Bob Dylan on how Warren Zevon “straddles the line between heartfelt and primeval”
Bob Dylan was received so well and became such a musical phenomenon because of his ability to combine two different art forms, music and poetry. Granted, he wasn’t the first musician to make words rhyme, but the amount of soul he injected into his lyrics, paired with the way his words were a reflection of his own emotions and the world around him, was comparable to that which you would find between the pages of a book rather than the words on a song.
This reflects how influential art can be when it is willing to embrace other art. Massive cultural movements have started thanks to genres coming together. They don’t just merge to create a one-off piece; it’s not as simple as that; they effectively can change how people perceive music and alter the entire cultural landscape as a whole.
There are several instances where the realms of music and writing have been expanded because of artists’ ability and willingness to work with other artists and dabble in different genres. When Run-DMC joined forces with Aerosmith, they produced the first rock-rap crossover that expanded the parameters of both genres; when jazz went more abstract, musicians highlighted the beauty of musical imperfections, and when Tony Iommi loosened the strings on his guitar, he gave rise to a whole new genre.
Given Bob Dylan is such an effective representation of the way different art forms can come together to create something new, it’s hardly a surprise that he is appreciative of musicians who can do the same thing. When he was asked to list some of his favourite songwriters, he gave a particular mention to Warren Zevon, not only because of the music he has written but how that music weaves classical sounds throughout to provide a truly unique listening experience.
“’Join Me In LA’ sort of straddles the line between heartfelt and primeval,” he said. “His musical patterns are all over the place, probably because he’s classically trained. There might be three separate songs within a Zevon song, but they’re all effortlessly connected. Zevon was a musicians musician, a tortured one.”
Zevon was an incredibly versatile writer. Rather than having one genre and sticking to it, he first entered the music industry by playing classical music and writing jingles. Eventually, he branched into rock music and created compositions like the abovementioned ‘Join Me In LA’, as well as ‘Werewolves of London’, ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’, and ‘Keep Me In Your Heart’. His various backgrounds in music led to a unique writing style that no one since has been successful in emulating.
Art can’t become repetitive; otherwise, it loses what makes it exciting. When willing to embrace different sounds, it opens consumers’ eyes to the potential of the craft they’re engaging in. Bob Dylan was a poet and a folk singer, so he combined the two things to make something entirely unique. The same goes for Warren Zevon, a classical musician and rock musician, who combined the two to create something that the best songwriters in the world had never heard before.
This approach towards creativity is arguably the most critical mindset any artist needs. Openness is just as crucial as pre-existing talent. Otherwise, art would simply grow stagnant.
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