Warren Zevon's self-titled 1976 album announced he was one of the most striking talents to emerge from the Los Angeles soft rock singer/songwriter community, and Linda Ronstadt (a shrewd judge of talent if a sometimes questionable interpreter) recorded three of its songs on two of her biggest-selling albums, which doubtlessly earned Zevon bigger royalty checks than the album itself ever did. But if Warren Zevon was an impressive calling card, the follow-up, Excitable Boy, was an actual hit, scoring one major hit single, "Werewolves of London," and a trio of turntable hits ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," "Lawyers, Guns and Money," and the title track). But while Excitable Boy won Zevon the larger audience his music certainly deserved, the truth is it was a markedly inferior album; while it had all the bile of Warren Zevon, and significantly raised Zevon's dark-humor factor, it was often obvious where his previous album had been subtle, and while all 11 tracks on Warren Zevon were strong and compelling, two of the nine tunes on Excitable Boy -- "Johnny Strike Up the Band" and "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" -- sound like they're just taking up space. Musically, most of Excitable Boy is stuck in a polished but unexceptional FM pop groove, and only "Veracruz" hints at the artful intelligence of Warren Zevon's finest moments. It's hard to say if Zevon was feeling uninspired or just dumbing himself down when he made Excitable Boy, but while it made him famous, it lacks the smarts and substance of his best work.
*Savage, satirical, smart-assed and sorely missed*Famous friends gave Zevon an important leg-up in the business. After a stint writing and recording radio jingles, and playing piano for The Everly Brothers before their acrimonious split in the early 70s, it was Warren's buddy Jackson Browne who secured him a deal with Asylum Records and produced his 1976 debut. Linda Ronstadt then covered three...
More >
I was excited to hear this week that Rhino is finally reissuing the long out-of-print Traveling Wilburys albums, but maybe even more excited to hear that they're also reissuing two even longer out-of-print albums from one of my favorite unsung (or at least underrated) singer-songwriters: Warren Zevon. Yep, a live album called Stand in the Fire and a studio album from 1982 called The Envoy are f...
More >
So I was listening to the new reissue of Warren Zevon's EXCITABLE BOY in the car this evening and the stunningly funky "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" suddenly came on... and I thought, "What other examples are there of stunningly funky tracks by fundamentally unfunky people?" Three came instantly to mind: ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses," Ian Dury's "Reasons to be Cheerful," and Metallica's "Sad ...
More >
I THINK THIS JUST ABOUT SAYS IT ALL
More >
This weekend I finally gave a listen to Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy. I had already been familiar with his elegant self-titled record, enough to lump him in with Fagen & Becker and Randy Newman for intelligent, sardonic, male purveyors of the sophisticated L.A. sound. Though I have several friends who are fans of his, it was Kalen who played me the self-titled in the first place, and it was als...
More >
I THINK THIS JUST ABOUT SAYS IT ALL
More >
*Savage, satirical, smart-assed and sorely missed*Famous friends gave Zevon an important leg-up in the business. After a stint writing and recording radio jingles, and playing piano for The Everly Brothers before their acrimonious split in the early 70s, it was Warren's buddy Jackson Browne who secured him a deal with Asylum Records and produced his 1976 debut. Linda Ronstadt then covered three...
More >
It is my humble opinion that Warren Zevon never got the props or love he deservedI'm sure a lot of it had to do with his alcoholism. but even beyond that, it seems to me he is given short shrift in the music universe.Quirky as he may have been, dude was brilliant
More >
"All Summer Long"?While the two licks are similar, it reminds me more of "Werewolves of London" more than "Sweet Home Alabama".Just sayin'.
More >
Warren had a little funk groove goin' on here...." Never in a rut, always in the groove!" Happy Funky Friday, y'all!.
More >
This weekend I finally gave a listen to Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy. I had already been familiar with his elegant self-titled record, enough to lump him in with Fagen & Becker and Randy Newman for intelligent, sardonic, male purveyors of the sophisticated L.A. sound. Though I have several friends who are fans of his, it was Kalen who played me the self-titled in the first place, and it was als...
More >
More >
I am sad to report that I have not listened to a single note of music over the past week or so. There's a very good reason -- I'm in the middle of listening to the audiobook of John Hodgman's _Areas of My Expertise_, and I just don't want to have to find my way back through it if I interrupt it to listen to tunes. (Note to Apple: Give the iPod a user-selectable "bookmark" feature for audioboo...
More >
I was excited to hear this week that Rhino is finally reissuing the long out-of-print Traveling Wilburys albums, but maybe even more excited to hear that they're also reissuing two even longer out-of-print albums from one of my favorite unsung (or at least underrated) singer-songwriters: Warren Zevon. Yep, a live album called Stand in the Fire and a studio album from 1982 called The Envoy are f...
More >
So I was listening to the new reissue of Warren Zevon's EXCITABLE BOY in the car this evening and the stunningly funky "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" suddenly came on... and I thought, "What other examples are there of stunningly funky tracks by fundamentally unfunky people?" Three came instantly to mind: ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses," Ian Dury's "Reasons to be Cheerful," and Metallica's "Sad ...
More >
With Halloween just a few days away, we thought we'd start getting in the mood over here at HT. While there may be any number of appropriate songs for All Hallows Eve the one that's our personal favorite around these parts is the Warren Zevon's classic cheeky rocker - Werewolves Of London - which originally [...]by Some Dude Leave A Comment
More >
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Excitable Boy")
