Learning to Flinch (Live)

iTunes Review

Like many singer-songwriters who came of age in the ‘70s, Warren Zevon found himself touring as an “unplugged” acoustic troubadour in the ‘90s. Though his songs always benefited from the smart rock-informed arrangements presented on his studio albums, they were also literate enough to withstand the closer scrutiny of this stripped-down approach. Learning to Flinch was recorded during his 1992 World Tour and features his most loved compositions (“Werewolves of London,” “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” “Excitable Boy”) alongside some of his most overlooked and artistically satisfying (“The Indifference of Heaven,” “Play It All Night Long”) with just Zevon and his acoustic guitar. He neither draws out the pathos of this quieter approach nor tries to replicate the missing firepower of a backing band with straining vocals and over-strumming. Instead, he trusts the material to work its peculiar magic. “Splendid Isolation” is a spot-on tale of modern success and alienation. “Hasten Down the Wind” is Zevon at his most romantic, before his sarcasm and pragmatism became the benchmarks of his finest writing. A worthy career overview.