Warren Zevon - The Wind
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.75 You Save: $7.23 (38%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.79 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for The Wind
Free Music Review: hasten down the Wind
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been crying and laughing, laughing and crying for the last hour or so. Warren's VH1 special just went off. I know of no other public figure who could or would grant his fans/customers such intimate access to his life during a time like this. Nor can I think of anyone else who could face his fate with such bravery and graceful acceptance.Now I'm listening to "The Wind". Knowing the circumstances behind the album's conception makes it an emotionally tumultuous listen. But one doesn't need to be familiar with the backstory to appreciate Warren's swan song. Introspective, intimate, personal, mournful, moving, beautiful, melodic, raucous, raw, irreverent, courageous...it's all in this final masterpiece, the album of a lifetime. You'll hear a man saying goodbye to those he loves and cares about, and maybe even to us. What you won't hear is a man feeling sorry for himself. Pride, ego, call it what you will...Warren is too tough for that.
Mr. Zevon will leave behind an unequalled legacy of left field anthems and smiles on the faces of all who were lucky enough to hear them. "The Wind" is not only a worthy addition to his canon of musical brilliance, it is a necessary one. Thank you for sharing with us, Warren, and God bless you.
Free Music Review: The One that Completes Him
Hit: 5 Stars
The Wind is a fitting farewell from music's most unapologetic and most versatile writer/musician. If you're not a die-hard Zevonatic, you may not appreciate the depth of this album. I would suggest you begin with an earlier release, quite possibly the self-titled Warren Zevon, as that is the begining of the true Zevon era. If you are a member of the OH (Our Hero) Fan Club, be prepared to smile a sardonic grin and shed many a bittersweet tear. Although the courageousness of his being can be felt throughout (the absolute most heartfelt rendition of Knocking on Heaven's Door - including that by Dylan himself - is contained herein), it shows most often in the frailty of his voice. Warren Zevon has never been one to be pidgeonholed, expressing himself in genres such as hard driving rock, humorous little diddies, polkas.. even an Irish jig, not to mention a touching ballad for every dark & violent song he's given us. If you're new to him, don't listen to this in a vacuum. Expose yourself to something other than the old standby, Werewolves of London. If you've loved him long enough to, well, to love him, as so many of us do, this is one recording that no Zevon collection is complete without. It's just sad to know that this is the one that completes it.Free Music Review: An Introduction...and a Farewell
Hit: 5 Stars
This album blows me away.The only thing I knew about Warren Zevon were the songs "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns, and Money," and "Oh, Daddy." There they were, lurking in my subconscious. Then I heard Kurt Anderson speaking about Warren and his inoperable lung cancer, and some of the collaborations with some of my favorite artists - Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Ry Cooder - on this album, ironically named, The Wind.
In a remote corner in a shop in Baghdad, there it was: The Wind. I picked it up. And was appropriately blown away. It's my understanding that Zevon always wrote and performed what he felt. This album is no exception.
The album does everything from celebrate life ("Disorder in the House," "The Rest of the Night"), to reflect on the road not chosen ("El Amor de mi Vida"), and say farewell to a lover ("Keep me in your heart").
This is musical hospice. And in sharing it, Warren brings himself to ordinary people, as an ordinary person with an extraordinary perspective.
If you listen to the album with the understanding of its having been written and performed while he faced down the Grim Reaper, you'll be all the richer for having heard it.
Worth whatever you'll pay for it.
Free Music Review: "Keep Me in your Heart"
Hit: 5 Stars
It's amazing how many artists reach the top of the charts after they're gone. For a guy who claimed "he'll sleep when he's dead", anyone who hears this record will realize the loss that will be coming. Diagnosed with lung cancer almost a year ago, Warren Zevon has been blessed with the strength to record the finest, and most likely, last album of his career. From the rockin "Disorder in the House" which features a wailing guitar solo from Bruce Springsteen to his cover of Dylan's "Knockin on Heaven's Door", Warren almost pokes fun at his demise. On "The Rest of the Night", his "3 o'clock, 4 o'clock,,,,,Let's Party for the Rest of the Night" offers us the wisdom "We may never get this chance again". The final cut,"Keep Me in Your Heart" states "Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath" clearly reminds me of Bowie's "Rock n'Roll Suicide". With an all-star cast of friends and musicians, Warren has left us with a memorial of his music that I believe will go down in history as one of the finest albums ever made.We will surely miss the "Excitable Boy". Thank you for the music and may God bless.
Free Music Review: When I think about my dirty life and times...
Hit: 5 Stars
It's weird, but Warren Zevon is one of those artists you can guarantee that the more you listen to him the more you like him. With other artists, sometimes things just don't grow on you. But almost without fail, Zevon's music finds its way into your head and gets better with every listen. The same goes with 'The Wind', which at first doesn't sound that impressive, but then again I thought that about all the other Zevon albums I've got. I love them all as well.'Dirty Life and Times' is Warren's reflection on just that. I'm pretty sure 'Disorder in the House' relates to America and the group of lunatics in charge of the nation (I'm Australian - that's how it seems to us and the rest of the world). 'Knockin on Heaven's Door' is good, but nothing spectacular. It's got some added poignancy because of his recent death, but the final track is much better for tugging on the heartstrings. 'Numb as a Statue' is fantastic. In fact, all of the songs after 'Numb as a Statue' are great. 'Prison Grove' and 'Keep me in your Heart' are absolutely superb.
Despite the inclusion of upbeat tracks, this is still quite a sad listen. Zevon's departure is premature and tragic, and he will be sorely missed by his fans.