R.E.M.: Peter Buck (guitar); Mike Mills (bass); Bill Berry (drums); Michael Stipe (background vocals).

Hindu Love Gods: Waren Zevon (vocals, guitar); Peter Buck (guitar); Mike Mills (bass); Bill Berry (drums).

Producers include: Jackson Browne, Waddy Wachtel, Warren Zevon, Mark Isham.

Includes liner notes by Warren Zevon.

Personnel: Warren Zevon (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, harmonica, piano, electric piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Waddy Wachtel (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); David Lindley (guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, fiddle); Jackson Browne (guitar, slide guitar, background vocals); Glenn Frey, Zeke Zirngiebel, Neil Young (guitar, background vocals); David Gilmour, David Landau, Kenny Edwards, Mike Campbell , Peter Buck, Peter Maunu, Steve Lukather (guitar); Darius (sitar); Ken Yerke, Charles Veal (violin); Carole Mukogawa (viola); Dennis Karmazyn (cello); Bruce Hornsby (accordion); Jim Horn, Bobby Keys (saxophone); Mark Isham (trumpet, electronics); Jai Winding (piano, keyboards); Chick Corea, Roy Bittan (piano); Benmont Tench (organ); Bob Harris (keyboards, background vocals); Bob Glaub (keyboards); Jeff Porcaro (drums, log drum); Craig Krampf, Gary Mallaber, Bill Berry, Marty Stinger, Jim Keltner, Larry Zack, Mick Fleetwood, Richard Hayward, Rick Marotta, Russ Kunkel, Kurt Wortman (drums); Danny Kortchmar (percussion); Don Henley, Kipp Lennon, Jennifer Warner, Graham Nash, J.D. Souther, Gentlemen Boys, Roberto Pinon, Jordan Zevon, Jorge Calderon, Lindsey Buckingham, Mark Lennon, Phil Everly, Rosemary Butler, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Hinsche (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dennis Kirk; Duncan Aldrich; Greg Ladanyi; John Beverly Jones; John Haeny; Niko Bolas; Rob Jacobs; Rob Jaczko; Shelly Yakus.

Audio Remasterers: Geoff Sykes; Bill Inglot.

Recording information: A & M Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Biskuithalle, Bonn, Germany; Dodge City Sound, Glendale, CA; Earl-Tones Studios, Silverlake, CA; Elektra Sound recorders, Los Angeles, CA; Ground Control Studios, Burbank, CA; Image Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Mad Hatter Studios, LA, CA; Record One, Sherman Oaks, CA; Red Zone Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA; Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA; The Roxy, Hollywood, CA; Town & Country, London, England.

Photographers: Serenus Zeitblom; Michael Ochs; Duncan Aldrich; Jonathan Exley; Lorrie Sullivan; Gloria Boyce; Roger Bell; George Gruel; Henry Diltz; Aaron Rapoport; Scott Weiner; Crystal Zevon; Randee Saint Nicholas; Jon Sievert.

Unknown Contributor Roles: David Lindley; Sid Sharp; Jeff Porcaro; Bill Inglot.

Arranger: Carl Wilson.

Warren Zevon's songs often address the uglier side of life with a black sense of humor and a strong grounding in both the musical and lyrical sides of songcraft. He's a misanthrope, but a lovable one. If you want an idea of the kind of legacy he's left in the 20 years that this comprehensive collection covers, check out the booklet, which contains a testimonial by the bard of inhospitality himself, Hunter S. Thompson, as well as a photo of Zevon and Thompson cavorting with firearms.

I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD draws from all the albums Zevon recorded for Asylum, Virgin and Giant between 1976 and 1995, with particular emphasis on the two misfit singer-songwriter classics that launched his career: 1976's WARREN ZEVON and 1978's EXCITABLE BOY, which between them supply 14 songs here (a couple of them in live renditions). The collection covers the full range of Zevon's work, from his early Los Angeles folk-rock style to his harder-edged '80s material and his more recent flirtations with electronics. In all his incarnations, Zevon's artistic vision and deep, smoldering voice have remained intact, as selections from "Carmelita," a down-and-out ballad, and "Lawyers, Guns And Money," a rocker about expatriate intrigue, to the more recent summation "Mr. Bad Example" bear out.