Playlist for the Week of 6/18

by Gwen McManus — June 18, 2007

Warren Zevon: Preludes

A few months after Warren Zevon's death in 2003, his son, Jordan, drove out to one of his father's storage spaces in the San Fernando Valley to begin the sorting through his legacy. He discovered over 100 unreleased outtakes and demos in a piano-sized touring case. Preludes features 16 of the best of these newly discovered recordings, including six unreleased tracks "Empty Hearted Town," "Going All The Way," "Steady Rain," "Stop Rainin' Lord," "Studebaker," and "Rosarita Beach." Other gems are previously unheard versions of "Werewolves of London" and "Accidentally Like a Martyr. As one reviewer wrote: "As with Townes Van Zandt, there's something of a great short story in Zevon's songs; confronted with them in all their ragged, stripped-down glory, it's clear what a major talent he was."

Preludes

Endangered Species: Nickodemus

This Endangered Species album is astonishing--well rounded, mixing in a vast variety of sounds from around the world, including rare sophisticated hip hop tracks in the vein of Cleopatra, which successfully incorporates the Middle Eastern influenced stings, and the vocal styling of Carol C with a distinctly funky beat. To use a term borrowed from past eras--it's groovy! You'll love the live YouTube track: "Mi Swing Es Tropical," featuring Tempo.

"Mi Swing Es Tropical," by Nickodemus and "Quantic," featuring Tempo

Nickodemus