ALONE: SPLENDID ISOLATION/WARREN ZEVON

Actually, I am neither isolating, much, nor even distancing a whole lot, bar maintaining the antisocial 2 metre rule. I am purportedly front line. But not, as yet anyway, the trenches of ICU and the emergency room, touching washed and wiped wood, given my day job is a primary care physician. As yet I am not seeing the sick, as in C-19, not knowingly, anyhow, my role being to keep the show on the road for the rest: the old, those with chronic conditions, those with new acutes of other origin. And the worried. Lots of those, often struggling with how the new societal expectations inflict upon them, upon their loved ones and their livelihoods. We "see" each other on the phone, on-line and by e-mail: it is remarkable how much can be done remotely. Sure, some greater level of risk assessment, a constant coin flipping in the air, but it is, anyway, largely what we do, sift the grey of the majority into the black or white of algorithms often more intuitive than proscribed. Antibody testing for me and my colleagues is promised, the sooner the better.

Warren Zevon has been a frequent cipher on these pages. I see I have already written about him, so this ain't the time to reprise the old terrific songs/nasty guy schtick, but he seems to have songs for the moment, any moment. Splendid Isolation jumps out as one for the now. OK, this wasn't written from any experience thereof, it was more a desire to attain it. How many of us at the moment, I wonder, wished we might have been more careful in our wishes ahead of lock-down? Cos we now have all the time to do do those things put off until we wished we had more time. So, how's the garden looking, those shelves in the kitchen, playing the piano, learning a language? To be fair, I am aware that these are the things many actually are belatedly turning to, whilst many others frantically scour the social media for anything and everything, anything other than to stop and take stock. Maybe that's harsh. My i-phone tells me of a stratospheric rise in my own i-time, but I confess to a little seeping in of ennui. Do I really need to check the news and the updates every other minute? Once or twice a day being arguably enough, say ten times for expediency's sake.

So, back in 1989, Zevon was quite the ticket. The song comes from his eighth album, Transverse City, a big budget endeavour to regain the high ground of his earlier work, as he drifted within turmoils of his recurring personal life crises, booze, drugs and relationships. The supporting cast was stellar: Hot Tuna/Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady, jazz keyboard maestro Chick Corea, Little Feat's Richie Hayward and guitars scattered between Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Neil Young and David Gilmour, fer chrissakes.... On the song itself, only Shakey from the above list appears, on backing vocals, the guitar duties being handled by erstwhile Tom Petty associate and current Fleetwood Mac-er, Mike Campbell, no mean slouch himself. The lyrics are typically the Zevon mix of the erudite and the snarky, referencing both the painter Georgia O'Keefe and Michael Jackson, with sufficient room to ascertain that, yes, he probably would like some time alone and off the treadmill. The album bombed against the expectation invested, Virgin records promptly dropping him from their roster, echoing the dumping of him by Asylum in 1982, following album number six, The Envoy.

Whilst I enjoy  the studio version of the song, I confess to a greater love for the live solo version on Learning to Flinch, his twelve string guitar a glorious shimmer, alone on stage seeming a better setting for the song. Indeed, given the decidedly variable content of, frankly, much of his output, some killer and more filler, it is this album too which I return as often as any.

I finally point you to the direction of Enjoy Every Sandwich: the Songs of Warren Zevon, a 2004 tribute album, songs performed by friends and family. The bemusing album title comes from an interview with the already dying Zevon, when, in response to a question asking as to the lessons he was learning about life in death, gave an answer around having not earlier understood the need to enjoy every sandwich. Gulp. Here the song is tackled by Pete Yorn, perhaps unfairly better known for his musical collaborations with Scarlett Johansson, than for his own eminently serviceable fare.

Here's a slew of versions. Sure, I commend them, but, in these trying times, however much solace there is in recorded music, spare a thought for the musicians still trying to eke a livelihood from their muse, performing home concerts on the various platforms. Let's support these artists too. If there hasn't yet been a new version of this song, I guess it can't or won't be long. Go search Bandcamp.

Chaos/Confusion: Disorder In The House

Warren Zevon (w/Bruce Springsteen): Disorder In The House
[purchase]

Warren Zevon is one of those artists whose music I’ve enjoyed and appreciated over the years without ever really being a fan, or learning all that much about him. There’s just so much music out there, and so little time. David Letterman, on the other hand, was a huge Zevon fan. He was a guest on Letterman’s various shows more than two dozen times, and even filled in 20 times as bandleader when Paul Shaffer was unavailable.

