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DISCID=b209d70d
DTITLE=Warren Zevon / Excitable Boy (Remastered + Expanded)
DYEAR=1978
DGENRE=Classic Rock
TTITLE0=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
TTITLE9=I Need A Truck (Previously Unissued Outtake)
TTITLE10=Werewolves Of London (Previously Unissued Alternate Version)
TTITLE11=Tule's Blues (Previously Unissued Solo Piano Version)
TTITLE12=Frozen Notes (Previously Unissued Strings Version)
EXTD=Excitable Boy (Remastered + Expanded)\n2007 Asylum/Rhino\n\nOrigi
EXTD=nally Released January 24, 1978\nCD Edition Released 1988\nRemast
EXTD=ered + Expanded CD Edition Released March 27, 2007\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. [Rhino Reco
EXTD=rds gave Excitable Boy an overhaul for their 2007 remastered reis
EXTD=sue. The new edition includes an appreciative liner essay from Da
EXTD=vid Fricke and four bonus tracks. "I Need a Truck" is a revealing
EXTD= a cappella fragment about his myriad burdens and addictions, whi
EXTD=le "Tule's Blues" and "Frozen Notes" are lovely low-key numbers t
EXTD=hat would have fit right in on Warren Zevon, the latter featuring
EXTD= a beautiful string arrangement from the songwriter. There's also
EXTD= a ragged, stripped-down early take of "Werewolves of London" whi
EXTD=ch has a lot more energy than the cut that made the album, if a l
EXTD=ot less precision. The new mastering also improves the album's so
EXTD=nics, and this edition represents a genuine improvement over the 
EXTD=previous CD edition, if the album's creative flaws remain.]  -- M
EXTD=ark Deming\n\nAmazon.com essential recording\nWith this 1978 LP, 
EXTD=Warren Zevon stepped forward as something of the dark prince of C
EXTD=alifornia. Like fellow Southern California outcast Randy Newman, 
EXTD=Zevon achieved some fame, albeit not what his talent would have e
EXTD=arned him had he written songs more like his mellower pal Jackson
EXTD= Browne and a little less like Jack the Ripper in a convertible. 
EXTD=Fascinated with bloodthirsty antiheroes, Zevon wrote with the fla
EXTD=ir of a desperately bright pulp writer and summoned images of mut
EXTD=ilated mercenaries ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"), pampe
EXTD=red bad boys ("Lawyers, Guns and Money"), helpless sickos (the ti
EXTD=tle track), and, of course, feral Chinese-food fiends ("Werewolve
EXTD=s of London"). Excitable Boy's 1976 predecessor (Warren Zevon) ma
EXTD=y be a more consistent album, but this is the one that put Zevon 
EXTD=in the public consciousness as someone to keep an eye on--for pro
EXTD=tection as well as promise. --Steven Stolder \n\nAmazon.com Edito
EXTD=rial Review (Rhino Remastered + Expanded Edition)\nIt's really to
EXTD=o bad that Warren Zevon had to die before hearing how spectacular
EXTD= his albums sounded in these latter-day remasters. Excitable Boy 
EXTD=remains his best-known document, awash with blood and guts (espec
EXTD=ially on the horror-laden title track) and a famous, phenomenal t
EXTD=ouch of lycanthropy. The trick is in Zevon's ironic distance, his
EXTD= dispatch of killer narratives that touch on mercenary internatio
EXTD=nalism and undeserved indulgence in due course. Zevon's writing i
EXTD=s musically simple--pianos and guitars and mid-tempo pacing--and 
EXTD=those touches here only underscore how crisp the remastering soun
EXTD=ds. To wit: The raucous undertow of "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" is
EXTD= delirious and ironically rhapsodic. As for "Werewolves of London
EXTD=," it's here twice (once in the expanded rack of four additional 
EXTD=tunes) in all its tilted glory. As for the other extra content, "
EXTD=I Need a Truck" is the short gem, a 50-second a cappella litany o
EXTD=f Zevon's raffish ways: "I need a truck to haul my percodan and g
EXTD=in" and one to "haul the womens from my bed," he sings... followe
EXTD=d by this apt note, "I need a truck to haul my body when I'm dead
EXTD=." He had a mordant side. --Andrew Bartlett \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOM
