Customer Reviews

Envoy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Along with the wonderful, now-available live set "Stand in the Fire", we now have the two missing Asylum Zevon albums. While "Envoy" is marred by a few weak tracks, the strong ones more than make up for them.
This, Zevon's final release for Asylum records scores with the title track, still ringing as true today as back in 1982, the chilling "Charlie's Medicine" and the biting "Hula-Hula Boys", and the album's original closer "Never Too Late For Love".
The bonus tracks are a bit disappointing, "Word of mouth", while moody, features a badly dated-sounding keyboard (DX7?) which ruins it for me. An alt version of "Let Nothing..." which was never a stong track for me, is pleasant. "The Risk" shows promise but needs work and the "Wild Thing" jam is fun but hardly essential.
Like the reviewer below stated, this in no way detracts from the original release. Well worth you time and money.

this recording, along with 'stand in the fire' will be released in the states soon, probably through rhino and with bonus tracks. keep playing those LP's until then. these prices are nothing but a rip-off of longtime, patient fans of warren zevon.

Although there are a couple of weak tracks, "The Envoy" features Warren Zevon in classic form. Referred to as "Excitable Boy" grows up when it was first released, "The Envoy" sounds quite good in the latest edition from Rhino. A pity that this wasn't released while Warren was alive. This album was available previously as an expensive import and key tracks were on Warren's two CD retrospective on Rhino but this is the first time (to my knowledge) that the whole album has appeared on CD. This captures Mr. Bad Example in very fine form indeed.

"Jesus Mentioned" played on acoustic guitar is very spare sounding thoughtful song about Elvis Presley and, of course, has plenty of Warren's humor in it. The title track is a killer rocker. "Looking for the Next Best Thing" is one of Warren's great ballads. "Let Nothing Come Beween You" is probably the sweetest song Warren ever wrote. "Not That Pretty at All" isn't my least favorite tune but the sythesizer seems a little overbearing on this track. Overall this album provides a perfect transition to Warren's brilliant "Sentimental Hygene". After this album Warren who had a drinking problem and cleaned up his life briefly fell back into the spiral of addiction before pulling himself out of it five years later.

We get the original album plus a number of great extra tracks here including "The Risk", "Word of Mouth" an alternate version of "Let Nothing Come Between You" and "Wild Thing". The former has all the hallmarks of New Wave at the time with its boxy sounding drums and sythesizer. "Word of Mouth" opens with a mix of sythesizer, piano and guitar and doesn't sound finished as there's no vocal track recorded for it. The arrangement could have been fleshed out a bit more but it's a nice track. Some of the bonus tracks are better than others but don't diminish the original album. "Let Nothing Come Between You" is an alternate take that provides pleasant listening although I prefer the released version. "Wild Thing" is an off-the-cuff performance of the classic Chip Taylor song that sounds like it was recorded during the rehearsal sessions. It's a loose performance that probably wasn't ever intended for release. It sounds like the band was just having fun.

We get extensive sleeve notes as well giving us a bit of background on the recording of the album written by Rolling Stone writer David Wild. We also get photos, original lyrics and credits for the album.

THE ENVOY was a great rock record. Period. It kicks off with a politically-charged number that's as important today as it was then, fueled with electric guitars and impassioned vocals. It ended (the original, at least) with a beautiful ballad about never giving up (the last words of the song: "Don't stop believing in tomorrow." It's a shame the bonus features follow this song; because this line is, overall, the message of the album.

I hope I'm not boring you by reading something philisophical into Zevon's music; Zevon fans have been doing it for longer than I've been alive. And, let's face it, Zevon records are FUN; you never know where he's gonna go next. The title track is tongue-in-cheek political commentary; "The Hula Hula Boys" is probably the most hilarious break-up song I've ever heard (the image of a woman leaving a rocker for "the fat guy from the swimming pool" is classic; and then there's the Polynesian chanting...). "Jesus Mentioned" is the creepiest (and tenderest) Elvis tribute of all time; when Zevon's not singing about digging up the King's body, he's reminding us how Elvis walked on whater (with his pills, of course). "The Overdraft," lyrically beautiful, is made all the better by Lindsey Buckingham's crazed background vocals. In "Charlie's Medicine," a drug pusher dies (and Zevon shows up to pay his bill). And "Looking For the Next Best Thing" remains an anthem for all those who are willing to settle for silver. The "new" instrumental "Word of Mouth" is compelling; as is "The Risk" and Zevon's take on the classic "Wild Thing."