Back in 2002, Zevon was diagnosed with lung cancer, and shortly afterwards appeared as the only guest on Letterman’s show. Their interview soon became a classic. Letterman’s respect and compassion for his dying subject, coupled with Zevon’s unflinching honesty and humor (which gave Letterman the opening to be funny, too) is striking.  During the course of their discussion, Zevon responded to Letterman’s question about his new-found understanding of life and death with the phrase “Enjoy every sandwich,” which became a pretty well-known distillation of his life's philosophy. Zevon also performed three songs on the show that night. The Letterman show is worth watching, and you can see the interview here, the performance of “Mutineer,” here, “Genius” is here, and Letterman’s request, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” is here. And Letterman's and Shaffer's heartfelt announcement of Zevon's death about a year later is here.

At the time of the Letterman interview, Zevon had recently released an album whose title, My Ride’s Here, seemed eerily prescient in retrospect. But to be fair, his prior album was called Life’ll Kill Ya, so it is probably more fair to say that he was comfortable with his death as a concept, not that he had any mystical foreshadowing of his demise.

After his diagnosis, Zevon worked on his last album, which ended up titled The Wind. It is hard to listen to the album without feeling that Zevon was trying to sum up his tumultuous life and preparing for its end. It includes 10 original songs (or co-writes with his long-time collaborator Jose Calderón), and a poignant cover of Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” The album included numerous high profile guests, including Mick Fleetwood, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Tom Petty, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, T-Bone Burnett, David Lindley and Emmylou Harris.  While the album contained its share of contemplative ballads, Zevon could still rock and show his trademark twisted humor, most notably with guest Bruce Springsteen, who shared vocals and played electric guitar on the raucous “Disorder In The House.”

The song lays out the chaos and confusion in the titular house--overflowing bathtubs, falling plaster, doors coming off their hinges. It’s so bad that “even the Lhasa Apso seems to be ashamed.” Then, it becomes clear that the song is about criminals being chased by the police, but it appears that the narrator escapes.

To me, what is most memorable about the song is the fun that Zevon and Springsteen seem to have performing it. The Wind was released two weeks before Zevon died, at the age of 56. The album received five Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year for "Keep Me in Your Heart," and it won two Grammys, for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and "Disorder in the House" was awarded Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. These were the first Grammys of Zevon's career, and I suspect that he’d be chuckling to himself if he knew what it took for him to get them.

RE/AGAIN : Back in the High Life Again

Hey ho, at least I have the theme right this time, but what's an 'n' between friends? Martial/martian, I mean aren't they the same? (Editor now declares martian law on my future posts.) I confess this one too took me on the hop for a second, and I nearly filed a post of the chimp loving one time governor of California/President of the USA, sending me scuttling for the Woodstock soundtrack, but I digress.

Stev(i)e Winwood has always been one of my heroes. Old enough to remember the Spencer Davis Group on Top of the Pops, he was the impossibly young singer and, usually, hammond player who has notched up an incredible 54 years of musicianship since he joined that group. Still at school initially, aged 14, it took 3 years for his distinctive vocals to be number 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Keep on Running'. Playing guitar on that song, the success allowed him to buy his first Hammond B3 organ. Staying with the band a further 2 years, he co-wrote a number of their further hits, 'I'm a Man' and 'Gimme Some Lovin.' During this time, in 1966, he made his first collaborative contact with another musician to feature frequently in his musical life. This was a one-off project called the Powerhouse, who had 3 tracks on an Elektra compilation album about the emergent white boy electric blues scene. With 3 tracks featured, here is one of them, the collaborator being Eric Clapton.

Traffic were the band perhaps most widely associated with Winwood, coming together in 1967 following a chance jam in a Birmingham (UK) pub. Setting the archetype for 'getting together in the country', the original line-up shared a cottage in the sticks, coming up with the psychedelic whimsy of 'Hole in my Shoe', written, like most of their earlier hits, by Dave Mason. Personally, at least on these shores, this seemed somewhat of a shibboleth, detracting from their serious credibility, and Winwood's desire to pursue a more folk-blues direction, possibly contributing to the first fracture of the group. This had been accelerated by the return of Eric Clapton, who, following the break up of his own band, Cream, teamed up with Winwood in short-lived supergroup Blind Faith. Cream had not been to my then taste, so I didn't then take much to this, only later appreciating the simple beauty of the sole record released.

