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DISCID=69077509
DTITLE=Warren Zevon / Excitable Boy
DYEAR=1978
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=When Johnny Strikes Up The Band
TTITLE1=Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
TTITLE2=Excitable Boy
TTITLE3=Werewolves Of London
TTITLE4=Accidentally Like A Martyr
TTITLE5=Nighttime In The Switching Yard
TTITLE6=Veracruz
TTITLE7=Tenderness On The Block
TTITLE8=Lawyers, Guns And Money
EXTD=Originally Released 1978\nCD Edition Released 1988\n\nAMG EXPERT 
EXTD=REVIEW: Warren Zevon's self-titled 1976 album announced he was on
EXTD=e of the most striking talents to emerge from the Los Angeles sof
EXTD=t rock singer/songwriter community, and Linda Ronstadt (a shrewd 
EXTD=judge of talent if a sometimes questionable interpreter) recorded
EXTD= three of its songs on two of her biggest selling albums, which d
EXTD=oubtlessly earned Zevon bigger royalty checks than the album itse
EXTD=lf ever did. But if Warren Zevon was an impressive calling card, 
EXTD=the follow-up, Excitable Boy, was an actual hit, scoring one majo
EXTD=r hit single, "Werewolves of London," and a trio of turntable hit
EXTD=s ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," "Lawyers, Guns and Mone
EXTD=y," and the title track). But while Excitable Boy won Zevon the l
EXTD=arger audience his music certainly deserved, the truth is it was 
EXTD=a markedly inferior album; while it had all the bile of Warren Ze
EXTD=von, and significantly raised Zevon's dark-humor factor, it was o
EXTD=ften obvious where his previous album had been subtle, and while 
EXTD=all 11 tracks on Warren Zevon were strong and compelling, two of 
EXTD=the nine tunes on Excitable Boy -- "Johnny Strike Up the Band" an
EXTD=d "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" -- sound like they're just ta
EXTD=king up space. Musically, most of Excitable Boy is stuck in a pol
EXTD=ished but unexceptional FM pop groove, and only "Veracruz" hints 
EXTD=at the artful intelligence of Warren Zevon's finest moments. It's
EXTD= hard to say if Zevon was feeling uninspired or just dumbing hims
EXTD=elf down when he made Excitable Boy, but while it made him famous
EXTD=, it lacks the smarts and substance of his best work.  -- Mark De
EXTD=ming\n\nAmazon.com essential recording\nWith this 1978 LP, Warren
EXTD= Zevon stepped forward as something of the dark prince of Califor
EXTD=nia. Like fellow Southern California outcast Randy Newman, Zevon 
EXTD=achieved some fame, albeit not what his talent would have earned 
EXTD=him had he written songs more like his mellower pal Jackson Brown
EXTD=e and a little less like Jack the Ripper in a convertible. Fascin
EXTD=ated with bloodthirsty antiheroes, Zevon wrote with the flair of 
EXTD=a desperately bright pulp writer and summoned images of mutilated
EXTD= mercenaries ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"), pampered ba
EXTD=d boys ("Lawyers, Guns and Money"), helpless sickos (the title tr
EXTD=ack), and, of course, feral Chinese-food fiends ("Werewolves of L
EXTD=ondon"). Excitable Boy's 1976 predecessor (Warren Zevon) may be a
EXTD= more consistent album, but this is the one that put Zevon in the
EXTD= public consciousness as someone to keep an eye on--for protectio
EXTD=n as well as promise. --Steven Stolder \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER RE
EXTD=VIEW\nWarren Zevon releases his classic for the ages, September 1
EXTD=, 2005\nReviewer: Darth Kommissar (Las Vegas, NV (USA))\n\nINTROD
EXTD=UCTION: \nOne of the most interesting (and most underrated) pop m
EXTD=usicians of the late seventies was Warren Zevon. Although he star
EXTD=ted out as a singer-songwriter with musical stylings not unlike t
EXTD=hose of his friend/producer Jackson Browne, Zevon had a musical s
EXTD=tyle all his own. Unfortunately, he has been long since forgotten
EXTD= in the musical world, and these days is remembered for a single 
EXTD=song only - his 1978 classic, Werewolves Of London. The classic h
EXTD=it single came from Zevon's second studio album, 1978's Excitable
EXTD= Boy. How does his second album measure up? Is the classic hit th
EXTD=e only worthwhile song, or does the whole thing impress? Does it 
