{"id":47279,"date":"2025-12-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/keep-me-in-your-heart-the-songs-of-warren-zevon\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:00:00","slug":"keep-me-in-your-heart-the-songs-of-warren-zevon","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/keep-me-in-your-heart-the-songs-of-warren-zevon\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Me In Your Heart &#8211; The Songs Of Warren Zevon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Tribute albums are one of those ideas that either works or it doesn\u2019t. You have to have a solid lineup of performers, of course, and a team behind the concept that\u2019s capable of bringing a sense of cohesion and coherence. Above all, though, you need a featured songwriter who is genuinely worthy of having their songs covered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Warren Zevon was a songwriter\u2019s songwriter: a brilliant observer of human nature and a novelistic narrator of his environment, with a sharp ear for melody and an unmatched instinct for the inherent drama of moments large and small.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This helps to explain why his songs have been the subject of multiple collections in the past; there\u2019s just so much rich material to explore. The latest, from New York\u2019s Paradiddle Records, celebrates Zevon just weeks after his induction into the Rock &#038; Roll Hall Of Fame, and it\u2019s often excellent and never less than entertaining. <i>Keep Me In Your Heart: The Songs Of Warren Zevon<\/i> gathers a sprawling cast of players ranging all the way from unknowns to legends, and in every case it\u2019s clear the artists embraced the chance to celebrate one of their songwriting heroes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">First in the dock on this 33-track, two-CD set is Paradiddle Records artist Pete Mancini, who kicks things off by leading his Hillside Airmen in a stately rendition of \u201cAccidentally Like A Martyr.\u201d Later on, the versatile Mancini duets with Sarah Gross on a keening run at \u201cCarmelita,\u201d and contributes bass to James Maddock\u2019s pensive rendition of \u201cReconsider Me\u201d and Phil Kennelty\u2019s steady-rocking \u201cStop Rainin\u2019 Lord.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Mancini also sits in on guitar for the album\u2019s finest moment, the legendary Jimmy Webb\u2019s reverent, gorgeous take on \u201cDesperados Under The Eaves.\u201d Another big name, the great Willie Nile, contributes a gorgeous, resonant, spare-and-bluesy take on another of Zevon\u2019s finest constructions, \u201cMutineer.\u201d Elsewhere, fellow songwriting ace Freedy Johnston opens disc two with a melancholy \u201cPoor, Poor Pitiful Me\u201d that leans into the song\u2019s country elements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Other tracks of note include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\">Russ Seeger delivering a terrific Dylan-and-a-horn-section folk-funk reimagination of \u201cI\u2019ll Slow You Down\u201d;<\/li>\n<li>  A soulful r&#038;b interpretation of \u201cNighttime In The Switching Yard\u201d from Mike Nugent &#038; The Blue Moon Band; <\/li>\n<li>  Richard Barone\u2019s spare, beautiful presentation of the self-eulogizing title track;<\/li>\n<li>  A jaunty bluegrass take on \u201cWerewolves Of London\u201d from Howard Silverman;<\/li>\n<li>  Bryan Gallo\u2019s transformation of \u201cSplendid Isolation\u201d into a Springsteenesque acoustic lament;<\/li>\n<li>  The Belle Curves\u2019 giddy makeover of \u201cLawyers, Guns &#038; Money\u201d as a Bangles bop; and<\/li>\n<li>  The slide guitar magnificence of Kerry Kearney\u2019s bluesified \u201cRub Me Raw.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The album closes out in fine form with Emily Duff\u2019s pensive and pretty acoustic run at \u201cExcitable Boy,\u201d with Charlie Giordano of the E Street Band on accordion. It\u2019s serious yet celebratory and a fitting send-off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Lest there be any doubt that these players and singers are genuine aficionados, this expansive collection includes covers of a pair of early obscurities\u2014\u201cLike The Seasons,\u201d written for Lyme &#038; Cybelle, Zevon\u2019s early-days duo with Violet Santangelo, covered here by Hank Stone; and Gene Casey\u2019s British Invasion-flavored take on \u201cIt\u2019s True,\u201d which dates from Zevon\u2019s time backing the Everly Brothers.<\/p>\n<p>The element holding this disparate collection of artists and approaches together is the respect and affection they all share for the late, great Warren Zevon and his body of work. <i>Keep Me In Your Heart<\/i> is the perfect choice of a title for this lovely and loving collection, made by people who have done exactly that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":35384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5827],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-47279","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-various-artists","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=47279"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=47279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}