EXTD=ER REVIEW\nWarren Zevon releases his classic for the ages, Septem
EXTD=ber 1, 2005\nReviewer: Darth Kommissar (Las Vegas, NV (USA))\n\nI
EXTD=NTRODUCTION: \nOne of the most interesting (and most underrated) 
EXTD=pop musicians of the late seventies was Warren Zevon. Although he
EXTD= started out as a singer-songwriter with musical stylings not unl
EXTD=ike those of his friend/producer Jackson Browne, Zevon had a musi
EXTD=cal style all his own. Unfortunately, he has been long since forg
EXTD=otten in the musical world, and these days is remembered for a si
EXTD=ngle song only - his 1978 classic, Werewolves Of London. The clas
EXTD=sic hit single came from Zevon's second studio album, 1978's Exci
EXTD=table Boy. How does his second album measure up? Is the classic h
EXTD=it the only worthwhile song, or does the whole thing impress? Doe
EXTD=s it top his debut album? Keep reading if you want the answers to
EXTD= these questions and many more! \n\nOVERVIEW/REVIEW: \nDamn all o
EXTD=f the people who deem Warren Zevon a one-hit wonder - the man is 
EXTD=a musical genius, and there is more to the man than a single song
EXTD=! Excitable Boy may have been the album that spawned the man's bi
EXTD=ggest (and arguably only) hit, but as with Zevon himself, there i
EXTD=s much more to this album than just one song. On this album, Zevo
EXTD=n veered away from being the "Dark Prince of California" that som
EXTD=e people had dubbed him, and took his music in more of a pop-orie
EXTD=nted direction, while at the same time maintaining his widely-div
EXTD=erse singer-songwriter roots and unique stylings. The end result 
EXTD=tops the first album, which was a masterpiece in its own right. A
EXTD=s a whole, this album sounds something like a cross between Jacks
EXTD=on Browne and Tom Petty. The opening track, Johnny Strikes Up The
EXTD= Band, is an excellent pop-rocker which sounds very similar to To
EXTD=m Petty's work in its instrumentation, while at the same time bei
EXTD=ng uniquely Zevon. A great opener. The slow and depressing ballad
EXTD= of an ill-fated soldier, Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, co
EXTD=mes next. In its insturmentation, this song is very similar to th
EXTD=e classic Frank And Jesse James from Zevon's first album. The son
EXTD=g is fairly popular with Zevon's followers, and it isn't hard to 
EXTD=see why. Only he could write a song like this. The pace is kicked
EXTD= up a bit with the third track on the album, which is the title t
EXTD=rack. With horns in the background, and an upbeat pop-rock sound 
EXTD=somewhat reminiscent of Bob Seger in the same period, Zevon serve
EXTD=s up another winner. Track four is Werewolves Of London, the clas
EXTD=sic pop tune that gave Zevon his one-hit wonder status. I shouldn
EXTD='t have to tell you that this song is excellent, and to be quite 
EXTD=honest, it's the whole reason I bought the album initially. It's 
EXTD=a great song worthy of its lofty status, I just wish more of Zevo
EXTD=n's songs got the same recognition this one does. Following the m
EXTD=assive pop hit, we enter another slower track entitled Accidental
EXTD=ly Like A Martyr. Soulful and melodic pop ballads don't get much 
EXTD=better than the ones Warren Zevon served up, and this here is sol
EXTD=id proof of that. Nighttime In The Switch Station is perhaps my f
EXTD=avorite song on the entire album, because it sounds so different 
EXTD=from everything else on this album. Here, Zevon takes up a funk-d
EXTD=riven, almost disco-sounding track. But the most remarkable thing
EXTD=? The song is excellent! When disco is done right, the end result
EXTD=s can be surprisingly pleasing to your ears, and with Zevon's att
EXTD=empt at this style, he succeeds beautifully! Hard to believe a no
EXTD=n-disco artist like Zevon could create a song that puts the one-h
EXTD=its of the many one-hit disco wonders of the day to shame - and t
EXTD=he song isn't even his biggest hit! Oh well, enough on that song.
