Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Studebaker | |||
| 2. Accidentally Like A Martyr | |||
| 3. Carmelita | |||
| 4. I Used To Ride So High | |||
| 5. Stop Rainin' Lord | |||
| 6. The Rosarita Beach Cafe | |||
| 7. Desperados Under The Eaves | |||
| 8. Empty Hearted Town | |||
| 9. Steady Rain | |||
| 10. Join Me In L.A. | |||
See all 16 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. I Was In The House When The House Burned Down (Lp Version) | |||
| 2. Warren Zevon: Warren Speaks On Songwriting And The Early Days Of His Career | |||
| 3. Warren Zevon: Musings On Mortality, Song Noir And The King Of Rock N' Roll | |||
| 4. Warren Zevon: A Chat About Producers And The Stark Sounds On The Album Life'll Kill Ya | |||
| 5. Back In The High Life | |||
| 6. Warren Zevon: Warren's Take On Winwood's Classic And Warren's Inspirations | |||
| 7. Warren Zevon: Talk Of Tv, Movies, Acting And Performing | |||
| 8. Don't Let Us Get Sick (Solo Acoustic) | |||
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
After Warren Zevon's death in 2003, his son Jordan was clearing out a storage space when he found a large stash of demos and home recordings Zevon had made before 1976. Winnowed down from many hours of tape, this selection is so satisfying you're left awaiting another volume almost instantly. Preludes has been generously packaged with a booklet overflowing with reminiscences and insight from peers and family, as well as a bonus disc with recent interview extracts and choice selections from 2000's Life'll Kill Ya. The rough sound quality is more than made up for by the performances. Highlights include a speedier, country-punk garage take on "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" and the original demo of "Werewolves of London," here presented in a slowed-down reggae-ish (and campier) take. Only two of these 16 takes fall flat: the vocals on "Accidentally Like a Martyr" are just too bleak even for Zevon, while the faux-sunshine Eagles-y production on "Ride So High" is interesting but just too anachronistic. The versions of "French Inhaler" and "Carmelita" show Zevon in his angry, post-Dylan singer-songwriter style. It's reminiscent of the best John Cale solo recordings. Poignant, beautiful and bitter, it's no wonder the guy didn't fit in with his California contemporaries. As with Townes Van Zandt, there's something of a great short story in Zevon's songs; confronted with them in all their ragged, stripped-down glory, it's clear what a major talent he was. --Mike McGonigal
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Chudpiper
Format:Audio CD
On first listen I thought I'd been sold a pup... rough demos, quavering notes and out of tune guitars... but now, after several listens, as one reviewer puts it, this is essential stuff, heartbreakingly so... Zevon's raw, beautiful belting voice, rolling pianos, a mind-bending version of Werewolves of London... it is thrilling, corcuscating stuff, a boon for Zevon fans, a real slow-burner with an awesome pay-off. And then there's the bonus CD... read the forthcoming warts 'n all biog, spin this, and be transported to the Golden heyday of the LA music scene and all that entailed. Wonderful
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I read somewhere that this double cd and booklet were flogging a dead horse, compiled by Warren's son Jordan this is is an essential purchase for any Warren Zevon fan. This release doesn't flog a deadhorse, it's a further insight into the one of great American songwriters of the last 30 odd years who in his lifetime never was given the kudos that his talent richly deserved. Warren was never going to shift loads of records, but this release highlights his sometimes wayward and unpredictable releases.
With so many inferior artists being given 5-6 cd box sets, it makes you wonder where is Warren's box set which would be a fitting tribute to an artist who was still at his brilliant best close to his death.
With so many inferior artists being given 5-6 cd box sets, it makes you wonder where is Warren's box set which would be a fitting tribute to an artist who was still at his brilliant best close to his death.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Warren Zevon's death in 2003 from mesothelioma marked the loss of one of the world's most adroit songwriters. His final album, The Wind was a farewell masterpiece. Preludes marks the opposite end of Zevon's recording life - a selection of songs that were recorded after the release of his forgettable 1969 debut, Wanted Dead Or Alive, and before the release of his 1976 self-titled album.
