Warren Zevon is one of those musicians that you might not be familiar with, but you know about him.
A buddy took me to see Zevon with him some time ago and it was great. The guy kept putting out great tunes. His later album, "Life'll Kill Ya" is almost perfect in this bloggers opinion.
I was fortunate enough to actually catch his last 2 concerts in Cleveland. Both nights were great for me. Jill Sobule was the opening act, and I remember her coming out to sing with Zevon later. I remember the two doing "You Were On My Mind" - an all time oldies favorite of mine. That is one of my favorite concert memories.
I picked up "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" a few weeks ago. To be honest, I didn't want to read it when it came out. You sort of watched Zevon as he died on Letterman and MTV.
I finally got around to reading this volume. You know there are some books that you read, and you get goose bumps, and feel all good about life by the end? This is not one of those books. The book is too real and honest.
In fact, the books author/ex-wife of Warren says that Warren asked her to write it as honestly as possible.
Crystal Zevon talks very openly about her former husband's problems, including his many excesses.
There is a lot of fun info in here too. I have always loved the music of fellow Kentuckians Phil and Don Everly. I REALLY enjoyed reading about Warren's work with those guys. Later Lindsey Buckingham also gets involved! I would love to hear some collaborations with those four!
jackson Browne is another all time favorite of mine. It was great reading about Jackson helping Warren's career along.
I really admire this book for the simple fact that it does not try to make Warren look like a hero. It makes him look like a jerk at times (especially to his family).
After reading the book, I still feel an admiration for Zevon, and for his music. I think that Warren and author Crystal Zevon wanted it that way. He was a guy with good and bad qualities that made some great music.
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