Warren Zevon (Collector's Edition)

iTunes Review

Warren Zevon’s self-titled 1976 Asylum Records debut took singer-songwriting into darker, tougher terrain. Produced by Jackson Browne and featuring an A-list of Los Angeles studio pros, from Waddy Wachtel and David Lindley to members of Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, Zevon’s album twisted the accepted wisdoms of self-confession and narcissistic complacency and found a false braggart in “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” a hard living fatalist in “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” a resigned junkie for “Carmelita” and even a sentimental poet in “Hasten Down the Wind.” His novelistic intensity was balanced with a pure shot of even-handed rock n’ roll that would take on even greater life in concert. This Collector’s Edition features 15 previously unreleased tracks, including either demos, live cuts or alternate takes of every song from the debut, including both a festive 1974 demo of “Carmelita” and a slimmer alternate version, an intimate take of “Hasten Down the Wind,” and solo piano demos of “Mohammed’s Radio,” “Frank and Jesse James,” and “The French Inhaler” that confirm Zevon’s greatness even without his famous supportive friends.