Touch of Grey will, well, touch upon the rainbow that is life. Good music, good times, and good friends combine to make all the splendid colors. Touch of Grey will celebrate this beautiful rainbow.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Watch out for that hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent (I'd like to meet his Tailor!)


Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair....Happy Halloween, yall! This, I admit, is a repeat of a blog I wrote a couple of years ago. But, as I say here, Halloween will always belong to Warren Zevon, and this Halloween is no exception. I hope your Halloween brings you lots of treats and a few tricks, if you truly want them! Along with costumes, parties, goodies, and just plain scary fun, Halloween has always meant music to me. Everyone knows and enjoys "Monster Mash" and "Haunted House". But to me, the quintessential Halloween song has to be "Werewolves of London", from his 1978 album Excitable Boy.



 This song is by far his most popular, although by no means, only recording. Warren Zevon was an amazingly talented artist who, sadly, never achieved the fame so many of his peers did. For me, Halloween will always be bittersweet. It is my favorite day of the year, as it is also in the middle of my favorite season of the year. However, because it is impossible to escape Zevon's "Werewolves of London" this time of year (not that I would want to), it is also a reminder to me of a life cut too short.

You see, Warren Zevon died of mesothelioma, a particularly deadly form of lung cancer in 2003, not even a year after he was diagnosed. He was only 56 years old. I believe he still had much music left in him, as his last album released just before he died, The Wind, proves. From The Wind came his last and my favorite song by him, "Keep Me In Your Heart".



This song is simply lovely, a stunningly heartbreaking performance, and a contrast with his darker, more "excitable" music. Every time I hear it, I remember that the world has lost a great artist and feel slightly melancholy. I loved this song from the very first moment I heard it, and it affects me on the deepest level. It is astounding to me that in essence, Zevon wrote his own epitaph with this incredible melody.

Take a moment to celebrate Halloween and Zevon's life by watching these great YouTube vids I have linked. Also included is a great live performance of "Splendid Isolation," a song I have long admired from his 1989 album, Transverse City. To me, Halloween will always belong to Warren Zevon. Keep him in your heart for awhile, won't you?

 

8 comments:

Edith Ann said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Edith Ann said...

Love, love, love it!

Hadn'r heard that in a while!

Pilot said...

Send money, guns and lawyers.....and candy. Shit has hit the fan......
You continue to amaze me.

Sugar Magnolia said...

Hey, Pilot. I can send three of the four your way.....as for lawyers, you're on your own. Gotta love some Zevon, though. Maybe the best remedy is the music.

Anonymous said...

Glad to know that there are some othe WZ fans out there. I honor him with my alias/nom de plume of William Joseph Zevon>My favorite performers/songwriters,Billy Joe Shaver and Warren Zevon. Got to see him live in Austin once. Great show. Sadly,both him and the venue are gone both too soon.

Sugar Magnolia said...

PatB - You are indeed a fortunate person to have seen Zevon in concert. Like so many other times, I always thought there would be...well...time. Freddie Mercury, John Bonham, John Lennon, Bon Scott....I thought these guys would always be around whenever I got around to attending their concerts. But they weren't. And they're not. My advice....go see concerts while you (and these amazing artists) are still around.

Edith Ann said...

OMG! I love Billy Joe Shaver! That reminds me--I'm getting my CD back from the kid tomorrow.

Truth Ferret said...

Wow, what wonderful way to remind me that whomever we really love, they are never actually gone. (Thank you for the link.)