EXTD= I'm starting to ramble. Veracruz comes next. It's another one of
EXTD= Zevon's ballads. This one sounds a little like some of David Bow
EXTD=ie's slower early tunes. Once again, he creates a solid ballad. I
EXTD=t's immediately followed by the upbeat-yet-melodic pop sounds of 
EXTD=Tenderness On The Block. Here's a song that had all the potential
EXTD= in the world to be a massive pop hit, yet it never got the chanc
EXTD=e for popularity it deserved. What a shame. Laywers Guns And Mone
EXTD=y closes out the album. For the closer, Zevon serves up Eagles-es
EXTD=que rock that, like so many other songs on the album, is excellen
EXTD=t but ever-so-overrated. He couldn't have ended the album on much
EXTD= of a higher note. In the end, the Dark Prince's sophomore effort
EXTD= is a solid effort that certainly has more depth to it than its l
EXTD=one hit. \n\nEDITION NOTES: \nThis album was only released on CD 
EXTD=in America once, but the version initially released still seems t
EXTD=o be in print, albeit in fairly limited supply. Hopefully a delux
EXTD=e edition of this album will be released on day. Until then, this
EXTD= version is just gonna have to hold you over. \n\nOVERALL: \nSoph
EXTD=omore slump? No way. Where most musical artists create a sophomor
EXTD=e album that pales in comparison to what preceeded and what will 
EXTD=immediately follow, Zevon wasn't in that crowd. His sophomore alb
EXTD=um surpassed his debut, and what followed never topped this. If y
EXTD=ou're a fan of pop rock, Warren Zevon's second album is a masterp
EXTD=iece of the genre you simply must own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Five s
EXTD=tars all the way.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nExcitable Boy, T
EXTD=hey All Said, February 27, 2005\nReviewer: Tom Emanuel (Deadwood,
EXTD= SD USA)\nI've always had a thing for Warren Zevon. He and his mu
EXTD=sic have always been very unique. If he has any parallel, it's co
EXTD=ntemporary Randy Newman: they both emerged in the mid-to-late 70s
EXTD=; both are primarily keyboardists; both are witty, with dark sens
EXTD=es of humour and social consciences; and both defy categorization
EXTD=. \n\nHowever, one of Zevon's most distinctive qualities is his L
EXTD=ennonesque double edge. On the one hand we have the cynical, razo
EXTD=r-sharp wit, on the other the exposed, emotional human being. His
EXTD= voice can be best approximated to one like that of Jim Morrison:
EXTD= deep and expressive, with just a hint of menace. He isn't as ver
EXTD=satile tonally as say Elton John or Freddie Mercury (who is?), bu
EXTD=t he adapts well to the material, equally at home with cynical sn
EXTD=eering and heartfelt balladry. \n\nHe's never gone for exactly or
EXTD=thodox subject material either, and both facts are more than appa
EXTD=rent on this, his breakthrough album. There are maybe three cuts 
EXTD=here that conform to anything like "mainstream" topics; otherwise
EXTD= the songs range from tales of war-torn Mexico (partially in Span
EXTD=ish, no less) to legends of phantom mercenaries to werewolf pasti
EXTD=ches. The title song, for instance, is the warped story of a homi
EXTD=cidal teen described as an "excitable boy" by friends and family.
