The latest releases reviewed.

WARREN ZEVON Preludes - Rare and Unreleased Recordings New West ***

There's a definite irony in the fact that while alive you had to forgive Warren Zevon a lot to, admittedly, get a lot, while in death you have to be more forgiving and the return is not so bountiful. And yet this double-CD of rough, but heartfelt, demos and raucous late-night revelry, mixed with a typically laconic interview and a couple of previously released tracks, has a definite poignancy for any hardcore fan. There are six new tracks, including the often-mentioned fatalistic Studebaker, among the music unearthed by Zevon's son Jordan after his father's death from cancer in September 2003. Whether his father would have appreciated these rough versions of classics such as Carmelita or Accidentally Like A Martyr seeing the light of day is moot, but in the sleeve notes Jordan muses that he might get an ass-kicking on judgment day. I reckon he might be right. www.warrenzevon.com. JOE BREEN

Download tracks: Empty Hearted Town, Desperadoes Under the Eaves