EXTD=top his debut album? Keep reading if you want the answers to thes
EXTD=e questions and many more! \n\nOVERVIEW/REVIEW: \nDamn all of the
EXTD= people who deem Warren Zevon a one-hit wonder - the man is a mus
EXTD=ical genius, and there is more to the man than a single song! Exc
EXTD=itable Boy may have been the album that spawned the man's biggest
EXTD= (and arguably only) hit, but as with Zevon himself, there is muc
EXTD=h more to this album than just one song. On this album, Zevon vee
EXTD=red away from being the "Dark Prince of California" that some peo
EXTD=ple had dubbed him, and took his music in more of a pop-oriented 
EXTD=direction, while at the same time maintaining his widely-diverse 
EXTD=singer-songwriter roots and unique stylings. The end result tops 
EXTD=the first album, which was a masterpiece in its own right. As a w
EXTD=hole, this album sounds something like a cross between Jackson Br
EXTD=owne and Tom Petty. The opening track, Johnny Strikes Up The Band
EXTD=, is an excellent pop-rocker which sounds very similar to Tom Pet
EXTD=ty's work in its instrumentation, while at the same time being un
EXTD=iquely Zevon. A great opener. The slow and depressing ballad of a
EXTD=n ill-fated soldier, Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, comes n
EXTD=ext. In its insturmentation, this song is very similar to the cla
EXTD=ssic Frank And Jesse James from Zevon's first album. The song is 
EXTD=fairly popular with Zevon's followers, and it isn't hard to see w
EXTD=hy. Only he could write a song like this. The pace is kicked up a
EXTD= bit with the third track on the album, which is the title track.
EXTD= With horns in the background, and an upbeat pop-rock sound somew
EXTD=hat reminiscent of Bob Seger in the same period, Zevon serves up 
EXTD=another winner. Track four is Werewolves Of London, the classic p
EXTD=op tune that gave Zevon his one-hit wonder status. I shouldn't ha
EXTD=ve to tell you that this song is excellent, and to be quite hones
EXTD=t, it's the whole reason I bought the album initially. It's a gre
EXTD=at song worthy of its lofty status, I just wish more of Zevon's s
EXTD=ongs got the same recognition this one does. Following the massiv
EXTD=e pop hit, we enter another slower track entitled Accidentally Li
EXTD=ke A Martyr. Soulful and melodic pop ballads don't get much bette
EXTD=r than the ones Warren Zevon served up, and this here is solid pr
EXTD=oof of that. Nighttime In The Switch Station is perhaps my favori
EXTD=te song on the entire album, because it sounds so different from 
EXTD=everything else on this album. Here, Zevon takes up a funk-driven
EXTD=, almost disco-sounding track. But the most remarkable thing? The
EXTD= song is excellent! When disco is done right, the end results can
EXTD= be surprisingly pleasing to your ears, and with Zevon's attempt 
EXTD=at this style, he succeeds beautifully! Hard to believe a non-dis
EXTD=co artist like Zevon could create a song that puts the one-hits o
EXTD=f the many one-hit disco wonders of the day to shame - and the so
EXTD=ng isn't even his biggest hit! Oh well, enough on that song. I'm 
EXTD=starting to ramble. Veracruz comes next. It's another one of Zevo
EXTD=n's ballads. This one sounds a little like some of David Bowie's 
EXTD=slower early tunes. Once again, he creates a solid ballad. It's i
EXTD=mmediately followed by the upbeat-yet-melodic pop sounds of Tende
EXTD=rness On The Block. Here's a song that had all the potential in t
EXTD=he world to be a massive pop hit, yet it never got the chance for
EXTD= popularity it deserved. What a shame. Laywers Guns And Money clo
EXTD=ses out the album. For the closer, Zevon serves up Eagles-esque r
EXTD=ock that, like so many other songs on the album, is excellent but
EXTD= ever-so-overrated. He couldn't have ended the album on much of a
EXTD= higher note. In the end, the Dark Prince's sophomore effort is a
EXTD= solid effort that certainly has more depth to it than its lone h
EXTD=it. \n\nEDITION NOTES: \nThis album was only released on CD in Am
EXTD=erica once, but the version initially released still seems to be 
EXTD=in print, albeit in fairly limited supply. Hopefully a deluxe edi
EXTD=tion of this album will be released on day. Until then, this vers
