Warren Zevon - I Get It

For years and years, I heard that Warren Zevon was a Songwriting Genius. 

But the only thing I knew him for was WEREWOLVES OF LONDON, which I thought was one of the most stupid and annoying songs ever recorded. I definitely did not want to hear more from THAT guy!

Then he got sick and died, and there was another flurry of publicity. Once again, artists I respected paid tribute to this guy. Once again, he was heralded as a Genius.

So I thought: "What the hell!" and borrowed his Best Of collection on CD from Chris.

Okay, Zevon was obviously talented, and the songs were pretty good... but I STILL didn't get all this talk about "Genius."

It wasn't until I played his first album from beginning to end that I finally GOT it.

Unlike some artists, I think Zevon really needs to be heard in context. Each of his albums were written against the backdrop of different times and events in his life, and though one song doesn't necessarily reflect on another (though they sometimes do), they definitely work better as a "whole" than the sum of different parts. Heard in context, even Werewolves of London isn't so bad (though I still mostly skip it).

This whole experience also solidifies my suspicion of Greatest Hits CDs. The choice of what goes on those things is somewhat capricious, and even if every song is great, it's like eating too much sugar: you really need the sour and not-so-great tunes to get you where you're going. Also, there's an unspoken tension with a greatest hits CD that EVERY song had better be awesome, or else! If you're daring something to be GREAT, it will rarely live up to your expectations. That was my whole problem with Warren in a nutshell.

I once read a review of the worst Zappa show I'd ever seen - New Years Eve at the Forum. Frank was always great onstage but this was a pickup band and Frank really indulged himself with guitar soloing that night. A review the next day said: "I've never seen Zappa live, but heard tales of his greatness..."
I knew exactly where this guy was going, but I guess the moral is: We all deserve a second chance!

Now I can enjoy the Zevon collection, knowing where the bits came from. I only wish I'd started at the albums, but I'm making up for that by slowly building up my Zevon vinyl collection. Mostly into the first four or five LPs, but I know the rest are there, whenever I'm ready.