Warren Zevon - Life'll Kill Ya [Ltd Ed "Smoking Skull" Grey Marble Vinyl/ Indie Exclusive]

Though he would eventually succumb to cancer in 2003, on this 2000 release life hadn't killed Warren Zevon just yet, though scrapes with doom inform LIFE'LL KILL YA's sensibility, and Zevon responds with his trademark gallows humor as well as a surprisingly lighter touch. Here, the excitable, piano-pounding artist surrounds himself with acoustic guitars, harmonicas, and pennywhistles; concise simplicity is the order of the day, and this sense of economy allows lines like "I can see me bound and gagged / Dragged behind the clown mobile" some breathing room. The arguable red herring is a bizarrely straight reading of Steve Winwood's mid-'80s hit "Back in the High Life." Ironically, the album's most gripping aspect is its very modesty and lack of clutter. Apparently, when the Reaper is looming nearby, it's best to travel light.

Side A

• I Was In The House When The House Burned Down
• Life'll Kill Ya
• Porcelain Monkey
• For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer
• I'll Slow You Down
• Hostage-O

Side B

• Dirty Little Religion
• Back In The High Life Again
• My Shit's Fucked Up
• Fistful Of Rain
• Ourselves To Know
• Don't Let Us Get Sick