EXTD=ion is just gonna have to hold you over. \n\nOVERALL: \nSophomore
EXTD= slump? No way. Where most musical artists create a sophomore alb
EXTD=um that pales in comparison to what preceeded and what will immed
EXTD=iately follow, Zevon wasn't in that crowd. His sophomore album su
EXTD=rpassed his debut, and what followed never topped this. If you're
EXTD= a fan of pop rock, Warren Zevon's second album is a masterpiece 
EXTD=of the genre you simply must own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Five stars 
EXTD=all the way.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nExcitable Boy, They A
EXTD=ll Said, February 27, 2005\nReviewer: Tom Emanuel (Deadwood, SD U
EXTD=SA)\nI've always had a thing for Warren Zevon. He and his music h
EXTD=ave always been very unique. If he has any parallel, it's contemp
EXTD=orary Randy Newman: they both emerged in the mid-to-late 70s; bot
EXTD=h are primarily keyboardists; both are witty, with dark senses of
EXTD= humour and social consciences; and both defy categorization. \n\n
EXTD=However, one of Zevon's most distinctive qualities is his Lennone
EXTD=sque double edge. On the one hand we have the cynical, razor-shar
EXTD=p wit, on the other the exposed, emotional human being. His voice
EXTD= can be best approximated to one like that of Jim Morrison: deep 
EXTD=and expressive, with just a hint of menace. He isn't as versatile
EXTD= tonally as say Elton John or Freddie Mercury (who is?), but he a
EXTD=dapts well to the material, equally at home with cynical sneering
EXTD= and heartfelt balladry. \n\nHe's never gone for exactly orthodox
EXTD= subject material either, and both facts are more than apparent o
EXTD=n this, his breakthrough album. There are maybe three cuts here t
EXTD=hat conform to anything like "mainstream" topics; otherwise the s
EXTD=ongs range from tales of war-torn Mexico (partially in Spanish, n
EXTD=o less) to legends of phantom mercenaries to werewolf pastiches. 
EXTD=The title song, for instance, is the warped story of a homicidal 
EXTD=teen described as an "excitable boy" by friends and family. It so
EXTD=unds macabre, and it is, but Zevon makes us laugh at it somehow. 
EXTD=As I said, his sense of humour's a bit off-kilter. But at the sam
EXTD=e time he can be very emotional, wrenching at your heartstrings w
EXTD=ith bittersweet ballads - notable on this album Accidentally Like
EXTD= a Martyr. \n\nApart from Nighttime in the Switching Yard, which 
EXTD=tries too hard and fails to achieve a weird kind of disco groove,
EXTD= this disc is loaded with first-class material. (A couple persona
EXTD=l favourites are Tenderness on the Block, very much a "growing up
EXTD=, letting go" song, and Lawyers Guns & Money, a delicious slice o
EXTD=f biting satire.) We've all heard Werewolves of London, but there
EXTD='s far more to Warren Zevon than that, and this disc belongs in a
EXTD=ny collection.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Cracked Mirror Vi
EXTD=ew of LA Singer Songwriters, September 14, 2003\nReviewer: Tim Br
EXTD=ough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States)\nMor
EXTD=e than anyone else in the whole El Lay songwriter movement of the
EXTD= late seventies, Warren Zevon had absolutely no problem with gett
EXTD=ing a good laugh at the expense of the insularity of it all. And 
EXTD=on his second proper album, he took the whole scene and turned it
EXTD= properly on its backside. "Excitable Boy" threw in a mix of were
EXTD=wolves, mercenaries, drug abusers and paranoid spoiled brats, yet
EXTD= while frequently offering exceptional tenderness and insight. It
EXTD= was easy to see why Jackson Browne was his mentor and Linda Rons
EXTD=tadt his patron angel. \nA song as reckless as the album's title 
EXTD=track could come from nothing less than genius. The chirpy sweet 
EXTD=background vocals and sugary melody buoy the dark tale of a murde
EXTD=rous high school student who kills on the night of his junior pro
EXTD=m. "Hotel California" this most certainly wasn't. At the same tim
EXTD=e, "Accidentally Like a Martyr," with its stately piano line, enc
EXTD=ompasses the horror of a sunken love affair in barely three and a
EXTD= half minutes. These juxtapositions carry all the way through "Ex
