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Warren Zevon - Genius (The best of Warren Zevon), 2002
I am typically not a fan of "Greatest Hits" packages. They are often too excluding, too arbitrary, leaving out things that may not be 'hits' but hold the greatest impact. You know what I'm talking about - the colloections that record companies churn out with no regard for style or era, throwing together genres, bands and production quality. And that, kids, is the best (and worst) part of Warren Zevon's "Genius." Zevon, whose songwriting eccentricities are legendary, does well by the compilation treatment, showing off his most accessable work in a roughly chronological fashion. There are two other compilations out there - 1986's "A Quiet Normal Life" and the huge, two-disc "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: an Anthology" from 1996, but "Genius" covers the most ground without overkill. Besides, the liner notes are funny as hell, and include all the lyrics. Because he has only charted a couple of hits (Werewolves of London, Hasten down the Wind for Linda Ronstadt) Zevon, was free to include a stack of favorites and "should have been" hits. The fact that he had just learned he was dying of cancer when the compilation came out only adds credibility to his selections - no throwaways, no time for another run at it. Fourteen albums of mostly original material is a lot to boil down, and unless you have the passion, money and time to chase them all (or find "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" in the used bin), this is the way to go. Sure, there are some other songs I'd love to have on here. Oh well. It's got Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner (the song that got me listening to Zevon in the first place), Mutineer, I was in the House When the House Burned Down - the stuff that truly belongs on a "Best of." While I still intend to buy "The Wind" - the swan song he released in Aug. 2003 - I needed this one even more.
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