In an interview with Terry Gross a few years back, Zevon explained his relatively small output by saying that he found it hard to write songs. Zevon grew up in Chicago, a child prodigy who, in the studio, arranged and conducted the string sections on his records. I take it that it was writing the words that Zevon found difficult. That is, the words to the songs are, for Zevon, more than just markers along the line of the melody, more than a catch phrase to nail down with a musical hook.
Now Zevon is dying of lung cancer in Los Angeles. We are about to lose the best American poet currently working in the pop idiom. In 2000 Zevon released a record titled Life'll Kill Ya and now we have My Ride's Here. (Zevon is the kind of rock star who always gets his apostrophes in the right place.) News sources report that Zevon handed copies of both CDs to his oncologist in order to explain his attitude toward death. It is tempting to believe that he had some sort of unconscious knowledge that he was dying, but that would be sentimental. And however romantic Zevon may be, he is never sentimental. One thing is certain, Zevon has always been clued in. Ten years ago he wrote:
Nuclear arms in the Middle East
Israel's attacking the Iraqis
The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
And Bagdhad do whatever she please
Looks like another threat to world peace ["The Envoy"]
And on the new record, to a driving beat:
Smokey and the Bandit
And Saddam Hussein
Were staying up late
And acting insane
Along with Russell Crowe
And Hafez Assad
Start taking this down
When I give you the nod
What makes Warren Zevon so valuable in the current cultural climate is that he is willing to gore every ox, slaughter every sacred cow, deflate every pretentious piece of bullshit, but always while smiling. Combined with the personal vulnerability of the love songs--"I can saw a woman in two, but you won't want to look in the box when I'm through"--and you get an artist who is going to stay relevant long after he's gone.
Article comments
1 - Gordon Coale
Thanks for getting me to finally listen to Warren. Wow! I've been listening to his earlier stuff -- my next two CDs will be Warren's new ones.
2 - adamsj
Nice job.
You're particularly on to quote "Carmelita", particularly the part you quoted. I sing that part to myself all the time--the words and music blend perfectly, even with my icky voice.
I stuck the link to the piece I wrote on Zevon in the URL field above--you might enjoy it.
3 - adamsj
And I got the link wrong, too--but it's right in this one.
No, I haven't been down to the the chicken stand.
4 - KDCain
I enjoyed this review. Zevon has been my favorite artist since "Excitable Boy" & "Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School". I've seen him perform 3 times & have heard numerous unauthorized recordings of live performances. It IS true that sometimes he sings "Smith & Wesson" instead of "Smith-Carona" on Carmelita. I believe he has also sang "Smith & Wesson...up on the shelf", occasionally during "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". A S&W model 29 .44Mag also graces the album Excitable Boy (if memory serves correctly). He will be sorely missed.
5 - Susan
Wanting to read something decent and current on Warren, I knew to look for it here. And your post is spot-on. Beautiful piece.
I was also curious to hear your take on his Letterman show appearance last week.
6 - Bruce
I thought I heard Warren sing, "In Ireland, in Labanon, in Madison and Berkeley" during "Roland" Did anyone else note this? If yes, did he do this often?