EXTD= It sounds macabre, and it is, but Zevon makes us laugh at it som
EXTD=ehow. As I said, his sense of humour's a bit off-kilter. But at t
EXTD=he same time he can be very emotional, wrenching at your heartstr
EXTD=ings with bittersweet ballads - notable on this album Accidentall
EXTD=y Like a Martyr. \n\nApart from Nighttime in the Switching Yard, 
EXTD=which tries too hard and fails to achieve a weird kind of disco g
EXTD=roove, this disc is loaded with first-class material. (A couple p
EXTD=ersonal favourites are Tenderness on the Block, very much a "grow
EXTD=ing up, letting go" song, and Lawyers Guns & Money, a delicious s
EXTD=lice of biting satire.) We've all heard Werewolves of London, but
EXTD= there's far more to Warren Zevon than that, and this disc belong
EXTD=s in any collection.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Cracked Mir
EXTD=ror View of LA Singer Songwriters, September 14, 2003\nReviewer: 
EXTD=Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States
EXTD=)\nMore than anyone else in the whole El Lay songwriter movement 
EXTD=of the late seventies, Warren Zevon had absolutely no problem wit
EXTD=h getting a good laugh at the expense of the insularity of it all
EXTD=. And on his second proper album, he took the whole scene and tur
EXTD=ned it properly on its backside. "Excitable Boy" threw in a mix o
EXTD=f werewolves, mercenaries, drug abusers and paranoid spoiled brat
EXTD=s, yet while frequently offering exceptional tenderness and insig
EXTD=ht. It was easy to see why Jackson Browne was his mentor and Lind
EXTD=a Ronstadt his patron angel. \nA song as reckless as the album's 
EXTD=title track could come from nothing less than genius. The chirpy 
EXTD=sweet background vocals and sugary melody buoy the dark tale of a
EXTD= murderous high school student who kills on the night of his juni
EXTD=or prom. "Hotel California" this most certainly wasn't. At the sa
EXTD=me time, "Accidentally Like a Martyr," with its stately piano lin
EXTD=e, encompasses the horror of a sunken love affair in barely three
EXTD= and a half minutes. These juxtapositions carry all the way throu
EXTD=gh "Excitable Boy," with only one misstep in the CD's nine songs 
EXTD=(the forced funk of "Nighttime In The Switching Yard").\n\nWarren
EXTD= Zevon made several other great albums, but "Excitable Boy" was t
EXTD=he moment that his youthful exuberance and a mind uncluttered by 
EXTD=too many foreign substances produced a stunner. As a document of 
EXTD=the California Sound that Elektra/Asylum records was known for in
EXTD= the seventies, this is indispensible.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REV
EXTD=IEW\nAn overlooked literary treasure.., November 21, 2002\nReview
EXTD=er: spiral_mind (Pennsylvania)\nJackson Browne once called Zevon 
EXTD="the first and foremost proponent of song noir," and I might as w
EXTD=ell lead off with that description since I can't think of one mor
EXTD=e simple and eloquent myself. From the late 60s to the present, W
EXTD=Z has developed an uncanny ability like no one else - the art of 
EXTD=mixing oddball black humor with melodies so bright and spirited y
EXTD=ou catch yourself humming them for a week. The arguable peak of h
EXTD=is 70s material is this album you're reading about now, Excitable
EXTD= Boy, and not just because everybody knows "Werewolves of London.
