Warren Zevon Album Reviews

Warren Zevon was born in Chicago, the son of a Ukrainian-born bookie who worked for mobster Mickey Cohen. Zevon briefly studied with Igor Stravinsky, composer of ‘The Rite of Spring’. In his teens, he moved to L.A. to pursue a career as a folk singer. An early recording appeared on the Nuggets compilation with Lyme & Cybelle, while he wrote songs for The Turtles.

Warren Zevon was an industry veteran when he made his major-label debut in 1976. He’d toured with the Everly Brothers as their band leader. He roomed with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1975. Jackson Browne championed Zevon and produced his first major solo album. He followed a similar musical palette to his California contemporaries, but his lyrics were filled with dark humour.

He saw things with a jaundiced eye that still got the humanity of things.

David Crosby

Zevon’s first two major-label albums laid the foundation for a successful career – 1978’s Excitable Boy made the US top ten, and ‘Werewolves of London’ was a hit. But Zevon struggled with addictions, and his career was erratic thereafter.

Zevon passed away at 56 from mesothelioma. He admitted, “I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years.” During this broadcast, when asked by Letterman if he knew something more about life and death now, he famously responded, “enjoy every sandwich.”

Warren Zevon Album Reviews

Wanted Dead or Alive

1970, 4/10
Impresario Kim Fowley initially spearheaded Zevon’s debut. But Fowley and Zevon butted heads and Fowley quit midway through the album. Fowley claimed that Zevon “didn’t listen to anyone about anything.” Meanwhile, Zevon claimed a “sudden attack of taste”.

Wanted Dead or Alive remained out of print for years, but is now widely available. If Zevon hadn’t later achieved fame, it probably wouldn’t have languished in obscurity. It’s unremarkable, with Zevon’s songwriting not yet matured. Zevon handles most of the instruments himself – his piano playing is the record’s most entertaining aspect, but his guitar makes the generic blues songs even more monotonous. The Byrds’ Skip Battin plays bass.

‘She Quit Me’ also featured in the film Midnight Cowboy, but it’s a boring blues song, like most of the rest of the album. Zevon’s cover of ‘Iko-Iko’ is the best showcase of his piano playing. The closing instrumental ‘Fiery Emblems’ is arguably Zevon’s most memorable original song.

Attempts at a second album, Leaf in the Wind, were abandoned, and Zevon spent years languishing in obscurity. Wanted Dead or Alive remains an unconvincing curio.,

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Warren Zevon

1976, 9/10
It was six years before Zevon made his second album. He was regarded as a wastrel, and it took Jackson Browne’s support to persuade labels to give him another chance. Browne produced 1976’s Warren Zevon. With a six-year gap between albums, Zevon built up an impressive stockpile of songs. ‘Join Me in L.A.’ veers too close to the mainstream, but the rest is terrific.

It features perhaps the most star-studded cast of backing vocals ever assembled. Browne, Phil Everly, Buckingham and Nicks, Carl Wilson, Henley and Frey, J.D. Souther, and Bonnie Raitt appear.

Zevon’s strength is injecting unexpectedly nasty sentiments into sweet-sounding country rock. The chorus of ‘Carmelita’ starts sweetly, before Zevon drops the line “And I’m all strung out on heroin/on the outskirts of town.” His debut often reflects his struggles with addiction in L.A. in the 1970s – ‘Desperados Under the Eaves’ is another example.

Warren Zevon is arguably his most country-flavoured album, opening with the western-themed ‘Frank and Jesse James’. Zevon’s amazingly sophisticated on ‘The French Inhaler’. It dispenses with verse/chorus structures and winds through a series of jabs at ex-partner Tule Livingston. Even the wistful ‘Hasten Down the Wind’ is about a breakup. It’s often based around Zevon’s piano, but Buckingham and Nicks take ‘Mohammed’s Radio’ to surprising heights.

Warren Zevon is an impressive career reboot.

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Excitable Boy

1978, 9.5/10
Warren Zevon reflected a strung-out life in California, but Excitable Boy has an international scope. After meeting in a Catalonian bar, Zevon wrote ‘Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner’ with mercenary David Lindell. ‘Veracruz’ is about the U.S.’s occupation of the Mexican port city in 1914, while ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’ is set in Latin America.

