Warren Zevon – My Ride’s Here

Two years after Life’ll Kill Ya found Warren Zevon coolly gazing at age and decay, My Ride’s Here swivels his mirrored sunglasses and wry derision toward death. And the NHL.

Comrades have his back. Although he’s regularly performed and collaborated with artists ranging from Dwight Yoakam to screenwriter Tom McGuane, My Ride’s Here lines up perhaps his most estimable list of conspirators. Songwriting associates include journalist Carl Hiaasen, poet Paul Muldoon, author/sportswriter Mitch Albom, and gonzo poster boy Hunter S. Thompson.

Like the lonely man who seeks comfort among crowds, Zevon allows friends to lighten his mood. He drops his voice low and dry against Thompson’s paranoia on “You’re A Whole Different Person When You’re Scared”. He jigs to the Irish folk melody of “Macgillycuddy’s Reeks”, co-written with Muldoon, singing cheerfully of EKGs and NASDAQ fluctuations. Hiaasen brings Zevon back to his Excitable Boy oddball-love-song period with the affectionately grinding “Basket Case”.

Many examples of grim and gay amusement surface on My Ride’s Here — the dead heroes parading through the Byrds-inflected title track, the chunky backbeat and glistening string arrangement shining through the bitterness in “Genius” — but with Albom’s help on “Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)”, Zevon sneaks profound sympathy into the funny story of a hockey thug who dreams of scoring a goal. Our hero, Buddy, responsibly beats up opponents as David Letterman goads him by shouting the song’s obvious refrain. But even late-night TV’s master of sarcasm seems to cheer when Buddy spots his chance.