| | Warren Zevon Envoy CD Warren Zevon Discography of CDs
(2 Customer Reviews)
While moderation was never Warren Zevon's strong suit, his efforts to clean himself up in the early '80s resulted in two of his finest albums, 1980's literate but corrosive Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School and the following year's explosive live set Stand in the Fire. It seemed as if the wired chaos of Zevon's personal life had been channeled into his art on those LPs, but after another bout with the bottle and another attempt at sobriety, Zevon tried another approach at merging his music and his life on 1982's The Envoy. On The Envoy's best songs, Zevon tackles his dangerous appetites head on; "Charlie's Medicine" is a chilling requiem for a drug dealer who used to sell him dope, "Jesus Mentioned" is a spare but curiously moving meditation on the death of Elvis Presley, who "went walking on the water with his pills," and the ragged but right "Ain't That Pretty at All" is an unlikely but powerful recovery anthem in which he howls "I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all." When Zevon confronts his own demons on The Envoy, the album is intense and compelling stuff, but unfortunately there aren't enough of these moments to prop up the rest of the set, which is smart and literate but not especially exciting. Novelist Thomas McGuane co-wrote "The Overdraft," a hard-charging rocker that unfortunately doesn't make much sense, while the languid "The Hula Hula Boys" plays like a joke in which the punch line got lost, and the two love songs, "Let Nothing Come Between You" and "Looking for the Next Best Thing," manage to sound at once heartfelt and like lesser variations on themes he'd covered with greater strength before. The Envoy would prove to be Zevon's last album for five years after he took another stumble into addiction, but while it's an often brave and ambitious disc, the high points don't quite redeem its weaknesses. ~ Mark Deming
While moderation was never Warren Zevon's strong suit, his efforts to clean himself up in the early '80s resulted in two of his finest albums, 1980's literate but corrosive Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School and the following year's explosive live set Stand in the Fire. It seemed as if the wired chaos of Zevon's personal life had been channeled into his art on those LPs, but after another bout with the bottle and another attempt at sobriety, Zevon tried another approach at merging his music and his life on 1982's The Envoy. On The Envoy's best songs, Zevon tackles his dangerous appetites head on; "Charlie's Medicine" is a chilling requiem for a drug dealer who used to sell him dope, "Jesus Mentioned" is a spare but curiously moving meditation on the death of Elvis Presley, who "went walking on the water with his pills," and the ragged but right "Ain't That Pretty at All" is an unlikely but powerful recovery anthem in which he howls "I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all." When Zevon confronts his own demons on The Envoy, the album is intense and compelling stuff, but unfortunately there aren't enough of these moments to prop up the rest of the set, which is smart and literate but not especially exciting. Novelist Thomas McGuane co-wrote "The Overdraft," a hard-
"The Envpy", the reflective 1982 masterpiece that Zevon once described as “The Excitable Boy Grows Up,” makes its CD debut with this release. Highlights include the title track, the moving “Never Too Late For Love,” “The Hula Hula Boys,” and “The Overdraft,” a co-write with novelist Thomas McGuane featuring a ripping Lindsey Buckingham solo. Four previously unreleased tracks include outtakes of “Word Of Mouth” and “Wild Thing,” and the romantically skewed gem “Let Nothing Come Between You.” Liner notes by Rolling Stone editor David Wild.
Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Liner Note Author: David Wild.
Recording information: Record One, Los Angeles, CA.
Actors: Ted Shackleford; Gary Braglia; Don Grabowski "Don G."; James Houghton; Jonathan Exley; Greg Ladanyi; Harry Landry; George Gruel.