Musically, Excitable Boy is more muscular than its predecessor. Zevon delivers brash rockers like ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’, where he’s commanding rather than wistful. He successfully twists disco to his purposes on ‘Nighttime in the Switching Yard’, with Jeff Porcaro on drums. Frequent Zevon collaborator Jorge Calderón co-writes two songs, while Browne again produced and co-wrote ‘Tenderness on the Block’.

‘Werewolves of London’ was the breakthrough hit, with Fleetwood Mac’s rhythm section. But by my reckoning, it’s only the fourth-best song here. My favourite is ‘Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner’, a macabre folk song with three contrasting choruses – the harmonised second chorus is much busier than the other two. ‘Accidentally Like a Martyr’ is pretty and Dylan-like. The brash ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’ starts with the immortal lines:

I went home with the waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Russians too?

‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’ runs out of original ideas halfway through – the second half is mostly Zevon bellowing, “send lawyers, guns and money”. But it’s a blast, and its ferocious delivery illustrates Zevon’s artistic growth.

There isn’t a weak song on Excitable Boy, and it’s Zevon’s most substantial record.

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Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School

1980, 7.5/10
After two terrific albums on Asylum, Zevon dropped back into the pack with Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. It’s enjoyable, but the S-Tier songwriting that marked his two previous records is largely absent. He’s still accomplished, delivering brash rockers like ‘Jungle Work’ and pretty ballads like ‘Empty-Handed Heart’.

Bad Luck Streak is dedicated to mystery writer Ross Macdonald (real name Ken Millar), who helped Zevon through his addictions.

It’s a stronger record than it seems at first glance, but it’s weak in crucial places. The opening title track is a sluggish rocker that never quite ignites. The cover of Allen Toussaint’s ‘A Certain Girl’ is an odd choice as lead single, a perfunctory 1950s-style rocker.

My favourite song is ‘Jeannie Needs a Shooter’, a folk-tinged rocker co-written by Springsteen, with Joe Walsh on lead guitar. Walsh also plays on ‘Jungle Work’, while Frey and Henley sing backing vocals on ‘The Wild Age’. ‘Play It All Night Long’ and the quirky ‘Gorilla, You’re A Desperado’ are other strong deep cuts.

Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School is mildly disappointing after two classics, but there’s plenty to enjoy.

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Stand in the Fire

1980
I usually skip over live albums, but I’m noting this one since it’s well regarded. Zevon is backed by members of Boulder, a band signed to Elektra. It was recorded at The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles.

Later editions have expanded it, but the original includes ‘The Sin’, a song unavailable elsewhere, and a cover of Bo Diddley’s ‘Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger’ / ‘Bo Diddley’.

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The Envoy

1982, 7.5/10
The Envoy was Zevon’s last album for Asylum. He felt pressured by diminishing returns, and later said his albums “took longer, cost more and more, and actually did sort of less and less well. Particularly The Envoy. I was a little discouraged after that.” If anything, his writing is stronger than the previous record, but The Envoy is let down by lacklustre arrangements – many of the tracks are driven by mellow keyboard lines.

Like his other records from the era, The Envoy features guests from Toto, Fleetwood Mac, and the West Coast studio mafia.

It starts energetically – ‘The Envoy’ and ‘The Overdraft’ are energetic rockers, the latter with visceral backing vocals from Lindsey Buckingham. ‘The Hula Hula Boys’ is my favourite song on The Envoy, a story of a cuckolded husband in Hawaii, with the refrain “Ha’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana”, which translates to “And so the story is told”. ‘Charlie’s Medicine’ is another impressive song, building from an acoustic beginning to a nasty rocker.

But The Envoy is largely mellow. ‘Let Nothing Come Between You’ and ‘Looking for the Next Best Thing’ are pretty pop tunes that need more bite. The raw, acoustic ‘Jesus Mentioned’ provided a new direction for Zevon.

The Envoy is occasionally let down by its mellow 1980s arrangements, but it features some sharp songwriting.

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Sentimental Hygiene

1987, 8/10
Zevon began working with R.E.M. back in 1984. He told Musician magazine, “I was aware that R.E.M. is the best group going around. I listened to Murmur and was …impressed would be an understatement.” He enlisted Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry as his backing band and recorded demos. But, without a record deal, Sentimental Hygiene wasn’t released until 1987. In the meantime, Zevon had finally become sober, overcoming his drug and alcohol addictions.

