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. ~ Mark Deming