EXTD=citable Boy," with only one misstep in the CD's nine songs (the f
EXTD=orced funk of "Nighttime In The Switching Yard").\n\nWarren Zevon
EXTD= made several other great albums, but "Excitable Boy" was the mom
EXTD=ent that his youthful exuberance and a mind uncluttered by too ma
EXTD=ny foreign substances produced a stunner. As a document of the Ca
EXTD=lifornia Sound that Elektra/Asylum records was known for in the s
EXTD=eventies, this is indispensible.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA
EXTD=n overlooked literary treasure.., November 21, 2002\nReviewer: sp
EXTD=iral_mind (Pennsylvania)\nJackson Browne once called Zevon "the f
EXTD=irst and foremost proponent of song noir," and I might as well le
EXTD=ad off with that description since I can't think of one more simp
EXTD=le and eloquent myself. From the late 60s to the present, WZ has 
EXTD=developed an uncanny ability like no one else - the art of mixing
EXTD= oddball black humor with melodies so bright and spirited you cat
EXTD=ch yourself humming them for a week. The arguable peak of his 70s
EXTD= material is this album you're reading about now, Excitable Boy, 
EXTD=and not just because everybody knows "Werewolves of London." Much
EXTD= of it is simple rock and roll, but to me there's always been a u
EXTD=niquely creative quality about everything here that keeps any of 
EXTD=it from sounding stale or tired. Maybe it's partly because I have
EXTD= a thing for cool titles like "Lawyers, Guns and Money." Maybe I 
EXTD=just can't help admiring someone who can rhyme 'word' with 'Johan
EXTD=nesburg' and make it work. I can't explain it.. I just know that 
EXTD=I still get a kick out of this stuff after years of listening, an
EXTD=d Warren's recent diagnosis with terminal lung cancer has saddene
EXTD=d me like no other bit of celebrity news in recent memory.\nBut a
EXTD=nyway - back to the album. To be sure there are a couple more som
EXTD=ber moments here: "Accidentally Like a Martyr" for example (Dylan
EXTD=, eat yer heart out), or the growing-up theme of "Tenderness on t
EXTD=he Block".. and that's not even getting into the strange half-cre
EXTD=epiness of "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and the like. Bu
EXTD=t even despite all those, it's a safe bet you've rarely heard suc
EXTD=h cynicism with such a sweet sugarcoating as you'll hear here. Th
EXTD=e title track is probably the best example; the words verge on do
EXTD=wnright disturbing, yet it's driven along with a joyfully sunny s
EXTD=axophone and a bright "oo-wah-oo" backup chorus. "Lawyers..." is 
EXTD=Warren's finest example of the perfect straightforward three-chor
EXTD=d rocker, while "Veracruz" establishes a foreign setting by mixin
EXTD=g in some flute. I can even forgive the 70s disco-funk touch of "
EXTD=Nighttime in the Switching Yard" considering what brilliance it's
EXTD= surrounded by. The whole disc plays like a short-story anthology
EXTD= in musical form, peppered with characters that range from oddly 
EXTD=lovable to frighteningly strange.. from Roland and his mercenary 
EXTD=comrades, to the trouble-loving thug in a tight spot begging his 
EXTD=father for help, to the album's namesake with his habit of murder
EXTD=ing prom dates. It's a guilty treat for the cackling cynic in all
EXTD= of us; a way of unflinchingly looking at the dark side of humani
EXTD=ty and realizing that, when you get right down to it, something a
EXTD=bout it all is wickedly funny for a reason we can't really explai
EXTD=n.\n\nOr maybe I'm reading way too much into it, and it's just ni
EXTD=ne plain songs to stick in your head and give you a good laugh. O
EXTD=f course there's nothing wrong with that either, and there are mu
EXTD=ch worse ways of spending a few quick dollars than this. Enjoy an
EXTD=d beware the werewolves.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFrom the 
EXTD=first track about his dope dealer..., December 20, 1999\nReviewer
EXTD=: David (Ontario, Canada)\nto the last about a young man in over 
EXTD=his head in Central America, Zevon avoids his problem of self-con
EXTD=fession by writing about other, imagined people. (The one excepti
EXTD=on - "Accidentily Like a Martyr" - is as obscure as its title.) T