Along with R.E.M., Sentimental Hygiene features an eclectic cast of guest musicians. It’s probably the only record to feature Flea, Bob Dylan, and George Clinton. It sounds better than Zevon’s earlier 1980s efforts – it’s muscular and energetic, while the ballads are stripped-down and pretty.

Zevon originally offered the country-tinged ‘Reconsider Me’ to Stevie Nicks. She recorded it, but her 1984 album Mirror, Mirror was scrapped. Zevon’s version is lovely, with stripped-down verses and a pretty, synth-laden chorus. ‘The Heartache’ is surprisingly heartfelt from the often acerbic Zevon.

But the rockers are the record’s main attraction. ‘Boom Boom Mancini’ recalls the boxing match between Ray Mancini and Bobby Chacon, with Zevon showing his piano chops at the end. ‘Detox Mansion’ recalls Zevon’s experiences in rehab.

Sentimental Hygiene marked a successful comeback from Zevon, returning from five years in the wilderness.

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I’ve covered Hindu Love Gods, a throwaway covers album that Zevon made with R.E.M., on the R.E.M. page. The cover of ‘Raspberry Beret’ is terrific, the rest is forgettable.

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Transverse City

1989, 5.5/10
Zevon lost the momentum for his Sentimental Hygiene comeback with Transverse City. Zevon told EarOfNewt that it was supposed to be a cyberpunk album, inspired by reading William Gibson and Thomas Pynchon. He attempted to go beyond the rock band format, layering on sounds. It’s even more packed with guest stars than usual, with unexpected guests like keyboardist Chick Corea and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

The ambitious concept and the guests aren’t the issue – Tranverse City simply doesn’t have enough good songs. Its commercial failure seemingly ended Zevon’s prominence – subsequent Zevon records were on smaller labels with fewer guests.

The best songs are low-key and could have come from a smaller-scale project. ‘Splendid Isolation’ is the most beloved song here, a jangly pop-rock song with Mike Campbell on guitar. The ballads ‘They Moved the Moon’ and ‘Nobody’s in Love This Year’ are also worth salvaging. Zevon juxtaposed with Gilmour’s Floyd-style guitar on ‘Run Straight Down’ is also interesting.

But the rest is forgettable or embarrassing – in particular, ‘Gridlock’ is an uncharacteristically banal cock-rocker.

Transverse City is a noble failure, easily Zevon’s weakest since his debut.

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Mr. Bad Example

1991, 7/10
Zevon was clearly relegated to second-tier status after the failure of Transverse City. There’s no cast of expensive guest stars, and the cover art looks decidedly budget. But artistically, it’s a rebound from Transverse City. His band includes crack musicians like Jeff Porcaro and Waddy Wachtel, while, free from major-artist scrutiny, he slips in nasty lines like:

But I’m sick & tired
And my cock is sore

With the more stripped-down band, the rockers sound flat but the ballads sound gorgeous. The tender ‘Searching for a Heart’ is the best-known example, but ‘Renegade’ is an excellent deep cut. The country-flavoured ‘Heartache Spoken Here’, with Dwight Yoakam on chorus harmonies, is also lovely.

‘Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead’ is the best rocker, inspiring the name of a 1995 crime film. Zevon’s dark humour is intact on the title track, a biography of an unrepentant trickster whose myriad crimes include working in hair replacement, swindling the bald.

Mr. Bad Example is solid, but it’s one of Zevon’s weaker efforts.

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Mutineer

1995, 7/10
Zevon recorded Mutineer independently. He procured an advance from his record label and recorded in his home studio. He plays much of the album himself, with a few guests like David Lindley and Bruce Hornsby. It sounds better than Mr. Bad Example. It helps that it’s more diverse – the rockers are tougher, while Zevon dabbles with synths on the title track.

‘The Indifference of Heaven’ and ‘Piano Fighter’ already appeared on his 1993 live album, Learning to Flinch. Zevon also covers Judee Sill’s ‘Jesus Was a Crossmaker’, helping rehabilitate her before her wider rediscovery.

