[audiobook] Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles (Tempo: A Rowman Littlefield Music Series on Rock; Pop; and Culture) by George Plasketes in Arts-Photography

Review

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Join Me in L.A.By Born Band CreatureGeorge Plasketesrsquo; Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles is a worthy addition to Zevonography. Itrsquo;s a part of publisher Rowman and Littlefieldrsquo;s ldquo;Tempordquo; series. which examines artists like Zevon and trends like the British Invasion in their literary and cultural contexts. While there is biographical information in the book by way of background-- it nicely complements previous biographical efforts including Crystal Zevonrsquo;s invaluable lsquo;Irsquo;ll Sleep When Irsquo;m Deadrsquo; and the sections of Anita Gevinsonrsquo;s lsquo;You Turn Me On Irsquo;m A Radiordquo; that deal with her relationship with Zevonmdash;this is not a lsquo;sex. drugs and rock and rollrsquo; bio.Plasketesrsquo; technique is to analyze Zevonrsquo;s recorded work track by track. so some familiarity the recordings is helpful. The technique is a reminder of how many excellent songs Zevon composed over several decades. Plasketes also explains. not directly but by implication. why Zevon peaked commercially with Excitable Boy. With the 20/20 vision of hindsight. itrsquo;s clear that the only time his odd sensibility and popular rock and roll intersected much was 1978. I had lost track of his record label travails. and was surprised to learn that his later work didnrsquo;t sell better. especially Sentimental Hygiene and Mr. Bad Example. The book is literate and insightful. The prose style tends to lsquo;just the facts. marsquo;amrsquo; briskness. and Plasketes nicely ties together the literature that threads through the lyrics including. among many others. Ross Macdonald and Carl Hiassen.Zevonrsquo;s life and work still cry out for a definitive and disinterested bio along the lines of David Meyerrsquo;s lsquo;Twenty Thousand Roadsrsquo; work on Gram Parsons. For all that Anita Gevinson and especially Crystal Zevonrsquo;s books contribute. both authors have obvious perspective issues. Plasketesrsquo; book is a good companion volume to either of those books. and will fit with a work of larger perspective when written.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Riding Strong. but Im Desperado for a Second DraftBy Christopher WagensellerA word of disclosure: Irsquo;m a Zevon completist. Irsquo;m ecstatic this book even exists. and Irsquo;d happily buy and read ten more like it. Like so many books of this type. it is helpful to know a bit about the subject before diving in.As a book product. this item is pretty handsome: built like a small textbook. its hardcover is sturdy. its binding exceptional. and its pages thick and ready for highlights and notations. In addition to the main text. it also includes a timeline with concurrent columns for world/cultural events alongside key moments from Zevonrsquo;s life and boasts further listening and supplemental reading lists that are above reproach. This is to say: its cost is understandable. Though I have little knowledge of publishing trends. I sense the product quality may come at the cost of the extra twenty or thirty pages the text requires to more fully realize its aims.Though the book touches upon Zevonrsquo;s drinking and love life. it doesnrsquo;t focus on these and never intends to (Irsquo;ll Sleep When Irsquo;m Dead is where to find that). The text is primarily a song-by-song retrospective of Zevonrsquo;s career. generally traveling album-by-album and giving each song a paragraph or so. focusing largely on lyrics. The connections between tunes of different eras is well-considered. and is fair musicology. but is alarmingly absent of music theory or composition analysis. Melodies are often mentioned without comment. and a song key is mentioned only once. coming from a direction Zevon gives to Stephen King about how to play ldquo;Werewolves of Londonrdquo; (ldquo;Key of G. Howl like you mean it.rdquo;). Zevon is continually lauded by peers and session players and composers as crafting. for example. sophisticated string sequences. and his unfinished symphony is mentioned several times. Like many Zevon retrospectives. much hay is made about his (brief) childhood tutelage under Igor Stravinsky. These bona fides are mentioned. but therersquo;s precious little musical understanding offered: we barely even hear about what instruments he used.The introduction promises to place Zevonrsquo;s work in cultural context: when Plasketes details the success of MTVrsquo;s Unplugged series leading to record release choices like Zevonrsquo;s 1993 gem Learning to Flinch. this is controlled and thoughtful. Through other stretches it is largely absent. A half-chapter (or less) devoted to Transverse City. a complicated concept record from 1989 Plasketes deems ldquo;unapproachablerdquo;. and is nearly ignored here as simply unheralded (and in some cases not thought not even worthy of review) by critics: a book of this type exists to explore the dynamic between artist who was once a critical darling and a rock press now dismissive of one of his more ambitious projects and ought further explore where critics elect not to go. or. more precisely. what they missed. Instead. the book rushes past a record that exists at the midpoint of Zevonrsquo;s output. and ignores the obvious parallel between album and career sequencing: Zevon. like Bartok. placed the most important songs/melodies in the middle. I canrsquo;t help but imagine a fuller reevaluation of Transverse City under those terms. Moreover. the album is more fully loaded with contemporary cultural comment (environmental disasters. new reliance on personal and business technologies. an emergent Russian diaspora. the perils of a consumerist society) than virtually any of his others: a complex concept record offering contemporary criticism scorned by cultural commentators. Ah. the chapter that could have been.Other thoughts: Several times Plasketes references album covers and inserts. tour photos. music videos. television specials. and other promotional visuals as well as the evolution of Zevons stage stylistics. often using these descriptions to highlight the differences between Zevonrsquo;s approach to his public image and that of his peers (and occasionally using them to single out his OCD tendencies. peccadilloes. and demons). Trading the cost of the cover thickness for four or eight pages of corresponding photos would underline these claims nicely.In a first draft (or edition. I guess). small mistakes like album release dates can be forgiven. but some come across as sloppy and slightly disrespectful proofreading mistakes. like listing George Harrisonrsquo;s death 2001 as occurring in 2011. Similarly. there seems to be an interchangeability here to words like lsquo;versersquo; and lsquo;linersquo;. Easy fixes.None of this is meant to sound disdainful: what Irsquo;m asking for is more. The book is well-researched and eloquently presented. if occasionally awash in sentiment. Recommended.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Well Researched. Well Written. Well Done!By Andy RichRead this in one (lengthy) sitting. Had no intention to do so. but the writing of academic/Zevon fan George Plasketes was so fun - and Zevons life and death so interesting - that I just kept going.Authors of most rock biographies are either too bland (rehashing discographies or well-known anecdotes) or too opinionated (softened by the qualifier. "arguably". as they proceed to make very arguable statements!) Plasketes is upfront about his huge respect for his subject but it doesnt cloud the objectivity when discussing some of Zevons lesser efforts. His writing style is clever without getting cutesy. his research is solid and his knowledge of music in the 70s and beyond provides interesting context (an example: describing shockrock radio Steve Dahls Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park - I was in Chicago at the time of the fiasco but had forgotten the details which the author accurately reports.)Plasketes is a professor for Media Studies at Auburn and his knowledge of the subject and times comes through in a style that is anything but academic. Well done. sir!