Zevon Song of the Week #18
haro...@yahoo.ca
Category: Addiction and Recovery
Did some traveling last week. First, Montreal to see Ellen's family,
grieving over the death of her uncle. Then on to a lovely lakeside
cottage in the Kawartha Lakes region northeast of Toronto, where my
first cousins were throwing a party at their summer retreat for my aunt
and uncle's 80th birthdays.
At that family gathering, with multiple conversations occurring just
like they do in a Robert Altman film, I happened to stumble on a Zevon
thread. How it started I have no idea, since my blood sugar was a
little lower than it ought to have been and I was also enjoying a pale
ale at the time, but I do remember my sister saying something like,
"Warren Zevon? You should talk to my brother, he loves him!" The
dude I ended up talking with was Jeff, husband of one of my first
cousins' first cousin.
Jeff began by pronouncing Warren's surname as ZEH-vun, which I
immediately corrected. Some might let it go, but I don't. You have to
get the name right. He asked me what my favourite Zevon album was, I
said the eponymous album, saw the blank stare, then smoothly proceeded
to add that I meant the 1976 self-titled work with Carmelita, PPPM,
DUTE, French Inhaler, etc. He replied, "Oh yes, the first album",
and so of course I had to say, "No, the second one actually", then
decided I better try to stop being such a pedantic twit. Never an easy
task.
Jeff then asked me if I liked "the acoustic album" as much as he
did. I think I raised an eyebrow, proud of myself for not making a
retort of any kind, genuinely puzzled anyway over what he meant
exactly. Then he mentioned that Detox Mansion was one of his favourite
Zevon songs, and I answered that the entire SH album was great, and
that, folks, is about all I remember from our little discussion.
But it did give me this week's song. A day late, but I hope not a
dollar short.
Sentimental Hygiene has so many good songs on it that I think Detox
Mansion may sometimes get overlooked. That's a shame, because it has
many of the core Zevon elements that his best compositions share. First
of all, he confronts a major problem head on, but mitigates it with a
lively beat and a humorous bent. Hanging with celebrities (Liz and
Liza), taking shots at the celebrity-obsessed media ("I'm dying to
tell my story, for all my friends to read"), poking easy Zevonian fun
at the entire process ("We get therapy and lectures, we play golf in
the afternoon") -it's all there.
Secondly, the song's musicianship is first-rate. As with most of the
songs on SH, we get the three soon-to-be-stars-themselves R.E.M.
instrumentalists, Peter Buck on guitar, Mike Mills on bass, and Bill
Berry on drums. For Detox Mansion, there's the added bonus of David
Lindley on lap steel guitar, contributing a trippy ambience to the
proceedings that I'm sure pleased Warren immensely. Warren's lead
vocal is powerful and effective. Throw in some subtle harmonies by
Jorge, who is also the song's co-writer, and the result is quite, um,
detoxifying.
Behind the frivolity, however, there are some serious issues. "It's
tough to be somebody", Warren tells us. "It's hard not to fall
apart." That could easily be the rallying cry of any substance
abuser. It's why recovery is so hard. And, sad to say, most addicts
don't get driven "in the back of a limousine" to a mansion on a
farm to dry out with the rich and famous. Many of them simply die.
Sooner or later, it all comes back to last week's song, Life'll
Kill Ya.
That's what I said.
Categories to date
--------------------------
Addiction and Recovery: 2
Cover: 1
Family: 1
Geopolitical: 1
Law and Order: 1
Love-Gone-Wrong: 3
Mortality: 2
Satire: 2
Social Commentary: 4
Sports: 1
Raoul
> dude I ended up talking with was Jeff, husband of one of my first
> cousins' first cousin.
>
> Jeff began by pronouncing Warren's surname as ZEH-vun, which I
> immediately corrected. Some might let it go, but I don't. You have to
> get the name right. He asked me what my favourite Zevon album was, I
> said the eponymous album, saw the blank stare, then smoothly proceeded
> to add that I meant the 1976 self-titled work with Carmelita, PPPM,
> DUTE, French Inhaler, etc. He replied, "Oh yes, the first album",
> and so of course I had to say, "No, the second one actually", then
> decided I better try to stop being such a pedantic twit. Never an easy
> task.
>
> Jeff then asked me if I liked "the acoustic album" as much as he
> did. I think I raised an eyebrow, proud of myself for not making a
> retort of any kind, genuinely puzzled anyway over what he meant
> exactly. Then he mentioned that Detox Mansion was one of his favourite
> Zevon songs, and I answered that the entire SH album was great, and
> that, folks, is about all I remember from our little discussion.
LOL!!! Coulda been worse. He could have started in on "Hey man! That one
album he did with "Werewolves of London"?! That's the Best Song Of All
TIME, Man!!! Ah-OOOOOOO!!!"
Were ya downing 50s? If so, don't complain! <sorely missing the Beer Store
in Elmira>
aloha
LD