Are there any recording artists you just can’t listen too?

Just a bit of satire Matt.

His ashes were scattered in the Pacific.

“Pieces of eight, pieces of hate”  awwwwk!

And I'll go on the record to say that I bought the Excitable Boy 8-track in '78 and I've always been a fan both of his writing and performing (although I prefer the Linda Ronstadt covers of Carmelita and Poor Poor Pitiful Me to his originals).  I saw him twice when the recently deceased Jill Sobule was opening for him in the late '90s, and they were decent shows, especially considering that outside of a duet or two he did with Sobule, at that time it was just him and a piano.

and the next time l looked

the posts where all…gone!

HA HA

You inserted those extra 4 lines in as l posted mine.

My ending was better …… nnrrrr! 😜

I see it as a work in progress, @mylogic ; it needs 3 more verses and a chorus, although the chorus would be easy.  I have no doubt it will be deleted though.

But to the subject of Warren Zevon, I am probably too easily impressed, but I always thought that some of his piano playing I have seen on youtubes of some of his earlier concerts (with a band) was crazy good.  Here is one example (1982) that I immediately thought of

Werewolves Of New Jersey

@mylogic  Try and have a listen to Zevon, his humour is very dark, nothing like Monty Python. "Porcelain Monkey" is a song about the decline of Elvis. "Excitable Boy" is about a teenager that rapes and murders his prom date. There isn't one Zevon album that I wouldn't recommend.

@immatthewj 

Zevon's piano skills are beyond reproach because he studied under Igor Stravinsky and even wrote his own symphony before he picked up a guitar.  

@thecarpathian  Thank you for the endorsement of Concrete Blond, while they are certainly not without merit they are not my cup of tea.

In return I would suggest a listen to Old Crow Medicine Show if you haven't heard them already.

@immatthewj - I love 'Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner' and 'Lawyers, Guns, and Money'. When I first saw the album cover, I thought, 'that voice doesn't sound like it comes from that guy'.... 

@larsman ”that voice doesn’t sound like it comes from that guy”…

That face didn’t look like it came from that guy. When l first noticed the iconic 1978 record cover (many, many years after he released it) l thought it was James Spader from “Star Gate” fame.

l don’t think he was a big deal over in the UK. l missed that record by a wide margin. Aa-hoo l checked it out……

l believe l had never heard it until today. It rings no bells. I checked the British charts. Only one ever entry, The Wind. Charted at No. 57 for one week, 20 days after he died.

It looks like Rykodisc rushed out a release 

Warren Zevon did not appear to suffer from Bruce Derangement Syndrome:

Disorder In The House

I don’t know that Warren Zevon truly reminds me of anyone, but I guess if there was someone, it would be Steve Earle from his mid-eighties to mid-nineties period.  I am thinking of the period between the Guitar Town (or even back to Exit 0) and the I Feel Alright albums.  (Which would, of course, include the Copperhead Road album.)

@lordmelton “his humour is very dark”

Zevon and Monty

l was drawing a line with both these two sharing similar ironic common ground.

In the UK the two most requested songs played during off beat funeral ceremonies are :-

Warren Zevon’s…….. I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.

Monty Pyhon’s….Look on the Bright Side of Life.

I call the latter “dark and macabre” as it is sung by crucified characters in “Monty Python’s Life Of Brian”. Both songs were written quite close together 1976 & 1979

I recall quite some time ago (before I owned a PC) hearing a somewhat cryptic story about a package that Hunter Thompson gave to Warren Zevon to deliver to Jessie (The Body) Ventura at his (Ventura’s) gubernatorial inauguration (Reform Party, Mn).  With my interest somewhat recently reinvigorated, I just did a cursory search on that topic, but came up with zilch. 

However, I was not surprised at all to learn that Hunter Thompson and Warren Zevon were friends.

It appears that Warren Zevon (two years older than Bruce) did not enlist nor was he drafted into the military.  The author of one article on the internet surmises that:

"Given his constant involvement in the music industry from a young age, combined with his personal struggles with addiction and mental health, it is highly improbable that Zevon would have been able to successfully navigate the rigorous demands of military service. He was more occupied with writing songs, touring, and battling his demons than with any potential military career."

@immatthewj 

”battling his demons” “personal struggles with addiction and mental health”

It was for the best he did not enter the military. One less nutter trained to use a gun.

Far better to have channeled his thoughts into words and music. That possibly was a stabilising influence and have helped to keep him on the rails. Just saying…..

Could he have been borderline bi-polar? That may explain the extreme weirdness within some of the material he wrote. I had a bi-polar stepson who, when off his medication could act completely out of character. He would change into a Mr. Hyde for weeks, writing strange poems and drawings until he was stablised, and then returned back into the real world again.

@mylogic , I am simply making an observation and not being at all judgmental.