Zevon Song of the Week #1
Howard Roseman
Why has no one, at least to my knowledge, covered this song? It is
quintessential Zevon - achingly sad at its core, but tempered by scathing
wit and an upbeat, catchy rhythm.
When Warren performed it at the Calgary Folk Festival, I figured most of the
several hundred there were hearing it for the first time. I clearly remember
the nervous laughter I heard from the throng after the line "but you won't
want to look in the box when I'm through."
Warren had the gift of making difficult content palatable by leavening it
with humour. The notion of his being a magician, making love disappear with
a wave of his not-so-magic wand, reveals a world of hurt in his life, and
yet we don't feel depressed when the song is done, because he doesn't allow
us to. In fact, the reverse is true - we somehow feel optimistic. This is
not the case with some of Warren's other love-gone-wrong songs.
LKY was IMO one of the three greatest Zevon albums (the other two are WZ and
your choice of SH, MBE, or TC), and FMNTINAV is a strong contributor to the
album's theme of life, love, and loss.
Warren's pronouncement "I can make love disappear" reflects some healthy
self-loathing, and must have also taken some courage on his part to write.
It makes me appreciate that he had Kristin by his side during his final
months. I think his ordeal would have been much more painful without her.
The fact that my little niece Rachel likes to sing out the title as if she
knows the song (she's never actually heard it) is just a pleasant bonus for
me.
Peter Huish
> Why has no one, at least to my knowledge, covered this song?
Jackson Browne almost did. Well, he did but he forgot the words and made
a bit of a hash of it.
Joanne Corsano
way he sings "I can make love .... [pause] ... disappear." You think
he's about to say something suggestive about making love, but then he
slaps you in the face with the fact that he is using the word "make"
in the sense of "cause."
His use of the phrase "I need a volunteer" makes you think of the
trendy (but good) advice to abused women (and men) that they have the
choice not to "volunteer" to be a doormat.
I have very vivid memories of Warren performing this song at his
keyboard at the Axis in Boston, March, 2000. It was immediately after
this song that he snatched my camera and took pictures of me ... have
I ever told that story here?
I agree that Life'll Kill Ya was one of WZ's best albums. I'll put
Mutineer on the list up there next to it, but I know that's a minority
opinion.
Joanne
On Mon, 01 May 2006 01:05:09 GMT, "Howard Roseman" <hros...@shaw.ca>
wrote:
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Howard Roseman
> keyboard at the Axis in Boston, March, 2000. It was immediately after
> this song that he snatched my camera and took pictures of me ... have
> I ever told that story here?
>
I don't think so - love to hear more about it.
Doug
It appears you have changed your mind about the last girlfriend? It seemed
like you voiced some slight objection due to the seeming and seamy age
difference. I know I was a little stranged out seeing her
on the VHS1 program, but, hey, beats livin' alone. Warren's sh-t-eating
grin was the truly scariest part. He revealed worlds of pain and ghastly
visions, including the ability to laugh at it all.
Joanne, I do recall you sharing your story a long time ago, but I for one
would sure like to hear it again, with all the gruesome details. Just
imagining the event brings a smile to my face.
Now, to offset that insipid smile, I cast my vote for Prison Grove, an
eerie, unsentimental farewell to this mortal coil.
Doug
Lucy
> I have very vivid memories of Warren performing this song at his
> keyboard at the Axis in Boston, March, 2000. It was immediately after
> this song that he snatched my camera and took pictures of me ... have
> I ever told that story here?
Oh, who cares if you did? Tell it again! Please, please,
please!!!???
-- Lucy
Eric Furniss
My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer was the Zevon tune I included on it. Its
just a brilliant piece of song writing and captures the black humor, pain
and wit that made Zevon such a fine songwriter. Plus believe it or not, it
fit in nicely between the Cure's Just Like Heaven and the Smiths There is a
Light That Never Goes Out on the disc I made.
Oh and Joanne...tell the story. Please?
Eric
haro...@yahoo.ca
like you voiced some slight objection due to the seeming and seamy age
difference. I know I was a little stranged out seeing her
on the VHS1 program, but, hey, beats livin' alone. Warren's
sh-t-eating
grin was the truly scariest part. He revealed worlds of pain and
ghastly
visions, including the ability to laugh at it all.
I admit seeing Warren and Kristin together on the VH1 documentary made
me uncomfortable, but so what? Judgments about these matters are easy
to make, and cheap.
The lyrics of the song under discussion make me appreciate how
comforting it must have been for Warren to have someone he loved by his
side at the end. That's all that matters.
haro...@yahoo.ca
about FMNTINAV - the way Warren picks up the tempo the second time he
sings the title phrase by adding "Step right up", just like a carnival
barker. You can't really feel sorry for him, he's so damn jaunty.
cc
wrote:
>For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer
This is one of the songs on LkY that it took me a while to warm up to,
because of the album's occasionally tinny sound. Also because, like a
dedicated comedian, warren performs this one with a straight face, singing
in a thoroughly pathetic voice--and I mean that in a good way! Nothing
romantic about it to me, unlike most of The Wind, where, paradoxically,
since it was really death he was singing about, a little romance was called
for.
So aside from children apparently, this is not one to play first for
non-zevon fans. It takes a while to get it. But once you do--or once I
did--the vocals are superb, and the piano is rather dextrous, which is
appropriate for the "showman" theme.
I'm trying to decide what I think of the live versions--he had to work a
little harder to pull the humor off, which killed some of the subtlety. But
the tempo tended to be more compelling.
Paul Herzberg
says...
> On Mon, 01 May 2006 01:05:09 GMT, "Howard Roseman" <hros...@shaw.ca>
> wrote:
> >For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer
> This is one of the songs on LkY that it took me a while to warm up to,
> because of the album's occasionally tinny sound.
(I'm a little late to this, sorry)
I first heard Volunteer as a bootleg. I can't remember where I got it. I
loved it straight away, anyway.
One thing, though, I initially heard a line as:
"I can make love and disappear"
Rather than:
"I can make love, oh, disappear"
I used to prefer the misheard version, but I finally came around.
Cheers
Paul Herzberg