Warren Zevon's quarter-century career, now tragically cut short, is difficult to anthologize. Other than a few obvious choices, the novelty single "Wearwolves of London," the absolutely diabolical "Excitable Boy" and the hilarious "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," picking out the best songs from Zevon's large body of work is not easy, especially after the late 1970s when he was at the peak of his popularity. Underscoring that point is the fact that "Genius" contains only six duplicate tracks from the original "Best of Warren Zevon" anthology that appeared in the mid-1980s.

"Genius" is an intelligently selected single-disc best of collection that hits plenty of high points among the 22 tracks. For example, Zevon's best studio album, 1987's "Sentimental Hygene," is represented by four songs ("Detox Mansion," "Reconsider Me," "Boom Boom Mancini" and "Splendid Isolation"). Other highlights include the humorous epic "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," Zevon's R.E.M. collaboration cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret," a cover of "A Certain Girl" and the south-of-the-border drug saga "Carmelita." The CD booklet contains a full lyrics sheet for every song that was a Zevon original as well as a listing of the players for each track.

Overall, an outstanding single disc anthology from a unique and quirky songwriter who will be very much missed.

Being generally unfamiliar with the work of Warren Zevon -- outside of his classic late-'70s singles "Werewolves of London" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money," and Linda Ronstadt's fine covers of "Hasten Down the Wind," "Carmelita," and "Poor Poor Pitful Me" -- I was surprised to find that these aren't even the best songs on Genius, a 22-track best-of co-produced by Zevon himself and released by Rhino. Zevon is a criminally underrated singer-songwriter, and since he was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, this retrospective makes for a well-timed and appropriate farewell. (I must also mention the all-too-brief liner notes, which are not so much biography or even career overview, but the measure of an artist's great personal impact on a pair of fans. Droll and affectionate, but never maudlin, you couldn't ask for a more fitting tribute.)

The whole thing is jam-packed with terrific songs, alternately rousing and beautiful, funny and heartbreaking. "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a haunting tale of murder and revenge, while "Excitable Boy" is a comical tale of murder that takes aim at society's "boys will be boys" mentality. The celebrity-rehab ode "Detox Mansion" straddles a thin line between cheekiness ("I've been raking leaves with Liza / Me and Liz clean up the yard") and confession ("Well, it's tough to be somebody, and it's hard not to fall apart"). In "Splendid Isolation," he longs for solitude (looking to Georgia O'Keefe and Michael Jackson as role models), while in "Reconsider Me" and "Searching for a Heart," he yearns for a human connection. "I Was in the House When the House Burned Down" is the lament of a hapless loser (a sequel of sorts to "Lawyers, Guns and Money," maybe?), while "Mr. Bad Example" -- possibly my favorite track -- is a wickedly funny story-song about the self-indulgence and "dirty deals" of an unrepentant, irredeemable scoundrel ("I'm Mr. Bad Example, take a look at me / I'll live to be a hundred and go down in infamy!").

Musically, Zevon can rock the house as much as anybody (escpecially on "Detox Mansion," a cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret," and an ode to the boxer "Boom Boom" Mancini -- all three of which he performs with Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry of R.E.M.), but he can also startle you with gorgeous ballads like "The French Inhaler," "Hasten Down the Wind," and "Mutineer." The vitality of his latest work is summed up in just two tracks, 2000's jangly "I Was in the House..." and 2002's moody "Genius" ("Albert Einstein was a ladies' man / While he was working on his universal plan / He was making out like Charlie Sheen"), but I don't think that Zevon or the generally reliable folks at Rhino could have done a better job of picking out the cream of the crop. Smartly written and catchy as hell, the songs on Genius rank with the best of Randy Newman, who, like Zevon, is also blessed with a strong sense of both melody and humor. (Speaking of which, Rhino's 2001 compilation The Best Of Randy Newman makes for a swell companion disc to this one, but that's another review.)

This 22 track collection covers all of Zevon's albums (save for 2 live albums and 2 previous compilations). It even includes his one-off project with R.E.M. minus Michael Stipe on the Prince cover "Raspberry Beret." There are brief (but not great) liner notes. The notes fail to tell the story of Zevon's career. Lyrics to each song are included, as are album/song/musician info for each song. The CD was co-compiled by Zevon. If you're new to Zevon this makes a better choice than the excellent 2CD I'll Sleep When I'm Dead from 1996. But long-time fans will find it a handy sampler of some of Zevon's best moments. Let me also recommend these studio albums: Warren Zevon (76), Excitable Boy (78), Sentimental Hygiene (87), Life'll Kill Ya (2000) and My Ride's Here (2002). Also be on the lookout for the live 1980 album Stand In The Fire.

"Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon" is the definitive, single-disc compilation of Warren Zevon's music, spanning his entire career to date. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" kicks off the collection on a strong note, detailing the abuse he took at the hands of dominating women. "Carmelita" is a beautiful ballad dealing with the ugly subject of heroin addiction. This compilation provides ample proof that Warren wrote many classic songs in addition to "Werewolves Of London," his best known song. "A Certain Girl" has always been one of my favorites, even though the song wasn't written by Warren. It appears on a Warren Zevon compilation for the first time. "Raspberry Beret" is a rocking cover version of the Prince song, performed in classic Zevon style. "Detox Mansion" takes a tongue in cheek approach to describing his treatment for alcoholism. "Well, I'm gone to Detox Mansion way down on Last Breath Farm. I've been raking leaves with Liza. Me and Liz clean up the yard." Warren could write heartfelt love songs, as evidenced by "Looking For The Next Best Thing," Reconsider Me" and "Searching For A Heart." In "Mr. Bad Example" Warren describes the virtues of indulging in the seven deadly sins. "I Was In The House When The House Burned Down" finds Warren at his sardonic best, sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson. The last song on this compilation describes Warren Zevon's songwriting best - "Genius."

For the record, the following is the collection's list of songs, followed by their year of release.

POOR POOR PITIFUL ME (1976)
THE FRENCH INHALER (1976)
CARMELITA (1976)
HASTEN DOWN THE WIND (1976)
WEREWOLVES OF LONDON (1978)
ROLAND THE HEADLESS THOMPSON GUNNER (1978)
EXCITABLE BOY (1978)
LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY (1978)
INTERLUDE NO. 1/PLAY IT ALL NIGHT LONG (1980)
A CERTAIN GIRL (1980)
LOOKING FOR THE NEXT BEST THING (1982)
DETOX MANSION (1987)
RECONSIDER ME (1987)
BOOM BOOM MANCINI (1987)
SPLENDID ISOLATION (1989)
RASPBERRY BERET (1990)
SEARCHING FOR A HEART (1991)
THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD (1991)
MR. BAD EXAMPLE (1991)
MUTINEER (1995)
I WAS IN THE HOUSE WHEN THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN (2000)
GENIUS (2002)

This is a lovely one CD anthology. I would, however, recommend "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," the 2 CD anthology, and then just buy "My Ride's Here" and "The Wind." I'm so glad he graced this sphere for a while.