![]() There is the chilling graveyard tale “Prison Grove,” with a group of friends – Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne and Zevon’s son Jordan – acting as a gospel-like, moaning chorus. It is reminiscent of George Harrison’s masterful final album, “Brainwashed”: It addresses the coming death with grace.”The Wind” opens with a bit of classic, sardonic Zevon: “Some days I feel like my shadow’s casting me,” he sings to open the memorable “Dirty Life and Times.” Zevon’s tone is optimistic, but the song leaves the question of eternity up in the air: “Sometimes I wonder what tomorrow’s gonna bring/When I think about my dirty life and times.” The album ends, though, on a wholly hopeful note as a weakened Zevon, accompanied only by the sparest instrumentation, croons “Keep Me in Your Heart” “Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams.”Death pervades “The Wind” in all kinds of ways. “The Wind” is funny, touching and one of Zevon’s finest moments, given poignancy by his passing. Instead, Zevon seems to be practically inspired by the thought. When Zevon made it known that his death was coming, our admiration seemed to step up a few notches: Here was a guy who had always mocked death, and now he was handling his fate with dignity.Following are reviews of recent releases left behind by Johnny, June and Warren.Warren Zevon, “The Wind”produced by Zevon, Jorge Caldern & Noah Scot Snyder (Artemis)Zevon wasn’t about to get sentimental now, even though “The Wind” was recorded with the knowledge that it would be his farewell album. His song characters included a little old lady mangled by werewolves, a boxer meeting his demise in the ring, a soldier who won’t give up the battle despite his headlessness, and a band whose membership was wiped out in a place crash. When he covers Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” on 2000’s “American III: Solitary Man,” in a creaky voice, is there any doubt what is on Cash’s mind? Zevon toyed with death. Cash’s career closed in a blaze of glory with the Rick Rubin-produced “American” series, four albums that left the singer stripped bare. His greatest album was recorded in a prison, a place as close to death as there is. June’s husband Johnny Cash, the Man in Black, seemed afraid of nothing, most especially his end. It is a good model to follow: Never are we so alive as when death reminds us of its eternal looming presence.June Carter Cash was heiress to the legacy of the Carter Family, whose indelible song is “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” practically a celebration of death. In life, even relatively early on in their lives, they sang about death with uncommon clarity, fearlessness, and even humor. Which helps to explain the artistic depth of three musicians who died in recent months: Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash and Warren Zevon. It gives dignity to life to face its end not with fear but with acceptance. ![]() Embracing death is among the most noble, even life-affirming acts humans are capable of. ![]()
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