Photographer: RandDirty Linen (p.44) - "Zevon confronts his demons atop churning guitars." Envoy Music | List Price | $11.98 (You save $1.59) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Rock CDs, Hard Rock, Singer/Songwriter | | Label | Rhino | | Orig Year | 1982 | | All Time Sales Rank | 4677  | | CD Universe Part number | 7385217 | | Catalog number | 101758 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Mar 27, 2007 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Waddy Wachtel; Greg Ladanyi; Warren Zevon; Bill Inglot; Jackson Browne; Waddy Wachtel | | Engineer | Greg Ladanyi; Niko Bolas | | Personnel | Jeff Porcaro - drums, log drum Steve Lukather - guitar Jim Horn - recorder Russ Kunkel - drums Waddy Wachtel - guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, background vocals Rick Marotta Danny Kortchmar Steve Forman - percussion J.D. Souther - background vocals Kenny Edwards Warren Zevon - guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, piano, prepared piano, electric piano, synthesizer, background vocals David Landau - guitar, background vocals Roy Marinell - acoustic guitar Mike Potts
| | Additional Info | Bonus Tracks; Remastered |
Warren Zevon Envoy Songs
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Click on the  buttons below to play song samples |
| |      | 1. | Envoy, The | $0.99 | |
     | 2. | Overdraft, The | $0.99 | |
     | 3. | Hula Hula Boys, The | $0.99 | |
     | 4. | Jesus Mentioned  | $0.99 | |
     | 5. | Let Nothing Come Between You  | $0.99 | |
     | 6. | Ain't That Pretty at All | $0.99 | |
     | 7. | Charlie's Medicine | $0.99 | |
     | 8. | Looking for the Next Best Thing  | $0.99 | |
     | 9. | Never Too Late for Love  | $0.99 | |
     | 10. | Word of Mouth - (previously unreleased, Outtake, Bonus Track) | $0.99 | |
     | 11. | Let Nothing Come Between You - (previously unreleased, alternate take, Bonus Track)  | $0.99 | |
     | 12. | Risk, The - (previously unreleased, Outtake, Bonus Track) | $0.99 | |
     | 13. | Wild Thing - (previously unreleased, Outtake, Bonus Track) | $0.99 | |
| Envoy Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)   The Envoy-Must Have Warren Zevon's unique ability to lay down lyrics that are both "out there" and/or exactly what we would like to say but don't; coupled with his great musicianship make this a fantastic album. Zevon fans will want it for the bonus tracks alone. The album is brilliant, dark, and insightful all at once. -Requiescat in pace Warren. Submitted by Charles (Rockton, IL, USA)  Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 2 found this helpful.
About Dang Time!!! Why this album has been missing from the CD release of Warren Zevon's discography until now is baffling. "The Envoy" stands alongside of "Mr. Bad Example," "Excitable Boy," and "Life'll Kill Ya" as the outstanding works in the career of a man who seemed to devote his life to outstanding work.
The title song was written for Philip Habib during the Reagan administration; however, listening to the lyrics it seems to have been written yesterday. One of Zevon's funniest songs, "The Hula Hula Boys," tells of infidelity on a vacation to Hawaii ("I didn't have to come to Maui to be treated like a jerk/How do you think I feel when I see the bellboys smirk?"). "Jesus Mentioned" may superficially seem to be an insult to Elvis ("he went walking on the water with his pills"), but in actuality it's a loving tribute to the King of Rock and Roll and a lament that he left us too soon.
Two of Zevon's absolute classics are on this album. First is "Charlie's Medicine," a gripping tale of a drug dealer who is gunned down by "some respectable doctor from Beverly Hills." The closing track, "Never Too Late for Love," is an almost contrast to the upbeat "Let Nothing Come Between You" from earlier in the album. "You ache for her, rest assured, it's never too late for love." The album closed with these words to live by: "You could try to let the past slip away. Live for today. Don't stop believing in tomorrow."
Four additional cuts have been added to the reissue: an instrumental, a different take of "Let Nothing Come Between You," a rendition of "Wild Thing" that sounds as though the tape was just left running to capture the after-hours fun, and "The Risk." All "bonus" material in the truest sense of the word, because having additional material from this late genius only adds to the joy of having one of his finest albums available on CD at long last. If you're a Zevon fan, you've probably had this pre-ordered since the day it was announced it was coming out. If you aren't, this is a good album for you to get and see what all the fuss is about. Submitted by Karen (Louisville, KY)  Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 2 found this helpful.
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