Confession: I have a copy of Excitable Boy, probably purchased shortly after its release in 1978. I never listened to it thoroughly; for some reason it just didn’t click with me. So I don’t fit in with those who have sincerely felt the loss of Warren Zevon. I intend to give the album a fair listening now, if only because I’ve read so many heartfelt tributes to the man on other blogs.
Some of those tributes can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Dave Barry’s tribute to Zevon (via Electrolite) is worth a read, especially for the mental image of Stephen King belting out “Werewolves of London” with Zevon backing him up.
Warren Zevon had a bizarre sense of humor which is what attracted me to him. I also enjoyed watching him on Dave Letterman. I couldn’t stay up late enough to see if Dave mentioned his death…
Do you know if he did by any chance?
Dave featured Warren as his only guest a few months ago. They spoke of life changing events in their lives……..
There was a piece on NPR about Zevon and all these people trying to interview him, give him publicity – but it must have been so bittersweet that half the reason they were doing this (if not the primary one) was because he was dying and they wanted to get some of his words on tape/video/in print. Where were they while he was healthy and still making music? That must have been hard for him to take…
Christina, thank you. Barry is so seldom serious, I’d forgotten he could be. That was a wonderful eulogy indeed.
I agree about Dave Barry’s eulogy. Near the end is an absolutely perfect capsulization of Zevon. Talking about the completion of his final album:
It may make him a bigger star than he ever was.
He’d have been amused by that.
One of my favorite covers is Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, which I’ve done a number of times. I love the ending…
Give the recording a fair listen; his lyrics are sarcastic and insightful at the same time.
Another Link on Zevon
Via Linkmeister, the eulogy that Dave Barry wrote on Warren Zevon. It deserves preservation and sharing, so here it is on the Miami Herald website….
Another Link on Zevon
Via Linkmeister, the eulogy that Dave Barry wrote on Warren Zevon. It deserves preservation and sharing, so here it is on the Miami Herald website….