EXTD=" Much of it is simple rock and roll, but to me there's always be
EXTD=en a uniquely creative quality about everything here that keeps a
EXTD=ny of it from sounding stale or tired. Maybe it's partly because 
EXTD=I have a thing for cool titles like "Lawyers, Guns and Money." Ma
EXTD=ybe I just can't help admiring someone who can rhyme 'word' with 
EXTD='Johannesburg' and make it work. I can't explain it.. I just know
EXTD= that I still get a kick out of this stuff after years of listeni
EXTD=ng, and Warren's recent diagnosis with terminal lung cancer has s
EXTD=addened me like no other bit of celebrity news in recent memory.\n
EXTD=But anyway - back to the album. To be sure there are a couple mor
EXTD=e somber moments here: "Accidentally Like a Martyr" for example (
EXTD=Dylan, eat yer heart out), or the growing-up theme of "Tenderness
EXTD= on the Block".. and that's not even getting into the strange hal
EXTD=f-creepiness of "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and the lik
EXTD=e. But even despite all those, it's a safe bet you've rarely hear
EXTD=d such cynicism with such a sweet sugarcoating as you'll hear her
EXTD=e. The title track is probably the best example; the words verge 
EXTD=on downright disturbing, yet it's driven along with a joyfully su
EXTD=nny saxophone and a bright "oo-wah-oo" backup chorus. "Lawyers...
EXTD=" is Warren's finest example of the perfect straightforward three
EXTD=-chord rocker, while "Veracruz" establishes a foreign setting by 
EXTD=mixing in some flute. I can even forgive the 70s disco-funk touch
EXTD= of "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" considering what brilliance
EXTD= it's surrounded by. The whole disc plays like a short-story anth
EXTD=ology in musical form, peppered with characters that range from o
EXTD=ddly lovable to frighteningly strange.. from Roland and his merce
EXTD=nary comrades, to the trouble-loving thug in a tight spot begging
EXTD= his father for help, to the album's namesake with his habit of m
EXTD=urdering prom dates. It's a guilty treat for the cackling cynic i
EXTD=n all of us; a way of unflinchingly looking at the dark side of h
EXTD=umanity and realizing that, when you get right down to it, someth
EXTD=ing about it all is wickedly funny for a reason we can't really e
EXTD=xplain.\n\nOr maybe I'm reading way too much into it, and it's ju
EXTD=st nine plain songs to stick in your head and give you a good lau
EXTD=gh. Of course there's nothing wrong with that either, and there a
EXTD=re much worse ways of spending a few quick dollars than this. Enj
EXTD=oy and beware the werewolves.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFrom
EXTD= the first track about his dope dealer..., December 20, 1999\nRev
EXTD=iewer: David (Ontario, Canada)\nto the last about a young man in 
EXTD=over his head in Central America, Zevon avoids his problem of sel
EXTD=f-confession by writing about other, imagined people. (The one ex
EXTD=ception - "Accidentily Like a Martyr" - is as obscure as its titl
EXTD=e.) That none of his characters are believable says more about Ze
EXTD=von's delightful askew view of relationships, innocence and forgi
EXTD=veness than is the norm. This gentle fantastical way of putting t
EXTD=hings allows him to accomplish couplets ("then he dug up her grav
EXTD=e and made a cage with her bones") that nobody else could get awa
EXTD=y with in the same way. If this was Randy Newman it would just be
EXTD= spooky and arch. But because it is Warren Zevon (even the name s
EXTD=eems silly) we skip right past being horrified and enter in at be
EXTD=ing intrigued. "Werewolves of London" is the greatest and smartes
EXTD=t song that will ever be written about the Sex Pistols. His disin
EXTD=terest in cliques will redeem his stylistic rootedness and the fa
