Accidentally Like a Martyr: The Tortured Art of Warren Zevon

There are certain artists who don’t simply blaze their own trail, they sear a path into the surface of the planet, leaving behind a glorious immutable scar unlike anything the world has seen before. Warren Zevon was one of those artists, and although he has burned out (rather than faded away), he left behind a musical legacy that fans are still unraveling and exploring, hunting for the fundamental truths within.

Accidentally Like a Martyr is not a biography; instead, it’s more like the well-informed musings of a hardcore fan, dissecting one song per chapter and trying to put himself into Zevon’s shoes as he brought a given song to life. By taking biographical facts and insights from those closest to Warren — and mixing them with his own suppositions (based, no doubt, on the dozens upon dozens of times he’s heard each song) — Campion brings the creative process to life. He ponders lyrical references, personal revelations by Zevon, and revels in the fierce, funny, sobering imagery that typified Zevon’s deepest cuts.

Part love letter to an icon, part scholarly attempt to learn what makes an icon tick, Accidentally Like a Martyr is a tribute quite unlike anything I’ve seen before.