Warren Zevon

"Dead man walking!" So jokes terminally ill Warren Zevon in one of the scenes from (Inside)Out, a film about the making of his final album The Wind, which won two Grammy Awards from five nominations. The same black humor that has marked much of his work so distinctively stayed with Zevon even in his final months as he raced the clock to finish the most personal album of his career. (At one point an interviewer asks if he's smoking a filterless cigarette and, with an incredulous laugh, Zevon replies, "Yes it's filterless! I've only got a month to live!") Somewhat ironically, it is the infamously morbid Zevon's zest for life that most comes through in this VH1 documentary. The Wind, understandably, is more reflective and sentimental in places than anything the man has done before. But it still has that pirate spirit, that gypsy wink that's been his signature as long as the cigarette-smoking skull has been his symbol. There's plenty of studio footage with loads of esprit de corps and celeb drop-ins, including Don Henley, Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, and a gracious Bruce Springsteen, who's shown playing a blazing solo for the track "Disorder in the House." Then there are interview segments with Zevon, some career flashback clips, family moments, and coverage of the artist's now-famous appearance on the Late Show, when good friend David Letterman devoted the full show to Zevon. More than an intimate portrait, there is something about this film that cuts right to the heart. They pass this way but once. ~ Adrian Zupp, All Music Guide