, the album is co-produced by Zevon collaborator Jorge Calderon and Warren's son Jordan. The tributee even had a heads-up, as Calderon told the L.A. Times: "I even spoke to Warren about it, and he was totally, 'Not while I'm still here.'... But we already had the idea between Jackson [Browne] and myself and Artemis." Also paying respects will be Browne, the Pixies, Steve Earle, Don Henley, Adam Sandler doing "Werewolves of London" (!), and Bob Dylan doing "Mutineer."
- July 18, 2004

Warren Zevon "Reconsider Me: The Love Songs" (13 tracks, including the previously unreleased "Don't Let Us Get Sick") (Artemis, Jan. 31, 2006)

1. Accidentally, Like A Martyr 3:38
2. Please Stay 3:32
3. Reconsider Me 3:26
4. Searching For A Heart 4:16
5. Hostage-O 4:05
6. She’s Too Good For Me 3:10
7. Tenderness on the Block 3:54
8. For My Next Trick I’ll Need a Volunteer 3:12
9. I’ll Slow You Down 3:10
10. El Amor de Mi Vida 3:33
11. Keep Me in Your Heart 3:27
12. Back in the High Life Again 3:11
13. Bonus Track: Don't Let Us Get Sick 3:12

Excitable Boy [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
Audio CD (March 27, 2007)

1. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
2. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
3. Excitable Boy
4. Werewolves Of London
5. Accidentally Like A Martyr
6. Nighttime In The Switching Yard
7. Veracruz
8. Tenderness On The Block
9. Lawyers, Guns And Money
10. I Need A Truck (Outtake)
11. Werewolves Of London (Alternate version)
12. Tule's Blues (Solo Piano Version)
13. Frozen Notes (Strings Version)

EXCITABLE BOY, originally released in '83--and produced by Jackson Browne and Waddy Wachtel--hit #8 on Billboard®'s Pop albums chart and made Zevon a star. Includes the essential signature songs "Werewolves Of London"--a #21 hit single--and "Lawyers, Guns And Money." Also features "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner," "Excitable Boy," "Accidentally Like A Martyr," and other Zevon classics. Four previously unissued bonus treasures include an alternate version of "Werewolves," a solo piano version of "Tule's Blues," and an outtake of "I Need A Truck." In-depth liner notes by Rolling Stone writer David Fricke.

Stand in the Fire [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
Audio CD (March 27, 2007)

1. Stand In The Fire
2. Jeannie Needs A Shooter
3. Excitable Boy
4. Mohammed's Radio
5. Werewolves Of London
6. Lawyers, Guns And Money
7. The Sin
8. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
9. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
10. Bo Diddley's A Gunslinger/Bo Diddley
11. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
12. Play It All Night Long
13. Frank And Jesse James
14. Hasten Down The Wind

The 1981 live album masterpiece STAND IN THE FIRE--until now woefully out of print--prompted allmusic.com to write, "No one argues that Warren Zevon is a gifted singer and songwriter, but STAND IN THE FIRE proves that, when he wants to, he can also rock with the best of `em." Recorded at L.A.'s Roxy theatre in 1981, the disc features the two unforgettable original songs Zevon debuted on that year's tour, "The Sin" and "Stand In The Fire." Also includes searing versions of "Lawyers, Guns And Money," "Werewolves Of London," "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me," "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," "Mohammed's Radio," and "Jeannie Needs A Shooter," a co-write with Bruce Springsteen, among other stellar performances. Boasts liner notes by David Fricke and four previously unreleased cuts including "Johnny Strikes Up The Band," "Frank And Jesse James," and "Hasten Down The Wind."

Envoy [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
Audio CD (March 27, 2007)

1. The Envoy
2. The Overdraft
3. The Hula Hula Boys
4. Jesus Mentioned
5. Let Nothing Come Between You
6. Ain't That Pretty At All
7. Charlie's Medicine
8. Looking For The Next Best Thing
9. Never Too Late For Love
10. Word Of Mouth (Outtake)
11. Let Nothing Come Between You (Alternate)
12. The Risk (Outtake)
13. Wild Thing (Outtake)

THE ENVOY, the reflective 1982 masterpiece that Zevon once described as "The Excitable Boy Grows Up," makes its CD debut with this release. Highlights include the title track, the moving "Never Too Late For Love," "The Hula Hula Boys," and "The Overdraft," a co-write with novelist Thomas McGuane featuring a ripping Lindsey Buckingham solo. Four previously unreleased tracks include outtakes of "Word Of Mouth" and "Wild Thing," and the romantically skewed gem "Let Nothing Come Between You." Liner notes by Rolling Stone editor David Wild.

Insides Out - Jordan Zevon
Audio CD (April 15, 2008)

1. The Joke's On Me (3:32)
2. This Girl (3:33)
3. Home (4:12)
4. Just Do That (3:38)
5. Camila Rhodes (3:30)
6. Insides Out (4:16)
7. American Standard (4:05)
8. Studebaker (4:02)
9. Payday (4:15)
10. Too Late To Be Saved (4:35)

Insides Out is the debut solo album from Jordan Zevon (son of Warren Zevon and Tule Livingston). Dive straight in, get past making comparisons to his father s music, then indulge yourself on the Jordan s glorious mix of rock/pop inspired by XTC, Elvis Costello and the New Radicals.

Jordan simply describes his sound by saying, It s organic rock/pop. Something I always told my Dad to stick with. I hated when he used synthesizers and drum machines.

The first track The Joke s On Me co-written with pal Jordan Summers was the winner of the 2006 USA Songwriting contest. Knowing it is time to get serious about his future, Jordan enlisted help from his long time friends to help create and complete Insides Out. Along with stand out tracks such as This Girl and American Standard , Jordan does one cover. It is Studebaker one of his father s unreleased gems.

Insides Out is a stunning debut that captures 11 perfectly crafted American rock songs, that is if you like smart lyrics and catchy guitar riffs all drenched in sublime harmonies.

http://www.myspace.com/zevon

Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene (1987)
бодрый альбом, напоминающий R.E.M. того периода, что и немудрено. Музыканты группы приняли участие в записи.