There's no word on when or how Zevon's new recordings will be released, but a new greatest-hits collection is coming October 15 from Rhino Records. Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon collects 22 songs from Zevon's career, including the hits "Werewolves Of London," "Excitable Boy," "Lawyers, Guns And Money," and "Raspberry Beret," his take on the Prince song with the Hindu Love Gods, the 1990 side project that also featured R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry. The liner notes for Genius were written by British author Will Self.
The tracklisting for Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon includes: "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," "The French Inhaler," "Carmelita," "Hasten Down The Wind," "Werewolves Of London," "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner," "Excitable Boy," "Lawyers, Guns And Money," "Interlude No. 1/Play It All Night Long," "A Certain Girl," "Looking For The Next Best Thing," "Detox Mansion," "Reconsider Me," "Boom Boom Mancini," "Splendid Isolation," "Raspberry Beret" (the Hindu Love Gods), "Searching For A Heart," "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead," "Mr. Bad Example," "Mutineer," "I Was In The House When The House Burned Down," and "Genius." John Schuch points us to these lyrics:
"I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins
I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in
I'm proud to be a glutton and I don't have time for sloth
I'm greedy and I'm angry and I don't care who I cross"
--"Mr. Bad Example"
- Oh, man, this is terrible news Maybe not on the eternal scale of Big Things, but somehow it's always worse when it involves somebody you've met, somebody you relate to as an actual human being.
- One of the most acute and savagely satiric songwriters of his era, Warren Zevon was born in Chicago on January 24, 1947. His formative years were as colorful as the scenarios played out in his music: his father was a professional gambler, a lifestyle which forced the family to move frequently, and Zevon spent most of his formative years in California and Arizona. He learned to play piano, focusing primarily on classical material before a disintegrating home life led him into pop music, as well as a few run-ins with the law; after his parents divorced when he was 16 years old, Zevon hopped into the Corvette his father won in a card game and headed for New York to become a folksinger. His music found little response, however, and he returned to California, eventually releasing his first recordings as part of the duo Lyme and Cybelle. Session work followed before Zevon issued his solo debut Wanted - Dead or Alive in 1969; the LP received a poor reception, and so he returned to session work and composing advertising jingles, and also served as the Everly Brothers' pianist before the duo's break-up. Following a 1974 sabbatical to Spain, Zevon returned to Los Angeles, where his longtime friend Jackson Browne had secured him a recording deal; with Browne in the producer's seat, Zevon cut a self-titled offering which was met with lavish critical praise upon its 1976 release. His 1978 follow-up Excitable Boy established him as a wholly unique talent, and earned a sizable hit with its wry single "Werewolves of London."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Phil Freeman
This is, indeed, terrible news. Warren Zevon is the Raymond Chandler of songwriting. That's about the highest compliment I can pay. I mean, who's gonna fill those shoes?
2 - Paul A'Barge
Clicked on the Nancy Nall link. No mention of Mr Zevon. Clicked on some of her archives. No mention of Mr Zevon.
3 - Eric Olsen
Nancy passed the information on to me - she'll have something on WZ tonight.
4 - Nance
Sorry, Paul. I'm not a blogger in the updated-all-day mold. Just one diary entry at the end of the day, which I'm working on, which will be Zevon-heavy tonight, I suspect.
5 - Slattery
Zevon collaborated a while back with Carl Hiaasen in the Floridian author's latest foray into the world of bizarre criminality --- BASKET CASE.
Zevon and Hiaasen penned a song together, Basket Case, an MP3 which is available at Hiaasen's web site..
6 - Hazy Dave
Well I went to the doctor,
I said "I'm feeling kinda rough."
"Let me break it to you, son
Your shit's fucked up."
I said, "My shit's fucked up?
Well, I don't see how."
He said, The shit that used to work
Don't work now."
...As a man of a certain age, I've been relating strongly to these lyrics from Life'll Kill Ya in recent months. Very sorry to hear of Warren's prognosis.
7 - PJ Conley
"But then I knew it was bad when the doctor came in with the CAT scan in his hand, closed the door and gave me a glass of water and said, 'I need to tell you something.' "
WZ captures this event perfectly in his song My Shit's Fucked Up (on Life’ll Kill Ya). Having been diagnosed with cancer as well at one point, this is an incredibly poignant song which many miss because of the profanity of it.
-pjc
8 - Christopher McCallum
Devastated to hear the news about the wolf man. Hope he and Jackson touch ground and put a few tunes down real soon.
9 - Stevie Z
Damn. It was listening to Warren Zevon that I realized what indeed a truly GREAT song was, and he greatly influences my songwriting to this day. He reminded me that 3 or 4 chords is all you need, as long as you have something worthwhile to say. I have been hoping that he would put out an album soon, and I hope that his remaining days are as fulfilling to him as they can be. Thanks, Mr. Zevon, for giving me some great stuff to hook onto.
Stevie Z
10 - Kevin Lee
I had the whole crew at work singing the phrase
monkey wash donkey rinse for weeks. Thev're still trying to figure it out.My life's a better
place due to your slick absurdities.My buddy
turned me on to "Learning to Flinch " while I
was doing an anchor watch over the Andrea Doria
in '95 and I've been tuned in since. THANKS
11 - bobG
Music has always held such an important place in my life. When all else fails, i listen to good music, and things somehow seem better.
Warren was "the guy" who wrote much of that good music, and helped me over some rough times in my life...
Wish there was someway i could return the favor...
12 - bobG
Music has always held such an important place in my life. When all else fails, i listen to good music, and things somehow seem better.