EXTD=ct that he lives in California.\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributin
EXTD=g artists: J. D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes, John M
EXTD=cVie, Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Mick Fleetwood \nProducer: Ja
EXTD=ckson Browne, Waddy Wachtel \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel includes: 
EXTD=Warren Zevon (vocals, piano, organ); Danny Kortchmar (guitar, per
EXTD=cussion); Arthur Gerst (harp); Waddy Wachtel, Jim Horn (saxophone
EXTD=); Kenny Edwards, John McVie, Bob Glaub, Leland Sklar (bass); Ric
EXTD=k Marotta, Mick Fleetwood, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Greg Ladanyi (pe
EXTD=rcussion); Karla Bonoff, Jennifer Warnes, Jackson Browne, Jorge C
EXTD=alderon, J.D. Souther, Linda Rondstadt (background vocals).\n\nWa
EXTD=rren Zevon came roaring out of the '70s touchy-feely California s
EXTD=inger-songwriter gene pool with one hand on the piano and the oth
EXTD=er waving a pistol. While his more genteel peers were primarily c
EXTD=oncerned with taking it easy, Zevon crawled under the seedy side 
EXTD=of L.A. and poured it into his ivories, taking in every ounce of 
EXTD=decadence and excess. Although the weight the underworld would ev
EXTD=entually all but break him, EXCITABLE BOY finds Zevon empowered b
EXTD=y his surroundings.\nThe terrain is unsettling, bizarre and often
EXTD= soaked with blood. Stalking across the landscape are pina colada
EXTD=-sipping werewolves, headless mercenaries, and desperate gamblers
EXTD=. That the sound and overall musical mood of the record is upbeat
EXTD= underscores Zevon's ability to attach a winning melody to a gall
EXTD=ow's tale. The home runs are the instantly memorable "Werewolves 
EXTD=of London," the murderous glee of "Excitable Boy," and the affect
EXTD=ing "Accidentally Like a Martyr." The inclusion of obvious filler
EXTD= cuts detract from the overall focus of the record but that is a 
EXTD=small complaint. After all, it takes a special man to turn a tale
EXTD= of rape and murder into a cheery singalong.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n
EXTD=...Zevon took the vernacular of the pop song into uncharted, bloo
EXTD=dy territory...\nUncut (09/01/2003)\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nWarr
EXTD=en Zevon's Excitable Boy is the best American rock & roll album s
EXTD=ince Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run (1975), Neil Young's Zuma (1
EXTD=976) and Jackson Browne's The Pretender (1976). If there's not en
EXTD=ough firepower in that statement, let's cock the hammer on anothe
EXTD=r. Thus far, the Seventies have introduced three major American r
EXTD=ock & roll artists--Browne in 1972, Springsteen in 1973 and Zevon
EXTD=--and I have every confidence the music of all three will be even
EXTD= better in the future.\n\nOddly enough, Zevon, the apparent newco
EXTD=mer, preceded both Browne and Springsteen into the studio. His fi
EXTD=rst record, an exercise in self-produced self-induced psychedelia
EXTD= called Wanted Dead or Alive (Imperial, 1970), went deservedly un
EXTD=noticed, and it wasn't until 1976, when his career seemed all but
EXTD= dead, that he got another shot (largely through Browne's persist
EXTD=ence), this time with Asylum. On Warren Zevon, his aim was truer 
EXTD=but he hit perhaps too many targets, and there was some confusion
EXTD= whether he was just another sensitive (albeit unusually tough) s
EXTD=inger songwriter or a Magnum-cum-laude rock & roller who ate gunp
EXTD=owder for breakfast. His first tour answered that question, and t
EXTD=he new LP blasts the bull's-eye into smithereens.\n\nWhen Warren 
EXTD=Zevon sits down at the piano and throws back his head and sings o
EXTD=n Excitable Boy, he's like Sam Peckinpah trying to work out the o
EXTD=bsessions in something like Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. 
