Happy all Hallow's Eve!
One of the most ubiquitous songs played on this night is Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London. Great song. Been around for a loooong time. I had the single on 45 when I was a strapping boy of eight. And that's the thing about Zevon: his appeal could be summed up by answering the question 'What songs do men eight to eighty want to hear?". The B-side to Werewolves was Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. Question answered.
Zevon had an instinct for adventure in his songs. He didn't go the Iron Maiden route, a route I also love dearly, by making the music itself fit the action. Don't get me wrong, it rocked in it's own way. But it didn't rely on volume and speed. Sure, he wrote about anti-heroes, not my favorite subject, but it was still unapologetically masculine. He was the John Milius of singer-songwriters if you will.
And speaking of singer-songwriters, Zevon never reached the chart topping heights of his British counterpart, Elton John. If you look at early album covers of Zevon, you can tell the record company was trying to sell him as America's version of Elton. But Warren Zevon was a singer-songwriter, whereas Elton had the great Bernie Taupin writing his lyrics. I'm going to say that makes Warren better than Elton. Fight me.
I've been through most of his catalog, but I'm hoping some of you older farts will find me something new.
Here's my top five. Notice Werewolves isn't there. It's a great song, so image how much better the top five is!
2. Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
3. Lawyers, Guns, and Money (Bonus Hank Williams Jr. Cover)
My Mind is Clean
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