Blind Faith's (mis)fortune was ultimately the making of Traffic, who promptly re-formed, minus Mason, as the core line up of Chris Wood, Jim Capaldi and Winwood. The time was right for their folk-blues amalgam, their version of traditional folk song 'John Barleycorn Must Die' making this teenage folkie delight. Over several albums they expanded their line up and widened their repertoire, always innovative and always interesting, Winwood's expertise on guitar now getting as much acclaim as his keyboards. Sadly, with physical health issues playing havoc with his stamina, Winwood walked off-stage in 1974, the band then calling it a day.

A solo career was always going to beckon, but it was a few years before he produced his 1st solo album, 'Arc of a Diver', with this and its follow-up each featuring Winwood on all vocals and all-instrumentation. My favourite period of his career, the songs 'While You See a Chance' and  'Valerie', remaining firm favourites. It is thus strange that the song that this piece name-checks is only now one I enjoy, with Winwood having been roped into producing a top-notch session-men New York record. I recall being distinctly upset by this polished and commercial product, the follow-up single, 'Higher Love', with Winwood gamefully mugging his way through an awkward video, seeming bereft without the prop of an instrument other than his voice. It was certainly the High Life of his career though, the videos still a staple on oldies music channels.

After this peak he has continued to produce intermittent albums, even reviving the Traffic name once more for the now duo of himself and Capaldi, but keeping a generally lower profile. I was lucky enough to see him play live, maybe a decade ago, in Birmingham, on home turf. Playing mainly hammond and occasional guitar, a tight band modelled on the Traffic template of himself on keyboard, percussion heavy backing plus reeds, he played songs from all stages of his career. He did not play 'Hole in my Shoe', perhaps a blessing, but all the others were there. And he still looked impossibly young.

Since then intermittent output, but, inevitably, yes, a further and possibly final collaboration with Eric Clapton, recorded for posterity with a sort of joint greatest hits. It has to be a Traffic song I include.

So, apart from the title, what's this got to do with 'again'? Probably only this, one of the several covers of the song out there, this being Warren Zevon, slowing the song and maximising any irony available, his 'High Life" being the terminal cancer he was facing. And duly succumbed to. I think that trumps any irony Steve Winwood may have felt about the song as he sang it.

Retail! Winwood or Zevon

MONSTERS: WEREWOLVES OF LONDON

1978 was generally a pretty good year for lycanthropy. Warren Zevon had been one of the few Americans to crack through my then very Anglocentric and punky taste in music, with his shaggy west coast looks beguilingly betraying his in your face attitudes. "Werewolves of London" is arguably a pretty slight song, essentially repetitive and without a middle eight, relying almost totally on it's pounding piano motif, quirky lyric and howl-a-long chorus. Rely away, it worked and it still works for me. OK, it helped that I was a devotee of the Lon Chaneys, junior and senior, namechecked in the song, and who each played myriad mosnters in the black and whites. I had also been to Lee Ho Fook, the Chinese restaurant then a staple of the Sino-British food connection, with drying and seemingly decaying ducks hanging forlorn in the window, and more fried rice than you could ever eat. (Quick interweb check reveals it's still here, alarmingly, or reassuringly, as I swiftly add seemingly to the sentence ahead of this.) Some of the rest of the lyric was beyond me, but folklore has it that the perfect hair of the unknown be-tailored individual was some sly reference to James Taylor. (No, me neither.) What I didn't know, however was that the rhythm section on the song was Messrs Fleetwood and Mac(Vie). Here it is, anyway:

I was a convert, and bought up his live LP, Caught in the Fire, baffling and bemusing my friends with the other strange lyrical deviations of this innocent looking madman. Looks, I gather, perhaps enabled him to get away with much excitable behaviour in his real life, too, to all intents maybe a man not too nice to know, as drink consumed him, rather than the other way round. I have his biography on my shelf, waiting to be read, and it is said to be an uncomfortable read. Ironically it wasn't alcohol but tobacco, his other vice, that killed him, via lung cancer, in 2003, leaving a later legacy of songs a little more reflectful. But only a little.

My loyal reader, hi, Kenny, knows I am a lover of the cover, with a bad habit, expensive anyway, of hoovering up other versions of songs I like, so here is a scattering of those who have covered this paean to panmorphism. I offer you David Lindley , The Flamin' Groovies and even The Grateful Dead. Aficionados will note the date of the last performance. I guess you had to be there........

Retail therapy

MUSICAL HOMONYMS: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

Bon Jovi: "Wanted Dead or Alive"
[Purchase]

Warren Zevon: "Wanted Dead or Alive"
[Purchase]

If you read my usual blog, you know full well that while I have a wide-ranging appreciation of music genres, among the last that you will ever hear positive comments about from me is hair metal. More specifically, '80s hair metal -- bands like Poison, Warrant, Cinderella, Winger, and that ilk. And that would most certainly include Bon Jovi. I felt something very much like hate for them back then, although that has waned to simple indifference, as most of my strong music dislikes seem to do over the course of time.

