''The First Sessions'' is a 2003 compilation album of early recordings by American rock musician

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

, including his short-lived folk pop duo lyme & cybelle.

Recording and release

''The First Sessions'' represents most of the early recordings from Zevon, when he was a member of the Los Angeles

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

scene of the 1960s, including his time in the duo lyme & cybelle with Violet Santangelo. The compilation is mostly made up of a series of singles the group recorded, along with scattered sessions that Zevon did as a solo artist. The final two tracks, "Song 7" and "Write If You Get Work", were recorded by lyme & cybelle after Zevon had left the duo, and Wayne Erwin had taken over as "Stephen Lyme". Zevon had no involvement in any capacity whatsoever on these tracks.

Reception

The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave the release three out of five stars, with reviewer

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

emphasizing how uneven the compilation is, going from "nice folk-rock-pop tunes" to "dull" ones. A review in '' No Depression'' calls the compilation "missed opportunities" that has several desirable qualities, from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

and design of the packaging, to Zevon's "rapier wit" and a "powerful solo" in "A Bullet for Ramona".

Track listing

#"Follow Me" (Violet Santangelo and Warren Zevon), by lyme & cybelle – 2:29 #"Like the Seasons" (Santangelo and Zevon), by lyme & cybelle – 1:54 #"

I've Just Seen a Face "I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in August 1965 on their album ''Help!'', except in North America, where it appeared as the opening track on the December 1965 release ''Rubber Soul''. Writ ...

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

), by lyme & cybelle – 1:28 #" Peeping and Hiding" ( Jimmy Reed), by lyme & cybelle – 2:30 #" If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

), by lyme & cybelle – 2:46 #"I'll Go On" (Santangelo and Zevon), by lyme & cybelle – 2:33 #"Follow Me" (Santangelo and Zevon), by lyme & cybelle – 2:18 #"(You Used To) Ride So High (Glenn Crocker and Zevon), by The Motorcycle Abeline – 2:36 #"Outside Chance" (Zevon), by Warren Zevon – 2:13 #"I See the Lights" (Zevon), by Warren Zevon – 2:15 #"And If I Had You" (Santangelo and Zevon), by Warren Zevon – 2:34 #"A Bullet for Ramona" ( Paul Evans and Zevon), by Warren Zevon – 4:03 #"Song 7" (Joe Glenn), by lyme & cybelle – 2:04 #"Write If You Get Work" (Joe Glenn), by lyme & cybelle – 1:45

Personnel

– vocals, bass guitar, guitar, except on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work",

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

on "A Bullet for Ramona" *Jim Bell – backing vocals on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *Ben Benay – guitar on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" * Lou Blackburn – trombone on "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" * Hal Blaine – drums on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "I'll Go On" * Curt Boettcher – backing vocals and production on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *

Dennis Budimir Dennis Matthew Budimir (June 20, 1938 – January 2023) was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography Budimir learned to play piano and guitar in his youth and first played profession ...

– guitar on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "I'll Go On" *Jules Chaiken – trumpet on "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" * Mike Deasy, Sr. – guitar on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *Joseph DiFiore –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

on "Like the Seasons" *Dawn Eden – liner notes *Jesse Ehrlich – cello on "Like the Seasons" *Wayne Erwin – vocals and guitar on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *Toxie French – drums on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" (possibly Jimmy Troxell) *Daniel Hersch – digital

remastering Remaster refers to quality enhancement of sound and/or picture of a previously existing recording. Remastering may also refer to: *Software remastering Software remastering is software development that recreates system software and software appl ...

* Bones Howe – percussion on "Follow Me"; "Like the Seasons"; "Peeping and Hiding"; "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"; and "I'll Go On", drums and percussion on "(You Used To) Ride So High", production on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons"; "Peeping and Hiding"; "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"; "I'll Go On"; and "(You Used To) Ride So High", compilation * Larry Knechtel – organ and piano on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "I'll Go On" *Dick Leith – trombone on "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" *Lynn Malarsky – violin on "Like the Seasons" *

Lee Mallory William George "Lee" Mallory (January 10, 1945 – March 21, 2005) was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who was part of bands including The Millennium and Sagittarius. His most successful single was a cover of the Phil Ochs/Bob Gibson son ...

– backing vocals on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *Cary E. Mansfield – compilation *

Ollie Mitchell Oliver Edward Mitchell (April 8, 1927 – May 11, 2013) was an American musician and bandleader. He was the son of Harold Mitchell, lead trumpeter for MGM Studios, who also taught Ollie to play the trumpet. Career Mitchell would go on to play in ...

– trumpet on "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" *Michele O'Malley – backing vocals on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

, design, artwork * Lyle Ritz – bass guitar on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", and "I'll Go On" *

Sandy Salisbury Graham Salisbury (born April 11, 1944) is an American children's writer. His best known work is ''Under the Blood Red Sun'', a historical novel that features a Japanese-American boy and his family during World War II. Under the name Sandy Salis ...

– backing vocals on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *Violet Santangelo – vocals on lyme & cybelle tracks, photography (credited as Laura Kenyon) *Joe Saxon – cello on "Like the Seasons" * Jerry Scheff – bass guitar on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" *

Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...

– guitar on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "I'll Go On" * Bob Thompson –

conduction Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * Conductor (album), ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured f ...

on "Follow Me", "Like the Seasons", "Peeping and Hiding", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "I'll Go On" *Jimmy Troxell – drums on "Song 7" and "Write If You Get to Work" (possibly Toxie French)

References

External links