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 right in on
Warren Zevon, the latter featuring a beautiful string arrangement from the songwriter. There's also a ragged, stripped-down early take of "Werewolves of London" which has a lot more energy than the cut that made the album, if a lot less precision. The new mastering also improves the album's sonics, and this edition represents a genuine improvement over the previous CD edition, if the album's creative flaws remain.] ~ Mark Deming