EXTD=hat none of his characters are believable says more about Zevon's
EXTD= delightful askew view of relationships, innocence and forgivenes
EXTD=s than is the norm. This gentle fantastical way of putting things
EXTD= allows him to accomplish couplets ("then he dug up her grave and
EXTD= made a cage with her bones") that nobody else could get away wit
EXTD=h in the same way. If this was Randy Newman it would just be spoo
EXTD=ky and arch. But because it is Warren Zevon (even the name seems 
EXTD=silly) we skip right past being horrified and enter in at being i
EXTD=ntrigued. "Werewolves of London" is the greatest and smartest son
EXTD=g that will ever be written about the Sex Pistols. His disinteres
EXTD=t in cliques will redeem his stylistic rootedness and the fact th
EXTD=at he lives in California.\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing art
EXTD=ists: J. D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes, John McVie,
EXTD= Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Mick Fleetwood \nProducer: Jackson
EXTD= Browne, Waddy Wachtel \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel includes: Warre
EXTD=n Zevon (vocals, piano, organ); Danny Kortchmar (guitar, percussi
EXTD=on); Arthur Gerst (harp); Waddy Wachtel, Jim Horn (saxophone); Ke
EXTD=nny Edwards, John McVie, Bob Glaub, Leland Sklar (bass); Rick Mar
EXTD=otta, Mick Fleetwood, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Greg Ladanyi (percuss
EXTD=ion); Karla Bonoff, Jennifer Warnes, Jackson Browne, Jorge Calder
EXTD=on, J.D. Souther, Linda Rondstadt (background vocals).\n\nWarren 
EXTD=Zevon came roaring out of the '70s touchy-feely California singer
EXTD=-songwriter gene pool with one hand on the piano and the other wa
EXTD=ving a pistol. While his more genteel peers were primarily concer
EXTD=ned with taking it easy, Zevon crawled under the seedy side of L.
EXTD=A. and poured it into his ivories, taking in every ounce of decad
EXTD=ence and excess. Although the weight the underworld would eventua
EXTD=lly all but break him, EXCITABLE BOY finds Zevon empowered by his
EXTD= surroundings.\nThe terrain is unsettling, bizarre and often soak
EXTD=ed with blood. Stalking across the landscape are pina colada-sipp
EXTD=ing werewolves, headless mercenaries, and desperate gamblers. Tha
EXTD=t the sound and overall musical mood of the record is upbeat unde
EXTD=rscores Zevon's ability to attach a winning melody to a gallow's 
EXTD=tale. The home runs are the instantly memorable "Werewolves of Lo
EXTD=ndon," the murderous glee of "Excitable Boy," and the affecting "
EXTD=Accidentally Like a Martyr." The inclusion of obvious filler cuts
EXTD= detract from the overall focus of the record but that is a small
EXTD= complaint. After all, it takes a special man to turn a tale of r
EXTD=ape and murder into a cheery singalong.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n...Z
EXTD=evon took the vernacular of the pop song into uncharted, bloody t
EXTD=erritory...\nUncut (09/01/2003)\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nWarren Z
EXTD=evon's Excitable Boy is the best American rock & roll album since
EXTD= Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run (1975), Neil Young's Zuma (1976)
EXTD= and Jackson Browne's The Pretender (1976). If there's not enough
EXTD= firepower in that statement, let's cock the hammer on another. T
EXTD=hus far, the Seventies have introduced three major American rock 
EXTD=& roll artists--Browne in 1972, Springsteen in 1973 and Zevon--an
EXTD=d I have every confidence the music of all three will be even bet
EXTD=ter in the future.\n\nOddly enough, Zevon, the apparent newcomer,
EXTD= preceded both Browne and Springsteen into the studio. His first 
EXTD=record, an exercise in self-produced self-induced psychedelia cal
EXTD=led Wanted Dead or Alive (Imperial, 1970), went deservedly unnoti
EXTD=ced, and it wasn't until 1976, when his career seemed all but dea
EXTD=d, that he got another shot (largely through Browne's persistence
EXTD=), this time with Asylum. On Warren Zevon, his aim was truer but 
EXTD=he hit perhaps too many targets, and there was some confusion whe
EXTD=ther he was just another sensitive (albeit unusually tough) singe