The title track is one of Zevon’s finest songs. He played it during his final live performance on Letterman, and it’s deeply personal. “I was born to rock the boat/Some may sink but we will float.” The synth backing and the vulnerable high notes are unique in Zevon’s catalogue. Other highlights include the opening rocker ‘Seminole Bingo’ and the pretty ‘The Indifference of Heaven’.

Mutineer is a little stronger than Mr. Bad Example, but again it’s a solid album that’s overshadowed in Zevon’s excellent catalogue.

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Life’ll Kill Ya

2000, 8/10
It’s hard to call Life’ll Kill Ya an artistic comeback – Zevon’s two 1990s albums were enjoyable. But it’s arguably his best record since the 1970s. It’s more polished than Mutineer, recorded in a studio with an outside producer. Most of the arrangements are stripped-down, a three-piece band, with Zevon, longtime collaborator Jorge Calderón on bass, and percussionist Winston Watson. The end result is reminiscent of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, an elder statesman making an introspective, acoustic album.

Zevon had a lifelong phobia of doctors, but he didn’t receive his terminal mesothelioma diagnosis until 2002. Uncannily, several songs here fixate on health – as well as the title track, there’s ‘Don’t Let Us Get Sick’ and ‘My Shit’s Fucked Up’.

The record’s a little short of great songs – opener ‘I Was in the House When the House Burned Down’ is perhaps the best known. But it’s chock full of good songs. Calderón’s backing vocals often add personality, like on ‘I’ll Slow You Down’. The acoustic, resigned cover of Steve Winwood’s ‘Back in the High Life Again’ is marvellous. The trademark dark humour still permeates ‘Porcelain Monkey’ and ‘For My Next Trick I’ll Need A Volunteer’.

Life’ll Kill Ya is an excellent late-period record from Zevon, well worth tracking down.

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My Ride’s Here

2002, 6/10
Zevon’s silliest album was released between his two most serious, creating a weird disconnect in his discography. He only has a sole writing credit for one song – other songs were created with writers like Carl Hiaasen and Hunter S. Thompson. Meanwhile, there are also covers – high school friend Dan McFarland wrote ‘I Have To Leave’, while he also tackles Serge Gainsbourg.

The result is an odd record. Compounding the weirdness, some of the best tracks are serious. The title track again addresses death, while ‘Genius’ is accompanied by a string quartet.

These share album space with oddities like the traditional English folk of ‘MacGillycuddy’s Reeks’ and the spaced-out cover of Gainsbourg’s ‘Laissez-Moi Tranquille’. Most bizarre of all is ‘Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)’. It’s in the vein of ‘Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner’, but crosses the line into silliness. David Letterman is on backing vocals.

My Ride’s Here is interesting, presenting an unfiltered Zevon. But it’s often unsatisfying.

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The Wind

2003, 7/10
Zevon’s previous two albums touched on themes of death, particularly Life’ll Kill Ya. But Zevon wasn’t diagnosed with inoperable pleural mesothelioma until after he released My Ride’s Here. Shortly after his diagnosis, he started recording The Wind. His label gave him a hefty advance, and it’s possibly his most star-studded affair ever, with appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, most of the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and actor Billy Bob Thornton. Jorge Calderón was absent on My Ride’s Here, but he’s ubiquitous here, playing bass and cowriting most of the songs.

The Wind has some strong songs, but it feels like Zevon resorted to some generic songs to fill out the tracklist, not surprising since the clock was ticking. The forced-cheer songs like ‘Disorder in the House’ and ‘The Rest of the Night’ don’t quite take flight for me. Conversely, opener ‘Dirty Life and Times’ and ‘Numb as a Statue’ are strong rockers.

The Wind‘s main appeal, however, are the heartbroken ballads, delivered without artifice. ‘Please Stay’ with Emmylou Harris on backing vocals and ‘She’s Too Good For Me’. Best of all is ‘Keep Me In Your Heart’, a plea not to be forgotten.

I’m glad Zevon got to make one final album – the best songs on The Wind are among his strongest.

12 Best Warren Zevon Songs

The French Inhaler
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Accidentally Like A Martyr
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Boom Boom Mancini
Mutineer
Hasten Down the Wind
Jeannie Needs a Shooter
Mohammed’s Radio
Werewolves of London
Hula Hula Boys
Keep Me In Your Heart