''My Ride's Here'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter

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 Th ...

. The album was released on May 7, 2002, by

Artemis Records Artemis Records was a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as President, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment. Artemis had a leading share of the U.S. ...

. Zevon described it as "a meditation on death"; it was released several months before Zevon was diagnosed with terminal

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

. On ''My Ride's Here'', Zevon collaborated with a number of writers from outside the world of music. The song "Basket Case" features in

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...

's novel of the same name. He also covers Serge Gainsbourg's " Laissez-Moi Tranquille" which roughly translates as "leave me alone". Gainsbourg first recorded it in 1960 on the ''Romantique 60'' EP. "I Have to Leave" was a song written by Zevon's high school friend, Dan McFarland.

Reception

Mark Deming of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

rated ''My Ride's Here'' two out of five stars. He stated that "the jokes tend to be a bit obvious", and that "the more introspective moments don't connect the way one might hope". However, he said that some of the tracks "are strong enough to remind listeners of just how talented Zevon still is". He concluded by saying that the album "is a misfire from an artist capable of much better work." Robert Christgau rated the album an A−, stating that Zevon was "at his best in the fictional-mythic mode that prevails".

Track listing

Personnel

*Warren Zevon – guitar, keyboards, vocals * Charlie Bisharat – violin on "Genius" *Larry Corbett – cello on "Genius" *Joel Derouin – violin on "Genius" * Anton Fig – drums * Sheldon Gomberg – bass guitar * David Letterman – background vocals on "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1 ...

– bass guitar on "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" *

Sid McGinnis Sidney Foster "Sid" McGinnis (born October 6, 1949) is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS television show ''Late Show with David Letterman'', as part of the CBS Orchestra. The Pittsburgh-born guitarist made h ...

– guitar on "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" *Katy Salvidge – fiddle, tin whistle *

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''Late Ni ...

– organ on "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" *Evan Wilson –

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

on "Genius" * Michael Wolff – organ on "You're a Whole Different Person When You're Scared" * Jordan Zevon, Ariel Zevon, David Letterman – additional vocals Production *Warren Zevon – producer, mixing, arranger *Michael Delugg – engineer * Harvey Goldberg – engineer *Klint Macro – engineer * Will Schillinger – engineer * Noah Scot Snyder – engineer, mixing *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering *Michael Krumper – A&R *

Henry Diltz Henry Stanford Diltz (born September 6, 1938, in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American folk musician and photographer who has been active since the 1960s. Career Among the bands Diltz played with was the Modern Folk Quartet. While a member of ...

– photography

Charts

Album

References

{{Authority control Warren Zevon albums 2002 albums Artemis Records albums Albums produced by Warren Zevon