Life'll Kill Ya

by

Warren Zevon

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As a fan for over twenty years, I have come to expect a certain amount of that odd sense of humor in each album. I was not disappointed with "Life'll Kill Ya". I laughed out loud during "For My Mext Trick I'll Need a Volunteer", and Elvis is alive in "Porcelain Monkey". I think my favorite is "My S**t's F**ked Up", because it's the first time those words have been used in a song for reasons other that shock or punctuation. There really are no other words that can be used in the song and leave it with the same meaning, let alone humor. I can't pick a favorite Zevon album, but this ranks up there as a quality piece of work. The only slightly negative I could think of is that it ends slow. Then again the complaint may be that it ends at all. This is as good as or better than anything on the radio or in the stores.

Ah yes, one of Hollyweird's most curmudgeonly and jaundiced songwriters is back again. With "Life'll Kill Ya," Warren Zevon returns to the form that made him so popular with "Excitable Boy" and "Sentimental Hygiene" in the 1970s and 1980s. Unfortunately, it's with mixed results.

Although there are some excellent songs on this album (e.g., "I Was In the House When the House Burned Down," "Porcelain Monkey," Dirty Little Religion," and "Ourselves to Know"), overall, the quality of Zevon's material is more akin to his work on "Mr. Bad Example" several years ago than to his classic tunes of angst, dark humor, and desperate redemption. A few tracks, such as "For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer" and "My S**t's F**ked Up" succeed on their own terms as antiromantic statements of independence or world-weary ballads of despair, but others just fall flat as empty observations of the vacuum that defines American culture and modern relationships. "Hostage-O" and "Fistfull of Rain," in particular, fall into the latter category.

At his best, Zevon has always had a wonderful knack for writing sharp, cutting lyrics that skewer common sensibilities while also suggesting (at least occasionally) an appreciation of the rich inner life that even madmen and poets possess. This recording touches on those qualities, but runs out of creative steam at regular intervals. In that respect, it is similar to Zevon's more electric "Transverse City," which he released mid-career, with notable guests including Neil Young and David Gilmour.

"Life'll Kill Ya" lacks such stellar supporting players, but it does have a very clean, lean, raw sound to it. Most of the songs use simple arrangements built around an acoustic guitar and perhaps a bass and drum for background. This works to the album's advantage inasmuch as it serves to emphasize the words, and does not overproduce what is essentially a modest effort.

If all this seems like damning with faint praise, it is not meant that way. There are a couple of excellent pieces in "Life'll Kill Ya"--title track aside--that are well worth listening to more than once. Zevon is older now, and his insights have matured, but he must fight against a tendency to become repetitive just to fill out a record, without necessarily making it more listenable. This is a respectable addition to Zevon's repertoire, but by no means his finest hour.

If you already enjoy Warren Zevon's music, "Life'll Kill Ya" will fit in nicely with his other titles. If you're lukewarm or unfamiliar with his unique style of rock and roll, it probably is not the ideal place to start.