EXTD=r songwriter or a Magnum-cum-laude rock & roller who ate gunpowde
EXTD=r for breakfast. His first tour answered that question, and the n
EXTD=ew LP blasts the bull's-eye into smithereens.\n\nWhen Warren Zevo
EXTD=n sits down at the piano and throws back his head and sings on Ex
EXTD=citable Boy, he's like Sam Peckinpah trying to work out the obses
EXTD=sions in something like Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Whil
EXTD=e one hand steadily applies the Apollonian technique and obvious 
EXTD=control of the classical artist (Zevon also writes symphonies and
EXTD= string quartets), the other is compulsively jerking the trigger 
EXTD=with Dionysian delirium. Though clearly no dumdum, Zevon, like Pe
EXTD=ckinpah, sometimes refuses to rely upon academic intelligence and
EXTD= pragmatic perspective to pull him through. An intuitive artist, 
EXTD=he's often both smart and crazy enough to shoot first at the most
EXTD= explosive subjects, then figure out the ramifications of whateve
EXTD=r the hell he's bloodied later ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gun
EXTD=ner," "Excitable Boy," "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns and
EXTD= Money"). This is a dangerous way to work--it isn't nice, and not
EXTD= everybody gets it--but you can claim some spectacular trophies w
EXTD=hen you're sufficiently reckless to risk safari on the dark side 
EXTD=of the moon, where the gleam of the lion may look like the leer o
EXTD=f the lamb.\n\nNot that Zevon is particularly metaphysical, at le
EXTD=ast not in the expected manner. While he writes very good lyrics 
EXTD=("Veracruz"), he writes great music. Mostly, his songs are purely
EXTD= physical, but in the same ways that Clint Eastwood--in, say, Dir
EXTD=ty Harry--is purely physical. Almost without exception, Zevon's r
EXTD=ock & roll songs command and demand your attention through the sh
EXTD=eer strength of their creator's personality; they're not necessar
EXTD=ily profound (though they can be), but they hit with such primary
EXTD= impact you don't have to think twice about them. In movies, ther
EXTD=e's a saying that when a director dies, he becomes a photographer
EXTD=. Well, when a rock & roller dies, he writes hooks and succumbs t
EXTD=o other similarly decadent devices. On Excitable Boy, Warren Zevo
EXTD=n's self-confidence and craftsmanship are so inherently forceful 
EXTD=he's able to bypass self-consciousness and secondary concerns alt
EXTD=ogether. These songs stand up and look you right in the eye. They
EXTD='re so damned good no one could miss them.\n\nLike Wanted Dead or
EXTD= Alive and Warren Zevon, Excitable Boy shares a passion for large
EXTD=r-than-life historical figures (or those who would emulate them),
EXTD= elemental forces and codes of behavior often associated with cou
EXTD=rage and honor. But Zevon's would-be heroes ("Should have done, s
EXTD=hould have done, we all sigh") sometimes unwittingly shoot for th
EXTD=e moon when it's reflected in a puddle of water under their tangl
EXTD=ed feet. Like the characters in Graham Greene's The Comedians, th
EXTD=ey're so tragicomically confused about glory they don't know up f
EXTD=rom down, quandary from quarry, but they do know they're either r
EXTD=unning after or running away from something big--and, in their ze
EXTD=al and commitment, that's all that matters. There's not much iron
EXTD=y here, but a lot of heart. When the picaresque protagonist of "L
EXTD=awyers, Guns and Money" sings:\n\nNow I'm biding in Honduras\n\nI
EXTD='m a desperate man\n\nSend lawyers, guns and money\n\nThe shit ha
EXTD=s hit the fan,\n\nhe's not surrendering; he's just acknowledging 
EXTD=he's fucked up the quest again and now needs power to fight power
EXTD=.\n\nWhen Warren Zevon needs more power on this album, all he has
EXTD= to do is snap his fingers. For, if Excitable Boy is clearly a si
EXTD=ngular triumph, it is also a collective one. Brassy as Zevon is, 
EXTD=he's given comparable backing by the rhythm sections of three sup
EXTD=erlative rock & roll bands (Linda Ronstadt's, the Section, Fleetw
EXTD=ood Mac), exceptionally crisp and complementary production by Jac
EXTD=kson Browne and guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and the kind of sound qu
