It includes previously unreleased alternate versions of “Werewolves of London” and his striking ballad “Accidentally Like a Martyr”. Preludes features cuts from Zevon’s creative prime. All of the newly found material was recorded before 1976. When the album was released, it featured sixteen unreleased recordings from Zevon’s personal archives, as well as six never-before released songs”. This remarkable discovery “would be distilled down to the best of these recordings and eventually released as a 2CD set titled Preludes released on May 1, 2007. The unbelievable finding gave hope to Zevon fans everywhere that fresh songs existed. According to an official statement: “Jordan Zevon discovered 126 unreleased outtakes and demos in a piano-sized touring case”. The findings were nothing short of monumental. Eventually, Jordan was faced with the task of cleaning out Warren’s storage facility in the San Fernando Valley. Several months after Zevon’s death in September of 2003, his son Jordan was organizing his father’s belongings. It was thought that his recording catalogue was set, for better or worse, forever. With his premature passing, it was thought that no new original Zevon material would ever surface again. Warren’s songs are like mini vignettes that accentuate the complexities of human nature. “I know more of his songs by heart than just about any other songwriter,” says Browne. When the news was made public that Zevon was dying, Bob Dylan started performing several of his songs in his live shows to show appreciation to the doomed troubadour. It is also absolutely revered among songwriters. The songbook of Warren Zevon is one of the most eclectic in the recent history of popular music. But behind all his masterful musical phrasing and vibrant lyrics, Zevon’s songs continue to resonate because they reflect the inadequacies that all of us possess yet are rarely willing to admit. It is the songs that count after all, and Warren’s fantastical tunes are more memorable than most. I think of him all the time – and that’s because those songs live on”. Jackson Browne remarked, “His songs carried such humor and human truth. Bruce Springsteen said, “ would write something that had real meaning…I always envied that part of his ability and talent”. However, he was always appreciated by fellow artists. His songs missed the masses, possibly because he presented such a potent poetic mix of celebreality and creativity. Zevon’s output was consistently dazzling and habitually overlooked. His influence is immense, but his musical silhouette should cast a bigger shadow. In a review of his “eponymous first album”, Janet Maslin of Newsweek stated, “It sounds as though Zevon is out to demolish every cliche in the Asylum bin … Zevon is that refreshing rarity – a pop singer with comic detachment”. His allure is absolute, but it is a bit of a conundrum because there has never really been anyone like him. Warren’s work is highly satirical and humorous while simultaneously wildly melodic and entertaining. Not even through the lenses of his fantastical characters. Though plagued by both his creativity and substance abuse, his perspective was never skewed. I was a folk singer who accidentally had one big hit”.ĭistinctive is a word often attached to Zevon. As he stated in a 2002 Rolling Stone interview shortly before succumbing to cancer at the age of 56, “I don’t remember stardom with any longing. Zevon was quick to sabotage his greatest chances at superstardom, always more comfortable along the borders of the spotlight than in the center of it. Best known for his raucous 1978 anthem “Werewolves of London”, he turned in a brilliant yet tragic career that spanned from the late 1960s to 2003. Sadly, the greatness of the singer-songwriter was never truly recognized in his own time, mainly of his own doing. Warren Zevon was an unmistakable talent who possessed an indefinable genius.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |