![]() ![]() ![]() In terms of material, The Wind isn't a great Zevon album, but it's a pretty good one "El Amour de Mi Vida" is a simple but affecting look at lost love, "Prison Grove" is a superior character piece about life behind bars, and "Numb as a Statue," "Disorder in the House," and "Dirty Life and Times" prove the prospect of imminent death hasn't alleviated Zevon's cynicism in the least. And remarkably, the trick works on several cuts Bruce Springsteen's rollicking guest vocal on "Disorder in the House" offers just the kick the tune needed, Tom Petty's laid-back smirk brings a sleazy undertow to "The Rest of the Night," and Dwight Yoakam's harmonies on "Dirty Life and Times" are the perfect touch for the tune. The Wind also lays in a higher compliment of celebrity guest stars than usual, and while obviously a lot of these folks are old friends wanting to help a pal in need, in some cases the ringers help to carry the weight for Zevon, who, while in good voice, can't summon up the power he did in his salad days. While The Wind occasionally and obliquely touches on Zevon's illness - most notably the mournful "Keep Me in Your Heart" and the dirty blues raunch of "Rub Me Raw" - in many ways it sounds like a fairly typical Warren Zevon album, though of course this time out the caustic wit cuts a bit deeper, the screeds against a world gone mad sound more woeful, and the love songs suggest higher emotional stakes than before. With a back story like that, it's all but impossible to ignore the subtext of Zevon's mortality while listening to The Wind, though, thankfully, he's opted not to make an album about illness or death (ironically, he already did that with 2000's Life'll Kill Ya) or create a musical last will and testament. Details are available here.In late August of 2002, Warren Zevon was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a virulent and inoperable form of lung cancer with his life expectancy expected to be no more than a few months, Zevon focused his dwindling energies on completing a final album, and The Wind, released a year after Zevon learned of his condition, was the result. Readers can join in support of the ban today through the Bicameral Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN). With "so much misinformation out there about mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases, " Jordan shared with LA Weekly in 2016 that he has joined the fight to ban asbestos by putting on fundraiser concerts with some of Zevon's former colleagues. READ MORE: Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Biggest Warren Zevon HitsĪlso contributing to Enjoy Every Sandwich was Zevon's son, Jordan, who continues to raise awareness about mesothelioma as Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization's (ADAO) spokesperson. Many of these same peers who contributed to The Wind honored the songwriter in the 2004 tribute album Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon, a title referencing Zevon's famous comment during his final appearance of the Late Show with David Letterman. Surrounded by rapturous praise of his album as well as his family and loved ones, Zevon passed away two weeks later on Sept. 26, 2003, earning Zevon one of his highest-charting albums, as well as Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Rock Vocal Performance. The album's last track "Keep Me In Your Heart," which Zevon played as his epitaph, shared the most moving lyrics of all, "Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house, Maybe you'll think of me and smile.Keep me in your heart for a while," perhaps the most difficult to listen to without tearing up. Warren Zevon faced death head-on as he recorded his farewell album The Wind in the fall of 2002. Diagnosed with an advanced stage of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, the songwriter fueled his final batch of songs with melancholic urgency, immortalized by a usual dose of his beloved wit.Ĭalling on his closest friends and longtime collaborators, Zevon was joined by the likes of Jackson Browne, Dwight Yoakam, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen in the studio, layering his poignant swan songs with an extra feel of familiarity.Įven in his weakened state, the songwriter defied all odds by channeling his anxieties into some of the strongest songs of his career in this victorious rally.įrom the sorrowful saxophone accompanying his vulnerable voice in "Please Stay," a song thinly veiled as a romantic request to his unbelievably brave fatalism-on-the-rock manners in "Prison Grove," Zevon bared his soul during his last waltz with mortality.
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