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Warren Zevon

post #1 of 20
3/5/04 at 2:34am
Thread Starter 
My love for this genius is well-known, but I'm listening to some of his stuff right now, and the way each song is constructed in terms of the instruments/layers/etc is amazing. It's just brilliant how it all comes together. Even the simpler songs have a great craft and artistry to them. God, I miss this guy.
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post #2 of 20
9/5/08 at 10:42pm
Sorry for the two posts about this--I thought the other thread I bumped was in the Music forum. This Sunday is the 5th anniversary of WZ's death, and Steve Earle's performing "Reconsider Me" on Letterman tonight in tribute.
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post #3 of 20
9/5/08 at 10:49pm
Warren Zevon was one of my favorite musicians from a very young age, thanks to my father. I made the mistake of putting his acoustic guitar version of "Back in the Highlife" on my iPod. I almost break down every time I hear it.
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post #4 of 20
9/9/08 at 11:45pm
I bought "Excitable Boy" an embarrassingly short time ago, and love it end to end. Being a morbid fuck, I love the wacky twisted nature of the title track, and the slow, eerie menace of "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". Being a lawyer myself, I can't get enough of "Lawyers, Guns & Money". Probably the only song to mention lawyers in something approaching a favorable light. This has to be one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded, and it's beyond a Goddam shame that "Werewolf of London" is the only song you ever really hear played on the radio. I seriously need to get some more of this dude's stuff.
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post #5 of 20
9/9/08 at 11:53pm
God, as a kid I'd tell my friends the story of Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, then get in trouble for discribing Van Owen as a Son of a Bitch.
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post #6 of 20
9/9/08 at 11:56pm
Iggy, pick the following albums up next, in this order:

"Warren Zevon"/"Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School," "Sentimental Hygiene"/"Mr. Bad Example," "Learning to Flinch," "Life'll Kill Ya," "The Wind."

You can pick and choose from those first four, but that's probably the best overall introduction to Zevon's career. I think you'll get a kick out of "Bad Luck Streak..." as it's the same kind of clever yet fucked up style of "Excitable."

If you want a retrospective, then try to track down the out of print "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" two discer from Rhino. Supplement that with the live album "Learning to Flinch" and you should be good to go.

Been listening to this beautiful live version of "Renegade" past couple of days. But then, I'm like that.
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post #7 of 20
9/10/08 at 12:10am
Thanks. And thanks for the King link, although I haven't had time to read it yet.
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post #8 of 20
9/10/08 at 12:36am
Rath's order is pretty good, though I'd move "Life'll Kill Ya" way up on that list. It's certainly a different Zevon at that point, but it's as strong as anything else in his catalogue.
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post #9 of 20
9/10/08 at 12:40am
I was going roughly chronological. I also think the last three albums, particularly "The Wind" are enhanced the more familiar with his music you are. "Life'll Kill Ya" is miles better than "My Ride's Here," though.
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post #10 of 20
9/10/08 at 12:59am
"My Ride's Here" has aged well, in my opinion. It's certainly not as cohesive a record as "Life'll Kill Ya," but a lot of the songs I wasn't crazy about when it came out have really grown on me over the years. It's not one that I'd recommend non-fans to start out with, but I find myself going back to it more and more.
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post #11 of 20
9/10/08 at 1:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
I also think the last three albums, particularly "The Wind" are enhanced the more familiar with his music you are. "
Right on the money.
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post #12 of 20
12/16/08 at 2:07pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjk9RFNzhNw
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post #13 of 20
12/16/08 at 3:39pm
AAAAAWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Werewolves of London...
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post #14 of 20
12/16/08 at 3:50pm
Zevon was awesome on Larry Sanders: "Artie, please don't make me play that fucking song again."
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post #15 of 20
12/16/08 at 4:09pm
Hey, it's a favorite? What are you going to do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNvZQkiMt5o

Hilarious though.
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post #16 of 20
12/16/08 at 4:26pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKXBRdt93c
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post #17 of 20
12/16/08 at 4:44pm
And now... That can never happen to me...
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post #18 of 20
12/16/08 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil View Post
I'm going to be all smug here and talk about seeing him play in a tiny venue a couple of months before Life'll Kill Ya came out. The crowd ate this song up and I've still got a button they gave away that night that says My Shit's Fucked Up.
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post #19 of 20
12/17/08 at 2:17am
Well, if you're gonna be smug about something, that one's as good as any.
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post #20 of 20
12/17/08 at 2:33am
I remember that Larry Sanders cameo. My dad had a great line about how Warren plays that song sulkily; I can't remember what it was.

Anyway, I've bitched about the Rock Hall snub for years now, but I am surprised as the years go on that -- given the affection people seem to have for the guy in the industry -- he hasn't at least made the short list when so many of his contemporaries in that scene have, or are in. Maybe he pissed Jann Wenner off or something.

There's a version of Renegade he did for some Denver radio show I love. Starts off with him and a piano and adds a really subtle string section. Gorgeous.
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