But naturally, there are always exceptions, aren't there? And in this case, it's "Wanted Dead or Alive," that classic work of journeyman rock from Bon Jovi's otherwise terrible 1986 Slippery When Wet album. It was about as close to a "Stairway to Heaven" of hair metal that would ever be crafted. Just don't listen too closely to the lyrics -- otherwise you'll have to spend too much time rationalizing to yourself that you like a song with the lines, "I've seen a million faces/And I've rocked them all." Nonetheless, despite all the reasons that I shouldn't like it, I still truly enjoy the song. I guess I'm a sucker for that chord progression.

But let's get to the theme here: homonymic song titles. And to that effect, for the other song in this pair, I offer up Warren Zevon's own "Wanted Dead or Alive." And Zevon not only had the song -- it's even the title of his 1969 debut album that this comes from. Zevon's "Wanted Dead or Alive" is a shuffling, bluesy, and somewhat sloppy acoustic number; certainly not his best track, but enjoyable anyway. It may be not all that far removed from Bon Jovi's song, in a way, but it never builds to the (melo)dramatic crescendo of that song. Not to mention that Zevon apparently didn't rock a million faces -- at least by the time he wrote this song. He waited for "Werewolves of London" to do that.

Mythology and Folklore: Werewolves of London

Warren Zevon: Werewolves of London

[purchase Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy]

This week’s theme got me immediately thinking about unicorns, magic dragons, banshee, leprechauns and even the Japanese tengu (long-nosed goblins). Then I pondered the songs written about Greek Gods and Goddesses such as Venus, Athena, Aphrodite and Zeus. Finally, my mind flew back to a memory of how I celebrated Halloween this year – watching the classic 1941 horror flick “The Wolf Man” starring Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Béla Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr. as the big hairy and scary guy. It seems that Chaney’s portrayal of this mythological creature (or is it?) greatly influenced future Hollywood depictions of the legend.

Throughout the film, we hear villagers recite this poem whenever the subject of werewolves comes up:

Even a man who is pure in heart,
And says his prayers by night,
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms,
And the autumn moon is bright.

Not based in legend, these lines were the screenwriter’s invention. We hear them in several other classic werewolf films of yesteryear although later films change the last line to "And the moon is full and bright” to cultivate the idea that a werewolf is transformed under a full moon. That’s often how stories of folklore evolve and are embellished over the years. 1941’s “The Wolf Man” was the second Universal Pictures werewolf movie, preceded six years earlier by a less commercially successful “Werewolf of London.”

I can’t help but wonder if Warren Zevon might’ve watched one of these movies before writing one of his best known songs, “Werewolves of London.” As you’ll hear him sing in the last verse:

I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen,
Doing the Werewolves of London.
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's,
And his hair was perfect.

Zevon began as a session musician backing artists like The Everly Brothers and Manfred Mann. His solo career took off with his second album, Warren Zevon, featuring collaborations with Jackson Browne. Zevon is best known for "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns and Money," "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," and "Johnny Strikes Up The Band," all on his third album, Excitable Boy, released in 1978. The title tune was about a juvenile sociopath's murderous prom night. As Zevon played piano and sang, “Werewolves of London" also featured Waddy Wachtel (guitar), Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass). The successful song was paradoxical with Zevon’s signature lighthearted wry humor and macabre outlook.

Diagnosed with cancer in 2002, Warren Zevon died at age 56 at his Los Angeles home on September 7, 2003. With a great big “Aaooooooo!,” let’s remember and pay tribute to this rock and roller for his great material and contributions to music.

Standards: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Warren Zevon: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

[purchase]

There are dozens of songs penned by Bob Dylan that can be considered standards, but to me no other Dylan song has the "universal appeal" or an all-encompassing feeling quite like "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." The song is originally from the 1973 soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and describes that thoughts and feeling of a dying deputy. From what I can tell, it's been covered by over 400 different artists ranging from hard rockers Guns N' Roses to Canadian pop princess Avril Lavigne, to reggae, country, soul, hip-hop, and R&B interpretations.

