The 30 Best Warren Zevon Covers Ever

Head back to the beginning.

30. Murray McLauchlan — Carmelita

AllMusic isn’t one to gush, but they don’t hold back in their praise of Murray McLauchlan. They call him “a genius, a treasure, a writer of such uncommon wealth and literacy, barebones life experience, and storyteller’s drama, that he is in the class that belongs to Townes Van Zandt.” They also call his cover of “Carmelita” “the best version on the shelf. Period.” Recorded in 1972, four years before Zevon’s not-really-his-debut album version, McLauchlan keeps the hint of “Desolation Row,” the original third verse (watch out for that Samoan boyfriend!), and the pawning of a Smith & Wesson instead of a Smith-Corona. He also keeps the utter helplessness and hopelessness that would drive the song if they had it in them. — Patrick Robbins

29. The Boys Club — Excitable Boy

There’s not much information to be easily found about The Boys Club—they appear to be from Long Island, and have some Bandcamp releases, but nothing recent. Their cover of “Excitable Boy” feels similar to the original (which was the title track of Zevon’s 1978 album), in that it has a jaunty, upbeat sound that contrasts with the darkness of the lyrics, about a sexually promiscuous and violent character. But unlike the original, which was piano-heavy, the cover features guitars, giving it a pop-punk (more pop than punk, though) sound. The Boys Club cover was used in an episode of the TV show Californication, which starred my college classmate David Duchovny, who himself has released a number of pretty good albums, and is on tour even as this is posted. — Jordan Becker

28. John Murry — Genius

It’s a simple message, as a cover artist. I’m going to cover a genius. I will choose the right title to do so. Someone who understands what I am going through, have been through, might still go through. That being an artist does not protect one from life’s vicissitudes. Perhaps it even amplifies them, as your heart is bigger, if it is to break. John Murry has not had his troubles to seek during his life, and he knows that Zevon knows that pain for himself. Despite those troubles, Zevon remains a significant artist and touchstone. That is why there is an element of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape. There is genius all around us, despite the anguish of the artist. The hope and recognition that makes this version memorable. — Mike Tobyn

27. The Salmon Smokers — Hula Hula Boys

The Salmon Smokers’ cover of humiliating heartbreaker “Hula Hula Boys” sounds a lot less “pissed off drunk guy venting poetically” (aka the Zevon original) than it does “sad guy on a shit vacation lamenting out loud.” The Norwegian group recast the song as a (total) loser’s lament, a vibe achieved in no small part by its fabulously lovelorn vocal, which sits somewhere between The Band’s Richard Manuel and John Hiatt. “Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana,” y’all. — Hope Silverman

26. Magnolia Electric Co. — Werewolves of London

I doubt that anyone reading this blog is unfamiliar with the bouncy, fun original “Werewolves of London” from 1978’s Excitable Boy, loosely inspired by the 1935 horror movie Werewolf of London. It was Zevon’s one and only Top 40 hit in the U.S. (but you might not know that the drummer and bass player are Mick Fleetwood and John McVie). Magnolia Electric Co.’s version, released in 2005 on the Hard to Love a Man EP, is pretty faithful to the original, with a little more twang, and features Molina’s drawling vocals. It is clearly a tribute to an artist who influenced Molina (who has done other Zevon covers at a Daytrotter session), and it sounds great to me, although Pitchfork hated it. — Jordan Becker

25. Alpha Cat — Reconsider Me

If Saddam Hussein in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut had better taste in music, he might have sung “Reconsider Me” to Satan instead of “I Can Change.” It’s the same message, and Ol’ Scratch is a sucker for a beautiful ballad. Elizabeth McCullough of Alpha Cat certainly has better taste, and her cover of “Reconsider Me” is a knockout. It may have been written in a romantic context – indeed, a compilation of Zevon’s love songs was named after it – but McCullough later revealed that “for me this was more than a tribute to Zevon, it was a tribute to my father,” with (and without) whom she had a difficult childhood. Anyway, it’s about giving someone one more chance, and whether it’s aimed at a late father or an estranged wife, its heartfelt pleas make it certain that the request needs to be at least considered. — Patrick Robbins

