Genius: Best of Warren Zevon

I bought this album to find out more about Zevon who I only knew as a man needing Lawyers Guns and Money for some trouble he got into. The album is truly a wonderful surprise and shows a he had a real gift for song writing and singing.Two deficiencies, it does not contain Desperados Under the Eaves which is a much under rated song and one of his greatest, and also does not contain The Envoy another great song.Well worth the money to hear the music of this unusual and under rated song writer and singer.

"Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon" is the definitive, single-disc compilation of Warren Zevon's music, spanning his entire career to date. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" kicks off the collection on a strong note, detailing the abuse he took at the hands of dominating women. "Carmelita" is a beautiful ballad dealing with the ugly subject of heroin addiction. This compilation provides ample proof that Warren wrote many classic songs in addition to "Werewolves Of London," his best known song. "A Certain Girl" has always been one of my favorites, even though the song wasn't written by Warren. It appears on a Warren Zevon compilation for the first time. "Raspberry Beret" is a rocking cover version of the Prince song, performed in classic Zevon style. "Detox Mansion" takes a tongue in cheek approach to describing his treatment for alcoholism. "Well, I'm gone to Detox Mansion way down on Last Breath Farm. I've been raking leaves with Liza. Me and Liz clean up the yard." Warren could write heartfelt love songs, as evidenced by "Looking For The Next Best Thing," Reconsider Me" and "Searching For A Heart." In "Mr. Bad Example" Warren describes the virtues of indulging in the seven deadly sins. "I Was In The House When The House Burned Down" finds Warren at his sardonic best, sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson. The last song on this compilation describes Warren Zevon's songwriting best - "Genius."For the record, the following is the collection's list of songs, followed by their year of release."Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (1976)"The French Inhaler" (1976)"Carmelita" (1976)"Hasten Down The Wind" (1976)"Werewolves Of London" (1978)"Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" (1978)"Excitable Boy" (1978)"Lawyers, Guns And Money" (1978)"Interlude No. 1/Play It All Night Long" (1980)"A Certain Girl" (1980)"Looking For The Next Best Thing" (1982)"Detox Mansion" (1987)"Reconsider Me" (1987)"Boom Boom Mancini" (1987)"Splendid Isolation" (1989)"Raspberry Beret" (1990)"Searching For A Heart" (1991)"Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" (1991)"Mr. Bad Example"(1991)"Mutineer" (1995)"I Was In The House When The House Burned Down" (2000)"Genius" (2002)

Review of: "Genius: Best of Warren Zevon."This is an excellent CD that encompasses the best of the work of Warren Zevon (WZ)and is comprised of his 22 best songs. Other reviewers have nailed the details and background of the songs on this CD so I will not re-tread what has been written. Know, however, that WZ's genre is an acquired taste and the breadth of his decades long career can be heard in these titles: 1. Poor Poor Pitiful Me 2. The French Inhaler 3. Carmelita 4. Hasten Down The Wind 5. Werewolves Of London 6. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner 7. Excitable Boy 8. Lawyers, Guns And Money 9. Interlude No. 1/Play It all Night Long (Medley) 10. A Certain Girl 11. Looking For The Next Best Thing 12. Detox Mansion 13. Reconsider Me (Single Version) 14. Boom Boom Mancini 15. Splendid Isolation 16. Raspberry Beret - Hindu Love Gods 17. Searching for A Heart 18. Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead 19. Mr. Bad Example 20. Mutineer 21. I Was In The House When The House Burned Down 22. GeniusIf you are a WZ fan you will love this. If you are new to WZ then this review should inspire you to listen to songs you perhaps never knew existed.Five stars!

“Poor poor pitiful me”

It is The Best Of Zevon, But, just not all the best.The Best Of Zevon would really need to be a double or triple CD set.There`s just no way you can get all Warren Zevon`s best on one CD.

Zevon fans can argue about the selection of these cuts on what at least for now is the final "best-of" collection from this unique singer-song writer, who announced in the fall of 2002 that he has terminal cancer. Then, he supposedly had only a couple of months to live. Now, it's almost a year later, and he's still with us. He's even come out with one more album, "The Wind," not represented on this collection. His fans all owe him thanks for that, and greater thanks for all the great material he gave us across the span of his career.This disc represents that material well. It won't perfectly please everybody. Myself, I'd like to see more from "Transverse City." But I'm glad that "Mr. Bad Example" is represented by the three pieces from 1991. It was one of his strongest efforts but has been neglected (and may now be out of print).This disc has Zevon the would-be sociopath ("Mr. Bad Example"); the ironic rocker ("Detox Mansion" and others); the straight-ahead rocker doing some classic material ("A Certain Girl"); and the tender but never saccharine balladeer ("Searching for a Heart" and others).I have most, not all, the discs that the material here came from, but am glad to have this collection to play, too. I suppose I could burn a CD with my own favorites, but I don't for a moment begrudge Zevon and his family (or Rhino Records) the price of the collection. It's a fine reminder of all the unique music that Warren Zevon gave us over the last 2 1/2-plus decades, in his recordings and live performances. I can only say, again, thank you, and add that this irreplaceable artist will be deeply missed.

One of my husbands all time favourites.

Lo mejor de Warren Zevon en un solo cd

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Most people who know Zevon know one song: Werewolves of London (which is one of my favorites), but he was so much more. Across the 22 tracks on this CD you'll get the full gamut of his skills, which often were underappreciated. There's some pure genius on this CD, and the influence Zevon had on other artists is undeniable.Zevon, of course, is well know for tackling his demise in the way he wanted: by reflecting on his mortality in song. But there's no self-pity of "woe is me" here at all: he has a sense of humour and self-deprecation we can admire. His voice is strong, his lyrics are amazing (and often, intricately funny), and varied. Go from "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" to "A Certain Girl" and you see multiple sides of the man. Listen to his version of "Raspberry Beret" and you can't help wonderful what Prince thought of it!The tracks here are all entertaining, all well-engineered (although not re-engineered for this CD, unfortunately). As a tribute to the man, I really like this CD and have bought versions for gifts for friends who have not yet discovered his artistry.

Warren Zevon c'est un peu un "Songwriter maudit" comme en sait fabriquer les US. Ce mec qui a comme copains pour l'aider Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, les REM et une bonne partie du top 100 américain ne peut être une truffe. Ce Best of donne une bonne idée de la carrière de ce génie même si le choix reflète plus sa carrière que les meilleurs titres par moment. "Rolling Stones" dans les années 70 citait Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne... et Warren Zevon comme les stars montantes de la décennie. Oui sauf que sur les 4, un seul est resté sur le quai. La faute à la drogue, alcool & Co.Dans ce cd, il y en a pour tous les gouts, mais j'avoue que j'ai un grand faible pour d'abord "Splendid isolation" avec à l'harmonica un certain Neil Young, " Werevolves of london", son plus grand succès commercial mais aussi "Looking for the next best thing", " Excitable boy", sans oublié ce superbe hymne " Mutineer" qui vous laisse une grande amertume et de grands regrets.