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is ultimately about facing one's own mortality. Warren Zevon was acutely aware that his life was ending when he recorded his 2003 swan song The Wind. In August of 2002 Zevon was diagnosed with inoperable peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the abdominal wall and lungs, and was given months to live. Despite the concerns of his friends and collaborators, Zevon included "Kockin' on Heaven's Door" on The Wind, in addition to original songs that reference the triumphs and failures of his 56 years. His version is very close to Dylan's original recording, with a tired but heartfelt voice scratching out the lyrics while a solitary electric guitar, played by Brad Davis, grinds out a counter melody. Throughout the repeating chorus at the end of the song you can hear Zevon sing "Open up, open up for me," as if Zevon is saying "it's your last chance to tell me what you need to tell me." The Wind was released on August 26, and Zevon passed away on September 7, 2003.

Early: Six-Song Set Edition

One thing I miss about being a DJ is putting together a a good set of music. This week I had a lot of songs I wanted to post but didn't really have a lot to say about them, so I thought I'd put a bunch of them together in one post. So, these songs are meant to be listened to sequentially.


The Squires: Aurora

[purchase]

You may not have heard of the Squires, but you know their guitarist quite well: Neil Young. He was quite enamored with the Shadows' guitarist Hank Marvin when he recorded this instrumental single in Winnipeg in 1963 at his first recording session.


Vashti: Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind

[purchase]

Before she recorded her seminal Just Another Diamond Day album, Vashti Bunyan released a few pop singles as "Vashti" under the tutelage of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. This one, her first, was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released in 1965.


Lyme and Cybelle: Follow Me

[purchase]

Warren Zevon didn't hit his stride until the late '70s, but he started out his musical career in the sixties as one half of the duo Lyme and Cybelle, along with Violet Santangelo. "Follow Me" hit 65 on the pop charts in 1966. Zevon went on to release a little-heard solo album in 1969, then work as the Everly Brothers' musical director in the early '70s before he finally found his groove.


The Parliaments: (I Wanna) Testify

[purchase]

George Clinton's 1970s Parliament/Funkadelic empire started as a simple doo-wop quintet from New Jersey known as the Parliaments. "(I Wanna) Testify", from 1967, is probably the most well-known the the Parliaments' singles. It's already a long way from their doo-wop beginnings, possibly because Clinton was the only member of the group able to travel to Detroit for the recording. When the song became a hit, he assembled a new group of musicians to tour, and the P-Funk dynasty began.


Kaleidoscope: Egyptian Gardens

[purchase]

In the late '60s, there were two important bands named Kaleidoscope--one in the UK and one in California. This is from the California band, who are most well known for giving the world multi-instrumentalist David Lindley. Before he was sideman extraordinaire to the '70s California singer-songwriter movement (Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Crosby & Nash, etc.), he was part of this eclectic psychedelic group. The Middle Eastern-influenced "Egyptian Gardens" is the opening track on their 1967 debut album, Side Trips, an album that also takes in blues, psychedelic pop, old timey music, and vaudeville.


Red Onion: African Mask

[out of print]

Red Onion brings us back to that fertile New Brunswick music scene in the 1990s. Frontwoman Laurie Berkner went on to greater fame as a maker of music for kids, but I've always liked this psychedelic-influenced song from a cassette EP Red Onion released in 1995. Smokin' bass provided by All Gods' Children's Adam Bernstein.

Sports : Ray Mancini vs. Duk Koo Kim edition

Warren Zevon : Boom Boom Mancini

[purchase]

Sun Kil Moon : Duk Koo Kim

[purchase]

On November 13, 1982, 21-year-old lightweight champion Ray Mancini met 23-year-old South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim. The fight that ensued is now famous for its tragic outcome : in the 14th round, Mancini hit a weakened Kim with a hard right, sending him flying into the ropes. The Korean hit the canvas with his head but somewhat managed to get back on his feet, but the referee stopped the bout. Shortly after the fight, Kim fell in a coma and died from brain injuries 4 days later.
Mancini went to Kim's funeral in South Korea, and fell into a deep depression, but he went back to the ring. But the tragedy was not over : both Kim's mother and the referee who hadn't stopped the bout earlier committed suicide, and the the WBC took steps to shorten its title bouts to a maximum of 12 rounds instead of 15.

Many thanks to my friend Søren from Denmark for suggesting me the Warren Zevon song (that I didn't know). "Some have the speed and the right combinations /If you can't take the punches it don't mean a thing " is one of the smartest things I've ever heard about boxing.

That song led me into reading Mancini's bio on Wiki and discovering that Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters had also made a song but this time about Kim with his other band Sun Kil Moon. The song lasts 14 minutes, like the number of rounds that Kim held before falling.