24. Ronnie Drew & Eleanor Shanley — El Amor De Mi Vida

How on earth did this ever happen? If you were to pitch the idea of Ronnie Drew, the gravel voiced ex-Dubliner, tackling the songbook of this SoCal rock’n’roller, you’d be met with some long looks. And a song in Spanish, or partly, to boot. Actually, it isn’t that strange, as the song is as close to any conventional ballad, sentimental even, as you can find in Zevon’s canon. (Am I alone in thinking Elvis Presley could have nailed a killer version of it?)

Here, Drew pairs up with onetime De Dannan singer, Eleanor Shanley, for what is, effectively a duet. Stanley does most of the heavy lifting, tackling the verses, with Drew filling in for the Spanish chorus. Now, whether you can fully believe Drew as a taciturn Tex-Mex balladeer… well, it might be a leap, given his known associations more with shebeens and gallons of porter. But it gels, the more so when you realize that the hard-living Irishman actually spent some time in Spain, ahead of his decades with the Dubliners, as an English teacher. So much so that one could put forward an argument that, shhh, he does a better job of it than Zevon, and the song has certainly a greater clout than the, compared to most of Zevon’s work, wishy-washy original. — Seuras Og

23. Electric Six — Seminole Bingo

“Seminole Bingo” is essentially a rollicking stomper built around the twisted tale of a Wall Street “junk bond king” “on the run” with a “suitcase full of money,” who ends up playing “Seminole bingo” in Florida amongst “the ‘gators and flamingos.”

If that sounds like the plot of a Carl Hiaasen novel, that’s because the Florida-born crime writer co-wrote the song with Zevon for his 1995 album Mutineer. And if you’re wondering what the hell “Seminole bingo” is, it has something to do with a Native American tribe who operate casinos all over the Sunshine State. Anyways, Detroit rock band Electric Six clearly thought the song was for them in 2017, being long famous for their twisted 2003 singles “Danger! High Voltage” and “Gay Bar.” Baritone-voiced lead singer Dick Valentine was perfect as the demented narrator with the colorful wordplay, while Johnny Na$hinal was exactly the right guy to take on those down-and-dirty guitar solos. — Adam Mason

22. The War on Drugs — Accidentally Like A Martyr

Petty and Springsteen are the usual classic-rock artists mentioned when The War on Drugs comes up, but no surprise that Adam Granduciel and co. are big Zevon fans too. In fact, this is one of two songs of his they’ve covered; they did “Play It All Night Long,” too. “Accidentally Like A Martyr” though was released on their 2024 live album Live Drugs Again. It sounds hazy, echoing, and awash in reverb. In other words, it sounds just like a War on Drugs song. — Ray Padgett

21. Madeleine Peyroux — Keep Me in Your Heart

The final track on Warren Zevon’s final album was “Keep Me in Your Heart.” You won’t find a more bittersweet sendoff anywhere else. The song is not confronting death, it’s accepting of death. The writing is clear and simple and honest. Zevon avoids ironic distance, self-pity, and mawkishness. Pretty good for a man known for his gallows humor and wise-but-witty remarks like “Enjoy every sandwich.”

It takes a poet to render the song like it should be rendered, and Madeleine Peyroux is just that. Peyroux’s best covers draw from the most poetic songwriters of her lifetime— Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Elliot Smith, and, yes, Warren Zevon. I like to think there’s some number of Peyroux fans who fell for her poignant voice and through her recordings discovered Smith and Zevon, artists who died when they still had so much more to say, so many decades more to live. With her knowing interpretations of their music, Peyroux helps keep them alive in our hearts, alive in our culture.

It’s fitting that Peyroux’s “Best of” compilation is titled “Keep Me in Your Heart for a While.” It’s the last line of Zevon’s parting prayer. It’s at once a modest request, and an all-important one, that we live on in the only way we can–in the living memory of others. — Tom McDonald

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