Warren Zevon

Most of Warren Zevon's fans are aware he'd had a career in music for some years before his self-titled 1976 album finally brought him to the attention of the press and the public, but little of his work prior to that has received wide circulation. His Kim Fowley-produced debut album, 1969's Wanted Dead or Alive, has been reissued more than once, but as far as most fans could tell, that was as far back as Zevon's career went. The First Sessions is a compilation that offers a rare glimpse of Zevon's earliest recordings, when he was trying to get his foot in the door of the Hollywood music industry as a singer and songwriter. Seven cuts are recordings Zevon made as a member of the folk-rock duo Lyme and Cybelle, including their minor hit "Follow Me" (which later appeared on the Nuggets box set), as well as four early Zevon publishing demos and a rough take of an unreleased recording of Zevon performing as the Motorcycle Abeline. While this set is invaluable as history, as music it's problematic; with the exception of "A Bullet for Ramona," you'd be hard-pressed to tell that Zevon is singing on any of these cuts (in which he sounds considerably younger and sings in a much higher register than the craggy baritone listeners are used to), and since three of the Lyme and Cybelle cuts are covers, this isn't much of a showcase for Zevon's early songwriting. And while the two bonus tracks -- Lyme and Cybelle cuts recorded after Zevon left the group -- are rare enough, they don't have much of anything to do with the subject at hand. There's some OK '60s folk-rock here, but for the most part The First Sessions is only for the most hardcore Warren Zevon fans, and even they aren't likely to find it especially rewarding. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide