The Wind

A Perfect Breeze
by: clint poole

Approaching Warren Zevon's latest and final album, The Wind, without considering the circumstances surrounding its evolution is an impossibility. Perhaps judging the album on its face value, without considering the fact that its author was coming to terms with a terminal case of cancer, then we might reach an alternative opinion. However, the shared human experiences and inevitability of our existence shape our view on everything, especially music.

Warren Zevon has long been writing some of the most cutting satirical lyrics based on human observation. When faced with his own immortality, his natural sense of irony and humanity was only heightened. Diagnosed with a rare, terminal form of lung cancer a year ago, Zevon sat down for one last recording of his insights and feelings.

The Wind is not a sentimental tug at the heart strings designed to curry sympathy. True, certain songs play this way, such as the eulogy "My Dirty Life and Times" and the post-mortem advisory "Keep Me in Your Heart", but the remainder of the album delivers the whimsical, acerbic social satire Zevon has delivered time and time again. Tracks such as the biting "Disorder in the House", and the blues-styled "Rub Me Raw", reflect the outlaw rocker anthems fans have come to expect.

As the last artistic testament of an insightfully witty songwriter, The Wind is sincere, genuine, poetic, and at times, perfect. Any faults are forgiven as the majority of the album hits its mark, leaving behind a polished tribute to an already cemented legacy. 16-Nov-2003 9:51 PM