The 2CD set features sixteen songs, including six previously unreleased tracks: Empty Hearted Town, Going All The Way, Steady Rain, Stop Rainin' Lord, Studebaker and Rosarita Beach Café. The solitary piano and forlorn lyrics ("cigarettes make the sun come up and whiskey makes the sun go down and in between you do a lot of standing around") ensure that Empty Hearted Town stands out.
The second disc features forty minutes of music interspersed with an interview with Zevon by KGSR-FM's Jody Denberg, but it's the digitally remastered versions of some of Zevon's best known material on disc one that makes Preludes indispensable. Demos of the happily unhygienic Carmelita, Accidentally Like A Martyr and what is probably Zevon's best known song, Werewolves Of London, are all given a 24-bit makeover.
The 2CD set features sixteen songs, including six previously unreleased tracks: Empty Hearted Town, Going All The Way, Steady Rain, Stop Rainin' Lord, Studebaker and Rosarita Beach Café. The solitary piano and forlorn lyrics ("cigarettes make the sun come up and whiskey makes the sun go down and in between you do a lot of standing around") ensure that Empty Hearted Town stands out.
The second disc features forty minutes of music interspersed with an interview with Zevon by KGSR-FM's Jody Denberg, but it's the digitally remastered versions of some of Zevon's best known material on disc one that makes Preludes indispensable. Demos of the happily unhygienic Carmelita, Accidentally Like A Martyr and what is probably Zevon's best known song, Werewolves Of London, are all given a 24-bit makeover.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Wayne Klein
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
Warren Zevon was a complex guy. I only saw him in concert, heard his music, enjoyed his warped, brilliant, poetic sensibility and view of the world. This excellent collection of outtakes, previously unreleased demos and unreleased songs is just a sampling of his brilliant songwriting and performing skills. When his son Jordan went through his stuff after his death in 2003 he found a case full of reel-to-reel recordings, cassettes and other teasures. He and his sister Ariel have chosen to share these terrific demos with us his fans. While not every track is perfect (how could it be? These are demos!), it's that lack of perfection that makes this collection so perfect, so intimate; it's a performance by one man with no idea they would be released when he did them. As a result, Warren is presents his music without artiface--these songs are as naked and pure (in an emotional sense)as when he first conceived them. Listening to them is like being at the birth of greatness for the best songs on here.
Two discs one featuring 16 (19 if you get this through Best Buy as there are three bonus tracks on their edition)tracks of the essence of the Mutineer. We get demos for "Join Me in L.A.", "Hasten Down the Wind", "The French Inhaler", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Carmelita", "Desperados Under the Eaves" all of which appeared on Warren's second released album ("Warren Zevon").... Read more ›
Two discs one featuring 16 (19 if you get this through Best Buy as there are three bonus tracks on their edition)tracks of the essence of the Mutineer. We get demos for "Join Me in L.A.", "Hasten Down the Wind", "The French Inhaler", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Carmelita", "Desperados Under the Eaves" all of which appeared on Warren's second released album ("Warren Zevon").... Read more ›
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Jl Adcock
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
Like some other reviewers here I wondered what I'd bought with Preludes. Posthumous material rarely adds much to an appreciation of an artist - and tends to get little airing after the initial novelty value. However, the songs here are more than curiosities, although the sound quality is very variable indeed. CD2 with a Warren Zevon interview raises the occasional smile - but it's unlikely to get played more than once in a blue moon if I'm totally honest.
However - for me Preludes is worth buying for one song alone - the opener on CD1 (Empty Hearted Town). Not only is this one of the best songs Zevon wrote, it's one of the finest examples of the 3 minute story-in-a-song that you will ever hear. A joy.
However - for me Preludes is worth buying for one song alone - the opener on CD1 (Empty Hearted Town). Not only is this one of the best songs Zevon wrote, it's one of the finest examples of the 3 minute story-in-a-song that you will ever hear. A joy.
Format:Audio CD
The 16 tracks on the first CD are largely rough cuts, but offer great sides of Zevon's songwriting persona. There are different takes of some of his best songs, also new material which never got beyond demo stage. As has been shown by the extra tracks included on the re-released albums like "Excitable Boy," his pared down arrangements were some of his best. Fantastic stuff.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