EXTD=While one hand steadily applies the Apollonian technique and obvi
EXTD=ous control of the classical artist (Zevon also writes symphonies
EXTD= and string quartets), the other is compulsively jerking the trig
EXTD=ger with Dionysian delirium. Though clearly no dumdum, Zevon, lik
EXTD=e Peckinpah, sometimes refuses to rely upon academic intelligence
EXTD= and pragmatic perspective to pull him through. An intuitive arti
EXTD=st, he's often both smart and crazy enough to shoot first at the 
EXTD=most explosive subjects, then figure out the ramifications of wha
EXTD=tever the hell he's bloodied later ("Roland the Headless Thompson
EXTD= Gunner," "Excitable Boy," "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns
EXTD= and Money"). This is a dangerous way to work--it isn't nice, and
EXTD= not everybody gets it--but you can claim some spectacular trophi
EXTD=es when you're sufficiently reckless to risk safari on the dark s
EXTD=ide of the moon, where the gleam of the lion may look like the le
EXTD=er of the lamb.\n\nNot that Zevon is particularly metaphysical, a
EXTD=t least not in the expected manner. While he writes very good lyr
EXTD=ics ("Veracruz"), he writes great music. Mostly, his songs are pu
EXTD=rely physical, but in the same ways that Clint Eastwood--in, say,
EXTD= Dirty Harry--is purely physical. Almost without exception, Zevon
EXTD='s rock & roll songs command and demand your attention through th
EXTD=e sheer strength of their creator's personality; they're not nece
EXTD=ssarily profound (though they can be), but they hit with such pri
EXTD=mary impact you don't have to think twice about them. In movies, 
EXTD=there's a saying that when a director dies, he becomes a photogra
EXTD=pher. Well, when a rock & roller dies, he writes hooks and succum
EXTD=bs to other similarly decadent devices. On Excitable Boy, Warren 
EXTD=Zevon's self-confidence and craftsmanship are so inherently force
EXTD=ful he's able to bypass self-consciousness and secondary concerns
EXTD= altogether. These songs stand up and look you right in the eye. 
EXTD=They're so damned good no one could miss them.\n\nLike Wanted Dea
EXTD=d or Alive and Warren Zevon, Excitable Boy shares a passion for l
EXTD=arger-than-life historical figures (or those who would emulate th
EXTD=em), elemental forces and codes of behavior often associated with
EXTD= courage and honor. But Zevon's would-be heroes ("Should have don
EXTD=e, should have done, we all sigh") sometimes unwittingly shoot fo
EXTD=r the moon when it's reflected in a puddle of water under their t
EXTD=angled feet. Like the characters in Graham Greene's The Comedians
EXTD=, they're so tragicomically confused about glory they don't know 
EXTD=up from down, quandary from quarry, but they do know they're eith
EXTD=er running after or running away from something big--and, in thei
EXTD=r zeal and commitment, that's all that matters. There's not much 
EXTD=irony here, but a lot of heart. When the picaresque protagonist o
EXTD=f "Lawyers, Guns and Money" sings:\n\nNow I'm biding in Honduras\n
EXTD=\nI'm a desperate man\n\nSend lawyers, guns and money\n\nThe shit
EXTD= has hit the fan,\n\nhe's not surrendering; he's just acknowledgi
EXTD=ng he's fucked up the quest again and now needs power to fight po
EXTD=wer.\n\nWhen Warren Zevon needs more power on this album, all he 
EXTD=has to do is snap his fingers. For, if Excitable Boy is clearly a
EXTD= singular triumph, it is also a collective one. Brassy as Zevon i
EXTD=s, he's given comparable backing by the rhythm sections of three 
EXTD=superlative rock & roll bands (Linda Ronstadt's, the Section, Fle
EXTD=etwood Mac), exceptionally crisp and complementary production by 
EXTD=Jackson Browne and guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and the kind of sound
EXTD= quality (by Gred Ladanyi, who engineered Browne's Running on Emp
EXTD=ty) that most musicians would kill for. Musically, Zevon's stalwa
EXTD=rt singing and rigorous, razor-sharp piano playing hold down the 
