Bald Take – Warren Zevon

“Werewolves of London” is a song I knew of but wasn’t one I knew much about. It was catchy, and that was it. Eventually a wrestling fan in London and I were messaging on Twitter and somehow music came up, and he suggested I check into Warren Zevon. I didn’t know what would happen from there. 

An odd thing about Warren’s songs is the simplicity. Many have the same chords in the chorus as the verse, or very little difference if not. They’re straightforward and conventional. Warren has some unreal upbeat and fun songs. He’s got many downer songs. They’re all incredibly beautiful. This is not an artist I ever really thought I’d dig, but man he’s quickly become one of my top artists ever.

Warren’s first album is quite different from the rest of his work. It’s not great, and so it gets a low ranking. Immediately after this one though he got a lot of help (and by most accounts he started listening to feedback from his producers and musicians). 

Warren utilized a stunning array of talent across his 12 albums. A cherry-picked list includes:

• Lindsey Buckingham on Poor Poor Pitiful Me
• Glenn Frey
• Don Henley on Gorilla, You’re a Desperado
• Bonnie Raitt
• Carl Wilson on Desperados Under the Eaves
• Linda Ronstadt 
• Mick Fleetwood
• Joe Walsh
• Steve Lukather
• Graham Nash
• ALL of R.E.M for the full album Sentimental Hygiene (see also The Hindu Gods)
• Mike Campbell
• Howie Epstein
• Tom Petty on Rest of the Night
• Flea on Leave My Monkey Alone
• Bob Dylan on The Factory
• Neil Young
• Tony Levin
• Dave Glilmour on Run Straight Down
• Dwight Yoakum
• Bruce Hornsby
• Anton Fig
• Paul Shaffer
• Bruce Springsteen
• Tommy Shaw
• Emmylou Harris
• Paul Schaffer and David Letterman on Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song) 

It’s one of the most impressive rosters I’ve ever seen, and well worth listening to most of those songs. Warren’s songs are typically straightforward and quite concrete, which makes them easy to get into.

Every few months I rewatch the last appearance of Warren on Dave Letterman. Across the years, Warren appeared numerous times, even as guest bandleader when Paul Schaffer was out. The entire night was devoted to Mr. Zevon, and he performed three songs. I cried during Mutineer, it was just so perfectly beautiful and sad. The man, knowing he was dying, got to give one last appearance. Letterman said after the show Warren gave his guitar to Dave and said “Take care of this for me,” and Letterman broke down and wept.

So let’s get into it. Here are my favorite Warren Zevon albums and songs. 

Warren Zevon Albums

1. Excitable Boy

2. Mr. Bad Example

3. Mutineer

4. Sentimental Hygiene

5. Transverse City

6. Life’ll Kill Ya

7. My Ride’s Here

8. Warren Zevon

9. The Wind

10. The Envoy

11. Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School

12. Wanted Dead or Alive

Top Warren Zevon Songs

1. Lawyers, Guns, and Money

2. Mutineer 

3. For My Next Trick I’ll Need a Volunteer

4. Werewolves of London

5. Detox Mansion

6. I Was in the House When the House Burned Down

7. Mr. Bad Example

8. Model Citizen

9. Suzie Lightning

10. Sentimental Hygiene

11. Jeannie Needs a Shooter

12. Poor Poor Pitiful Me

13. The Hula Hula Boys

14. Gorilla, You’re a Desperado

15. Even a Dog Can Shake Hands

16. Rottweiler Blues

17. Splendid Isolation

18. Turbulence

19. Nobody’s In Love This Year

20. Desperados Under the Eaves