WARREN ZEVON: The Coffee Break Concert (CD)

We are told ....

Cleveland, regarded still as one of the United States most influential rock-radio stations, hosted a series of weekly Chat n Music sessions, largely with guests billed as up and coming artists, for a period of almost ten years between the early 1970s and the early80s. Hosted by in-house DJ Matt The Cat, these now legendary Coffee Break Concerts (as the shows were named), broadcast live every Wednesday morning at 11am, remain a fascinating archive of American Radio at its best, and a valuable source of early performances bya few artists who have gone on to achieve both commercial and critical success in their field.

Warren Zevon began the WMMS session with a version of what at the time was a brand new, unheard number, entitled Excitable Boy. A haunting solo-piano rendering of this now classic Zevon song, regular listeners to the weekly shows must have realised soon-on that something unusual was happening in the studio on this particular morning.

Warren is interviewed by Matt the Cat after each performance and the chat is as enticing as the music he performs. Most of the songsplayed are from sophomore album Warren Zevon, save for the aforementioned opener (also reprised as the finale) a gorgeous cover of label-mate J.D. Southers Simple Man, Simple Dream and a few bars of the traditional Cindy, Cindy.

This session is an absolute gem in the early history of Warren Zevon, cherished today, 12 years after his tragic passing following abdominal cancer, as deeply as anytime during his short existence, and it will surely remain an essential item in the collections of anyone with even a hint of interest in this magnificent and very sadly missed artist.

1. Excitable Boy 01:31
2. Interview 1 02:43
3. Desperados Under The Eaves 03:21
4. Interview 2 05:22
5. Simple Man, Simple Dream 02:11
6. Interview 3 03:39
7. Poor Poor Pitiful Me 03:04
8. Interview 4 05:25
9. Mohammed's Radio 04:30
10. Interview 5 02:18
11. Cindy, Cindy 00:56
12. Interview 6 00:53
13. Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded 03:58
14. Interview 7 04:43
15. Hasten Down The Wind 03:34
16. Interview 8 05:09
17. Excitable Boy (Reprise) 03:12

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