Warren was "the guy" who wrote much of that good music, and helped me over some rough times in my life...
Wish there was someway i could return the favor...
13 - Conley
Zevon is great to have around.
14 - Rob
Did anyone see David Letterman on 10/30/02? Warren was the only guest, talked about his music, his cancer, and sang Mutineer, genius, and Roland the Headless Thompson gunner. He was ironic and sad and hilarious. Great show.
15 - K. Schultz
I discovered Warren Zevon around 1978, and he has since been my favorite artist (At 52, I'm still rockin'!). No... more than that, but there really aren't any proper words of appreciation.
I've been to every performance of his that I could manage, and was never disappointed. To say that I am a fan is... well, my black German Shepherd's name is "Zevon", and my KaZaA username is "exciteableboy". When I heard the news of his terminal illness it were as if one of my closest friends had just received the death sentence... devastating!
His dark humor and views on life somewhat parallel my own, which, perhaps is the connection I feel so acutely. But then, if he were to read this, I know that he might also twitch a lip in half a smile and think that MY shit was fucked up, and that I should get on with it and enjoy every bite of my sandwich before the Grim Reaper catches up with ME.
I will miss his presence dearly, and will mourn the absence of all the music that he would have given us. Yet, I will celebrate his life and all that he has been able to give us. Farewell to a friend. Know that your fans hold a genuine love for you.
16 - MarkD
Amen, Brother K.Schultz!
WZ will be sadly missed. So grateful to have discovered his music. Can't help but smile every time I hear a tune.
Thank you, WarrenZ.
17 - ellen
having lost a loved one to mesothelioma a few years ago, music was a great solace, and i blasted Zevon all the time. his lyrics and music helped ease the pain and sorrow. how ironic to lose him now to the same insidious disease. his master of language and the human condition was the best. his appearance on Letterman was pure "class and courage".
18 - ELLEN
would appreciate it so very much if someone has a tape of Warren's 10/30/02 appearance on the Letterman show (mine did not come out, and if I were as talented as WZ, I'd write a lyric about that). Thanks!
19 - John
Warren is the best. Let's continue the work to get him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also, I'd like to see a tribute album with some of his friends covering his songs -- albeit most will be unable match the virtuosity of the originals, it would be good to hear.
20 - K L Chee
I have all of WZ's records/CDs. He gave me over 20 years of fantastic/great music. Thanks Warren.
21 - John Stodder
Just FYI, mesothelioma, which I learned from Rolling Stone is the cancer Warren has, does not result from smoking, drinking or partying like a rock star. It is an environmental cancer generally caused by exposure to asbestos (although there are other theories, such as exposure to SV-40, a simian virus that showed up in early polio vaccines that US, UK and Canadian kids of Zevon's generation got). I had a family member die of this disease at age 46. It is a horrible cancer, which can be palliated but there's no cure. I only say this because the overall tone of media coverage is that Warren accepts that his lifestyle led to this outcome. If it did, it's because he worked somewhere and was exposed to asbestos, or some other environmental contaminant, and not because he stayed too long at the fair.
22 - John Stodder
Just FYI, mesothelioma, which I learned from Rolling Stone is the cancer Warren has, does not result from smoking, drinking or partying like a rock star. It is an environmental cancer generally caused by exposure to asbestos (although there are other theories, such as exposure to SV-40, a simian virus that showed up in early polio vaccines that US, UK and Canadian kids of Zevon's generation got). I had a family member die of this disease at age 46. It is a horrible cancer, which can be palliated but there's no cure. I only say this because the overall tone of media coverage is that Warren accepts that his lifestyle led to this outcome. If it did, it's because he worked somewhere and was exposed to asbestos, or some other environmental contaminant, and not because he stayed too long at the fair.
23 - John Stodder
Just FYI, mesothelioma, which I learned from Rolling Stone is the cancer Warren has, does not result from smoking, drinking or partying like a rock star. It is an environmental cancer generally caused by exposure to asbestos (although there are other theories, such as exposure to SV-40, a simian virus that showed up in early polio vaccines that US, UK and Canadian kids of Zevon's generation got). I had a family member die of this disease at age 46. It is a horrible cancer, which can be palliated but there's no cure. I only say this because the overall tone of media coverage is that Warren accepts that his lifestyle led to this outcome. If it did, it's because he worked somewhere and was exposed to asbestos, or some other environmental contaminant, and not because he stayed too long at the fair.
24 - John Stodder
Just FYI, mesothelioma, which I learned from Rolling Stone is the cancer Warren has, does not result from smoking, drinking or partying like a rock star. It is an environmental cancer generally caused by exposure to asbestos (although there are other theories, such as exposure to SV-40, a simian virus that showed up in early polio vaccines that US, UK and Canadian kids of Zevon's generation got). I had a family member die of this disease at age 46. It is a horrible cancer, which can be palliated but there's no cure. I only say this because the overall tone of media coverage is that Warren accepts that his lifestyle led to this outcome. If it did, it's because he worked somewhere and was exposed to asbestos, or some other environmental contaminant, and not because he stayed too long at the fair.
25 - Betty Brevig
To Warren...your songs have given me many years of pure enjoyment & delight. Your music and spirit will live on in my heart always. I wish you an eternity of peace, music and love...& I hope that you know how much you are respected. I saw you perform only once (live in Virginia Beach)and it was nothing less than remarkable. You will be missed in more ways than you will ever know. My heart aches for you & your family. You're the BEST...the world is a much cooler place because you've been in it. All my love to you & yours.