CD REVIEW: Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire (2007 Rhino expanded re-master)
This legendary live Warren Zevon album was recorded in Los Angeles circa December 1980. This was near the height of his pop stardom from "Werewolves of London," touring behind his Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School album. I was a neophyte Warren fan and college freshman when I was first hearing this at the time of its 1981 release. I heard it a couple of times and it seemed pretty good, but just didn't make that big an impression at the time. Perhaps I just wasn't ready for it.
Hearing this new 2007 expanded and re-mastered Rhino release though, I'm much more impressed. In fact, I might would suggest this as the first point of entry to turn someone onto Warren Zevon. I would pick nearly every one of these performances as superior to the more common original album versions.
I credit this change in perspective partially to my now several years of listening to the White Stripes. Very broadly, Jack White and Warren Zevon are comparable rock oriented singer-songwriter types. I would rate them approximately equally talented as songwriters, which is the main central point of appeal for both of them. But the White Stripes have made considerably better recordings of their songs, at least as compared to the early studio recordings of Warren Zevon from which this set list was drawn.
I blame Jackson Browne. That's not entirely fair, as he deserves significant credit for recognizing Zevon's talent and championing his work. But in retrospect, his production work on the first couple of albums clearly did not show Zevon's songs off in their best light. He obviously put in a lot of effort into the thoughtful and nicely detailed arrangements, but it just wasn't the best thing for what Zevon was doing. Basically, Browne gave him a fancy West Coast LA sound that overwhelmed Warren's abilities as a performer and also somewhat drained the rock and roll vitality from his songs.
These kinds of production sounds worked real well for Jackson Browne or Fleetwood Mac records, but less so for Warren. Listening to them together now, Warren's songs would have been better served by more of a Jack White aesthetic in the arrangements and recording. The White Stripes hue to a somewhat punk-inspired minimalism and immediacy. Taken too far, you get just crappy half-assed Neil Young records, but in flexible moderation this aesthetic gets full and thoughtful arrangements that are not overloaded or over cooked to the point of losing the rock and roll spark. "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" needs to be served raw.
Part of this is also reflective of Warren's limitations as a vocalist. Both Zevon and Jack White might reasonably be described as competent but merely adequate singers. Frank Sinatra or Sinead O'Connor, Macy Gray or Ray Charles could stand up in front of a 100 piece orchestra and go to town with their big voices. But that kind of thing would just overwhelm Jack White or Warren Zevon. Their songs really mostly don't call for that anyway. Plus, Sinead could perhaps conjure up 100 passionate and outstanding takes of a song, getting stronger as she goes. That just wouldn't be the thing for Zevon.
This certainly jumps out of these Stand in the Fire recordings of his more obviously rock and roll songs. "Werewolves of London" just flatly comes out much more deliciously vicious and bloodthirsty than the hit single studio recording from Excitable Boy. It does maybe lose one point for being the definitive recording of the song, in that he changes out the most quoted lyric of his career which tied together so many associations, "I'd like to meet his tailor." In the heat of the concert moment, it became "and he's looking for JAMES TAYLOR!" That's cute, but mostly only if you know the proper lyric.
In short, these live performances with just a basic rock band distinctly brought forth much more of the Pentecostal rock and roll holy spirit than any of the associated studio recordings. You give up a little bit of the studio polish, but polish isn't necessarily conducive to the best rock and roll. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money" are much more vital and real here. This is what the songs were really supposed to sound like, it seems.
Also, this Rhino re-issue has four more songs from the same Roxy recordings that weren't on the original 1981 vinyl album. The include probably my two favorite recordings of the whole set. "Play It All Night Long" benefits from the live setting more than any one other song. For starters, it's Warren's weird outsider's idea of a Southern rock song. That kind of stuff often comes out better live. Some of the most highly rated live albums come from the Southern rock contingent. Note how the live version of "Freebird" is generally considered the definitive recording of the song.
On top of which, the live setting especially substantially recasts "Play It All Night Long" in the whole effect. Warren wasn't a Southerner, and the clever lyrics might make the studio version seem a bit arch and ironic. That kind of artistic effect can be great, but absolutely does not play to the strengths of Southern rock style. This version loses all that distance as he's addressing it directly to an audience, and burns off all the parody element in favor of direct pathos. This performance leaves the Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School version in the dirt. I'd almost recommend this CD even just for this song.
But the live fire benefits the ballads nearly as much. My other favorite track here is another bonus track, "Hasten Down the Wind." It was apparently the final encore of the set, and his voice was starting to give. But that rawness does much more for the communication of the weary heartbreak of the composition than Jackson Browne's strings and polished studio production. It's sad and beautiful.
In short, this is your best place to get raw rockin' Warren in full effect. But also it has a couple of his best heartbreaking ballad performances. If you're at all interested in Warren Zevon, you need to hear this album.
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