Warren Zevon Excitable Boy CD

Warren Zevon came roaring out of the '70s touchy-feely California singer-songwriter gene pool with one hand on the piano and the other waving a pistol. While his more genteel peers were primarily concerned with taking it easy, Zevon crawled under the seedy side of L.A. and poured it into his ivories, taking in every ounce of decadence and excess. Although the weight the underworld would eventually all but break him, EXCITABLE BOY finds Zevon empowered by his surroundings.

The terrain is unsettling, bizarre and often soaked with blood. Stalking across the landscape are pina colada-sipping werewolves, headless mercenaries, and desperate gamblers. That the sound and overall musical mood of the record is upbeat underscores Zevon's ability to attach a winning melody to a gallow's tale. The home runs are the instantly memorable "Werewolves of London," the murderous glee of "Excitable Boy," and the affecting "Accidentally Like a Martyr." The inclusion of obvious filler cuts detract from the overall focus of the record but that is a small complaint. After all, it takes a special man to turn a tale of rape and murder into a cheery singalong.

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. [Rhino Records gave Excitable Boy an overhaul for their 2007 remastered reissue. The new edition includes an appreciative liner essay from David Fricke and four bonus tracks. "I Need a Truck" is a revealing a cappella fragment about his myriad burdens and addictions, while "Tule's Blues" and "Frozen Notes" are lovely low-key numbers that would have fit rig

"Excitable Boy", originally released in ’83 and produced by Jackson Browne and Waddy Wachtel, hit #8 on Billboard®’s Pop albums chart and made Zevon a star. Includes the essential signature songs “Werewolves Of London”, a #21 hit single and “Lawyers, Guns And Money.” Also features “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner,” “Excitable Boy,” “Accidentally Like A Martyr,” and other Zevon classics. Four previously unissued bonus treasures include an alternate version of “Werewolves,” a solo piano version of “Tule’s Blues,” and an outtake of “I Need A Truck.” In-depth liner notes by Rolling Stone writer David Fricke.

Audio Mixers: Dennis Kirk; Greg Ladanyi.

Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.

Liner Note Author: David Fricke.

Recording information: Sound Factory, Los Angeles, CA.

Photographers: Jimmy Wachtel; Lorrie Sullivan.

Personnel includes: Warren Zevon (vocals, piano, organ); Danny Kortchmar (guitar, percussion); Arthur GeUncut (9/03, p.96) - "...Zevon took the vernacular of the pop song into uncharted, bloody territory..."
Dirty Linen (p.44) - "Tule's Blues' is a lovely, slightly rambling love song with only Zevon's piano."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With the band ribald, raunchy and right beside him on every syllable, he pounds that piano, relentless raw rocking. He howls and roars and guffaws."