Why don't more people know about Warren Zevon

[Hollywade]

I had never heard of Warren Zevon until a few years ago, and the only reason I heard about him then was that he was dying of cancer and had a popular album (The Wind) out. "Keep Me in Your Heart" got a fair amount of play, and that was pretty much my first exposure to him (not technically, since I had heard "Werewolves of London" before without knowing who sang it).

Anyway, in recent years I have started to listen to him more and more and he is amazing. He has so many good songs. He kind of makes me think of a poor man's Bob Dylan with more controversial/humorous lyrics. Maybe that's a bad comparison. I don't know but it doesn't really matter. The man was a great talent.

My question is why aren't more people familiar with him? I mentioned him to one of my friends this summer, and he had never even heard the name Warren Zevon. How the hell does this happen?

The majority of the people who post on this forum seem to be enlightened individuals. So, OOT, what are your thoughts on Warren Zevon?

Personally, I just love how all his songs sound different. I also love the lyrics. They are often humorous, mildly offensive, sarcastic, ironic, etc. In other words, perfect for my personality.

Besides your opinions on Warren, for those of you who like him, what is your favorite song(s)? I have a hard time choosing, so I'll name a few:

Mutineer
Searching for a Heart
Looking for the Next Best Thing
Lawyers, Guns, and Money

[MS Sunshine]

Try some Leonard Cohen, my choice to start The Essential Leonard Cohen.

MS Sunshine

[boc4life]

I've just rediscovered Warren Zevon in the past week or so, actually. Last weekend at the bar, there was a guy playing a keyboard and singing a bunch of old rock songs, and he did a couple of Zevon songs, got me back into him.

The comparison to Dylan with less serious lyrics is a very good one.

My favorite songs:
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Play It All Night Long
Accidentally, Like A Martyr

[pokeraz]

Warren Zevon was a cool cat. A fantastic and prolific writer.

Letterman was a fan too. When Warren was dying, Letterman brought him on the show and did the whole hour with him. If you can track down that show, it is amazing and very emotional.

A couple of my favorites off the top of my head are:

Splendid Isolation
Desperados Under the Eaves and
Mutineer

[challenger84]

Warren Zevon was amazing. The documentary thing they had on VH1 that profiled his last days while he was making his final album had me all choked up.

[NT!]

Zevon's a great, great songwriter, I am a huge fan. I think the reason he's not more popular is that his songs have some kinda odd subject matter, lots of random political and historical references, and he's not snobby enough for the snobs but not poppy enough for the pop listeners. Sort of stuck in a weird limbo.

My favorite Zevon songs are

I Was in the House When the House Burned Down
Renegade
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Johnny Strikes Up the Band
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Excitable Boy
Lawyers, Guns and Money

I have a live version of 'Renegade' from somewhere, not sure where, that is really really [censored] good

NT

[nath]

"Excitable Boy" is my favorite Zevon song.

If any of you remember the TV show "Action" (Jay Mohr as a Hollywood producer), the theme song to that was "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands", which is another favorite of mine.

"My s---'s f-----d up" is another great one.

Other than that... off the top of my head I like "Werewovles of London", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner", and "Lawyers, Guns, and Money".

[emon87]

HAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Werewolves of London


Only one of his songs I am familar with, but I like it.

[pokerspite]

Though he certainly didn't achieve the the commercial success that he deserved he definitely had the respect of his peers, and I think that was really a lot more important to him.

Also there is a documentary of him about his battle with cancer, the recording of his last album, and ultimately his death. Don't know if it's available anywhere but it might be worth looking into. I think it was on VH1 but this could be wrong.

P.S. He certainly deserves a spot on the all-time underated rock-n-roll team.

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
Warren Zevon was amazing. The documentary thing they had on VH1 that profiled his last days while he was making his final album had me all choked up.

[/ QUOTE ]

same here...it was great and makes me tear up every time i hear "Keep me in your Heart."