EXTD=fort, while Wachtel, who brandishes an armory of guitars, takes t
EXTD=he high ground with such audacity he nearly steals the action at 
EXTD=times. On "Johnny Strikes Up the Band" (like the second LP's "Moh
EXTD=ammed's Radio," a "tribute to rock & roll"), Wachtel simply picks
EXTD= up the song and carries it away, giving it back only for the vib
EXTD=rant vocals.\n\nThough it's not exactly confined to quarters here
EXTD=, Zevon's anarchic obsession will never get time off for good beh
EXTD=avior either. His heroes are too excitable ("Well, he went down t
EXTD=o dinner in his Sunday best ...And he rubbed the pot roast all ov
EXTD=er his chest") and generally find themselves in situations as abs
EXTD=urd as those in Norman Mailer's An American Dream, which "Lawyers
EXTD=, Guns and Money" resembles:\n\nWell, I went home with the waitre
EXTD=ss\n\nThe way I always do\n\nHow was I to know\n\nShe was with th
EXTD=e Russians, too?\n\n"Caught between the rock and the hard place,"
EXTD= Zevon's "innocent bystander" shouts sendups that make sense and 
EXTD=statements that don't. "Werewolves of London" is one of those ind
EXTD=escribable, half-sung/half-spoken, stupid/profound anthems that c
EXTD=aptures something of a city and a time. With Wachtel's guitar pro
EXTD=wling through the rolling fog like Jack the Ripper, Zevon reduces
EXTD= the whole world to a mythic howl, and you feel exhilarated. "Rol
EXTD=and the Headless Thompson Gunner," cowritten by ex-soldier of for
EXTD=tune David Lindell in Spain, is an ersatz Irish ballad about betr
EXTD=ayal, revenge and death in Africa ("They can still see his headle
EXTD=ss body stalking through the night In the muzzle flash of Roland'
EXTD=s Thompson gun") that somehow winds up with Patty Hearst in Berke
EXTD=ley. The title song sounds both harmless and bouncy until you lis
EXTD=ten to the lyrics, which could have been scrawled in blood by Ant
EXTD=hony Perkins in Psycho.\n\nIt would be a mistake to define Zevon 
EXTD=solely by his outr limits, however. He's a son, a husband and a 
EXTD=father, and this cycle is seldom slighted in his work (e.g., "A B
EXTD=ullet for Ramona," "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" and "Backs Turned
EXTD= Looking down the Path" on previous records). Here, "Veracruz" fu
EXTD=nctions as a haunting synthesis of history and honor, codes and o
EXTD=bsessions. Like Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, it's a dream about ex
EXTD=iles acting with integrity when their entire way of life is dying
EXTD=, but it's also about families in peril, mourning old dreams whil
EXTD=e moving inevitably toward new ones.\n\n"Tenderness on the Block,
EXTD=" written with Jackson Browne and reminiscent of Browne's "The On
EXTD=ly Child" and "Daddy's Tune," projects and reflects upon a happy 
EXTD=and satisfying father/daughter relationship, but "Accidentally li
EXTD=ke a Martyr" is a hard-as-nails love song about a love that's bee
EXTD=n irredeemably lost. Rarely has a remembrance been so sad and glo
EXTD=rious, so lovely and forlorn. For some reason, the chorus made me
EXTD= think of Lew Archer, the private detective created by Zevon's fr
EXTD=iend, mystery writer Ross Macdonald. In The Doomsters, Macdonald 
EXTD=wrote:\n\nFor once in my life I had nothing and wanted nothing. T
EXTD=hen the thought of Sue fell through me like a feather in a vacuum
EXTD=. My mind picked it up and ran with it and took flight. I wondere
EXTD=d where she was, what she was doing, whether she'd aged much as s
EXTD=he lay in ambush in time, or changed the color of her bright head
EXTD=.\n\nPictured on the inner sleeve of this album is Zevon's 44-cal
EXTD=iber Smith & Wesson revolver resting on a dinner plate filled wit
EXTD=h his wife's cooking. The photograph is titled "Willy on the Plat
EXTD=e," and it tells the whole story. Warren Zevon wants it all--and,
EXTD= on Excitable Boy, that's exactly what he gets. (RS 261 - Mar 23,
EXTD= 1978) -- PAUL NELSON
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