ALBUMS: Stand in the Fire (1981, Live); Sentimental Hygiene (1987)
MVC RATING: Stand 4.5/$$$$; Sentimental 4.0/$$$
I met Warren Zevon backstage at a little hole-in-the-wall nightclub on Green Springs in BIrmingham. Oh, it must have been about 1984, or so.
Birmingham News writer Bob Carlton was entertainment writer at the time and had developed a rapport with the singer-songwriter that led to me and a few other Newsers meeting in a tiny backstage room at Norm’s after the show.
I remember asking Zevon if he knew who Tonio K. was because Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh used Zevon as a comparison to Tonio K. in a review of Tonio K.’s ‘Life in the Foodchain.’
I couldn’t remember exactly what Marsh wrote, and Zevon became persistent. He wanted to know what the Rolling Stone guy said. I felt like I had backed into this. I kind of stammered something about how Tonio K. has similar traits, acerbic lyrics and troubling subject matter. I was dying on backstage.
Tonio K. aka as Steve Krikorian was a favorite of mine but relatively obscure.
No I’ve never heard of him, Zevon said. Awkward moment of silence until one of his bandmates chimed in and said he had heard of him. Redeemed, partly, of my stupid-question-to-a-celebrity moment.
Anyway the concert was great, and I would say we had great seats but I don’t think they had seats at the now defunct Norm’s –at least not during this show.
Zevon had an up and down career, plagued by bouts of alcoholism and depression, as detailed in numerous interviews. He spent much of his life in Los Angeles and was good friends of Jackson Browne, David Lindley, and members of the Eagles. He liked reading “pot-boiler novels’ and was friends with Steven King, Carl Hiassen and Gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson. He was a favorite on the talk show circuit and a frequent guest on David Letterman. His best known song was the fun, novelty hit ‘Werewolves of London.’ Ronstadt did a cover of Zevon’s ‘Hasten Down the Wind.’ In ‘Werewolf,’ he has a lyric which I believe has one of the finest example of alliteration, I’ve heard:
Little old lady got mutilated late last night ..
Say that out loud a few times.
He died of mesothelioma, a disease most associated with the exposure to the inhaling of asbestos. After 17 years of sobriety, Zevon fell off the wagon when he learned of his fatal illness.
My two Zevon albums have not been played in a while. ‘Sentimental Hygiene’ is an underrated group of smart, hard rocking songs. The album is backed by three members of R.E.M. The three members and Zevon put out another album called Hindu Love Gods, which I’ve heard but don’t own. It is excellent if you can find it in a record store or online.
The other album I have, ‘Stand in the Fire,’ has been called one of the top live albums. I think that’s pushing it. It’s good but not on the same level as The Who’s ‘Live at Leeds; the Rolling Stones ‘Get Yer Ya Yas out or the Allman Brothers’ ‘Live at the Fillmore.’