EXTD=ality (by Gred Ladanyi, who engineered Browne's Running on Empty)
EXTD= that most musicians would kill for. Musically, Zevon's stalwart 
EXTD=singing and rigorous, razor-sharp piano playing hold down the for
EXTD=t, while Wachtel, who brandishes an armory of guitars, takes the 
EXTD=high ground with such audacity he nearly steals the action at tim
EXTD=es. On "Johnny Strikes Up the Band" (like the second LP's "Mohamm
EXTD=ed's Radio," a "tribute to rock & roll"), Wachtel simply picks up
EXTD= the song and carries it away, giving it back only for the vibran
EXTD=t vocals.\n\nThough it's not exactly confined to quarters here, Z
EXTD=evon's anarchic obsession will never get time off for good behavi
EXTD=or either. His heroes are too excitable ("Well, he went down to d
EXTD=inner in his Sunday best ...And he rubbed the pot roast all over 
EXTD=his chest") and generally find themselves in situations as absurd
EXTD= as those in Norman Mailer's An American Dream, which "Lawyers, G
EXTD=uns and Money" resembles:\n\nWell, I went home with the waitress\n
EXTD=\nThe way I always do\n\nHow was I to know\n\nShe was with the Ru
EXTD=ssians, too?\n\n"Caught between the rock and the hard place," Zev
EXTD=on's "innocent bystander" shouts sendups that make sense and stat
EXTD=ements that don't. "Werewolves of London" is one of those indescr
EXTD=ibable, half-sung/half-spoken, stupid/profound anthems that captu
EXTD=res something of a city and a time. With Wachtel's guitar prowlin
EXTD=g through the rolling fog like Jack the Ripper, Zevon reduces the
EXTD= whole world to a mythic howl, and you feel exhilarated. "Roland 
EXTD=the Headless Thompson Gunner," cowritten by ex-soldier of fortune
EXTD= David Lindell in Spain, is an ersatz Irish ballad about betrayal
EXTD=, revenge and death in Africa ("They can still see his headless b
EXTD=ody stalking through the night In the muzzle flash of Roland's Th
EXTD=ompson gun") that somehow winds up with Patty Hearst in Berkeley.
EXTD= The title song sounds both harmless and bouncy until you listen 
EXTD=to the lyrics, which could have been scrawled in blood by Anthony
EXTD= Perkins in Psycho.\n\nIt would be a mistake to define Zevon sole
EXTD=ly by his outr limits, however. He's a son, a husband and a fath
EXTD=er, and this cycle is seldom slighted in his work (e.g., "A Bulle
EXTD=t for Ramona," "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" and "Backs Turned Loo
EXTD=king down the Path" on previous records). Here, "Veracruz" functi
EXTD=ons as a haunting synthesis of history and honor, codes and obses
EXTD=sions. Like Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, it's a dream about exiles
EXTD= acting with integrity when their entire way of life is dying, bu
EXTD=t it's also about families in peril, mourning old dreams while mo
EXTD=ving inevitably toward new ones.\n\n"Tenderness on the Block," wr
EXTD=itten with Jackson Browne and reminiscent of Browne's "The Only C
EXTD=hild" and "Daddy's Tune," projects and reflects upon a happy and 
EXTD=satisfying father/daughter relationship, but "Accidentally like a
EXTD= Martyr" is a hard-as-nails love song about a love that's been ir
EXTD=redeemably lost. Rarely has a remembrance been so sad and gloriou
EXTD=s, so lovely and forlorn. For some reason, the chorus made me thi
EXTD=nk of Lew Archer, the private detective created by Zevon's friend
EXTD=, mystery writer Ross Macdonald. In The Doomsters, Macdonald wrot
EXTD=e:\n\nFor once in my life I had nothing and wanted nothing. Then 
EXTD=the thought of Sue fell through me like a feather in a vacuum. My
EXTD= mind picked it up and ran with it and took flight. I wondered wh
EXTD=ere she was, what she was doing, whether she'd aged much as she l
EXTD=ay in ambush in time, or changed the color of her bright head.\n\n
EXTD=Pictured on the inner sleeve of this album is Zevon's 44-caliber 
EXTD=Smith & Wesson revolver resting on a dinner plate filled with his
EXTD= wife's cooking. The photograph is titled "Willy on the Plate," a
EXTD=nd it tells the whole story. Warren Zevon wants it all--and, on E
EXTD=xcitable Boy, that's exactly what he gets. (RS 261 - Mar 23, 1978
EXTD=) -- PAUL NELSON
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