Malcontent, misanthropic, and occasionally macabre, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon wrapped his twisted sense of humor in back-to-basics, crafted rock and roll. He had a reputation as a wild man, a user and abuser of alcohol and drugs, the kind of guy you might have expected to join the 27 club if he hadn’t already passed that marker by the time his career took off.
Although he released one late-‘60s album under the moniker Zevon, he spent the first half of the ‘70s touring with the Everly Brothers and working as a session musician. After a brief retreat to Spain, he re-emerged in L.A. to record a second “debut” album and an excellent follow-up. But after two celebrated, promising albums, his career seemed to stall. Several of his songs were made more famous by other singers, most notably “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” covered by Linda Ronstadt.
Zevon mounted something of a comeback in later years. His last few albums offer frequent musings on illness and mortality—he found out he was suffering from a fatal lung disease in 2002, before the creation of his final, posthumous album, The Wind. But he must have been subconsciously sensing the end was near for years. He died in 2003, age 56—not old, but well past age 27.
Playlist 1
Playlist One gives an LP-length blend of Warren Zevon’s two ‘70s gems, Warren Zevon (1976) and Excitable Boy (1978), for my money his two best albums. Even without much cutting, I’ve left off some fan and critics’ favorites. Good stuff here.
Cover Art:
- Excitable Boy: Source, Discogs.com, Fair use.
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