Track Listing

1. I Was in the House When the House Burned Down
2. Life'll Kill Ya
3. Porcelain Monkey
4. For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer
5. I'll Slow You Down
6. Hostage-O
7. Dirty Little Religion
8. Back in the High Life Again
9. My Shit's Fucked Up
10. Fistful of Rain
11. Ourselves to Know
12. Don't Let Us Get Sick

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144517 in Music
• Released on: 2000-01-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Early in his ninth studio album, Warren Zevon sings of Elvis Presley: "He was an accident waiting to happen... Most accidents happen at home." Zevon's own demon-infested past, still-mordant humor, and post-midlife peace of mind meet on Life'll Kill Ya, his finest effort in more than a decade. From visions of decay ("I Was in the House When the House Burned Down") to hopes of deliverance ("Don't Let Us Get Sick" and a cover of Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life"), Zevon makes a compelling statement of strength and cockeyed wisdom. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Simply Fantastic
As a fan for over twenty years, I have come to expect a certain amount of that odd sense of humor in each album. I was not disappointed with "Life'll Kill Ya". I laughed out loud during "For My Mext Trick I'll Need a Volunteer", and Elvis is alive in "Porcelain Monkey". I think my favorite is "My S**t's F**ked Up", because it's the first time those words have been used in a song for reasons other that shock or punctuation. There really are no other words that can be used in the song and leave it with the same meaning, let alone humor. I can't pick a favorite Zevon album, but this ranks up there as a quality piece of work. The only slightly negative I could think of is that it ends slow. Then again the complaint may be that it ends at all. This is as good as or better than anything on the radio or in the stores.

The Z-man's Comeback!
Okay, I'm a huge Warren Zevon fan (I don't think I'm alone on this one), but I'd been disappointed by his last three offerings. Mr. Bad Example, though sporting some great songs, was a bit too uneven for me--it had the feeling of someone going through the motions. Learning to Flinch, like most live albums, was mere product (nothing like his truly stunning Stand in the Fire). And Mutineer was...well...just a failed effort: too many computerized tricks trying to dress up songs that weren't all that great to begin with.

I'm happy to admit that Zevon's back! I bought this album with trepidation, fearing the the Z-man would present us with just another okay, good-but-not-great record. I feared that, maybe, Zevon was getting a tad too old and that, like so many other rock stars over 40, he was starting to show signs of wear-and-tear. I've been proved 100% wrong. As another review noted before, this is Zevon's best since Sentimental Hygiene (his last GREAT record). Warren's back and he's as cynical as ever. Yes, I like the title track and For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer. But what really wins me over are the songs here that I would NEVER have guessed Warren could write or sing. I'll Slow You Down contains one of the catchiest riffs I've heard, and Warren's singing takes chances that pays huge rewards. Throw in a downbeat, melancholy cover of Steve Winwood's upbeat, bouncy worldwide smash hit, and I find myself grinning from ear to ear.

A Blast of Refreshingly Pungent Air
After several years out of the 'scene,' Warren Zevon played a tape of his new songs for Jackson Browne. Browne asked him who he was making an album for, and Zevon told him "no one." A few calls later, Zevon had a deal with Danny Goldberg's Artemis Records, and I'm sure no fan has ever been sorry.

He blasts us in the face from the get-go, with the Dylanesque folk fire of "I Was In the House When the House Burned Down," takes us through a couple of more-or-less typical Zevon moments (the title track, "I'll Slow You Down"), and then slaps us with "Hostage-O," a plea for help coming from the side of everyone who feels remote and emotionally helpless. ("You can treat me like a dog if you make me feel like others feel.") Brilliant.

He winds up the album with "Don't Let Us Get Sick." At the time it was sad and poignant, now it just wipes you out. ("Don't let us get sick/Don't let us get old/Don't let us get stupid, all right?/Just let us be brave/And make us play nice/And let us be together tonight.")

His observations are offset by sparse, mostly folky accompaniment (acoustic guitar, bass, percussion..a little piano).

Powerful, pungent, emotionally raw and fantastic.