The reissue of THE ENVOY makes a great addition to Zevon collections, or rock collections in general. It is simply a great rock record, one of many Warren Zevon managed to make before his untimely death. Zevon was one of the great folk/rock artists whose legacy will live on as long as there is music for us to listen to.

Starting with the title track and it's chillingly prophetic, "Nuclear Arms in the Middle East," THE ENVOY fires on all cylinders and supplies the listener with the essence of Zevon's talent. Thought provoking numbers like the rocking title track and the elegiac "Jesus Mentioned," rage with a sense of humor("Ain't That Pretty at All"),and another look at damaged relationships with one of Zevon's most pathetic narrators ("The Hula Hula Boys") all make for one of Zevon's most balanced works. Added to this is one of his sweetest love songs, "Don't Let Nothing Come Between You" with its wonderfully childlike chorus and you have a fine example of Zevon's range. This is one of Zevon's best and it's nice to see it out on CD.

Warren Zevon was 35 years old when The Envoy, his fifth and final album for Asylum Records, was released. He'd had one sizable hit with 1978's "Werewolves of London", but further chart success was not forthcoming.

The stakes were high for Zevon, and it's obvious from listening that he gave The Envoy his all. The album features all of the unique qualities of Zevon's songwriting, from the songs too lyrically intelligent for the average music fan to the songs too lyrically morbid for radio airplay to the touching genuine love songs that only he could write. And as usual, his entrenchment in the Los Angeles scene led to the finest sessionmen joining him, with, among others, guitarists extraordinaire Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar, bassists Bob Glaub and Leland Sklar, drummers Russ Kunkel and Jeff Porcaro and harmony singers Lindsey Buckingham and Graham Nash joining in at one point or another.

The album, unfortunately, tanked so bad that Zevon lost his record deal and relapsed. But like the mighty phoenix, Zevon would only rise again years later, sober, with albums that were generally both lyrically and musically superior to albums of others in his age group.

And when he fell off of the face of the earth again, he could only rise again. Only death could stop him in the end, but not before he confronted it on his final album, recorded entirely after his being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

In short, "The Envoy" is a great album from an unjustly underrated songwriter that showcases some of his greatest, if least-known, songs. But they're all his greatest songs.

The first thing anyone will say about this release is (and should be) to point out that it has shamefully not been released on CD before. This release, above all else, is long, long overdue. That said, thank goodness it's finally here, though it took the artist's death to make it happen.

The Envoy is a lost masterpiece, created at a time when (musically) Zevon still could do no wrong. The title track is outstanding, still sounding current in its comments about conflicts in the Middle East. It's wonderful to hear the great Lindsey Buckingham join in on "The Overdraft" with his signature backing vocals (which, as usual, are more like a second lead-vocal than simply a harmonizing voice in the background). The Envoy contains one of the best jokes to be found on any rock album (other Zevon albums contain many of the others) in the song "Looking for the Next Best Thing," punning on the phrase "next best." This album rocks as well as it moves emotionally with the slow songs; it tells stories and jokes as only Zevon albums can; and it does it all with energy and enthusiasm. (Much credit is due as well to the excellent work of the band, too, particularly Waddy Wachtel's once-again stunning lead guitar.)

I call this re-issue "perfect" because of the way it finally solidifies Zevon's catalog. The remastering is fantastic. Other than the synth sounds that clearly place the recording in the early '80s, it sounds like it could have been recorded this year. The bonus tracks included are very good, particularly the instrumental "Word of Mouth," and the liner notes are well-written by Rolling Stone's David Wild.

It may not have been appreciated at the time of its release, but, finally given the treatment it deserves, The Envoy comes through in every way.

This is the cd Zevon fans have been waiting for.

At this point of his career, Zevon seemed incapable of releasing anything less than outstanding. If he were a basketball player, he'd be "in the zone". This album continued the irresistible mix of pop, rock, and quirkiness of "Excitable Boy" and "Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School" and became the bridge to the excellent "Sentimental Hygiene". One of the reviewers above referred to this as his third album. By my count, it's the fifth: 1) "Dead or Alive" 2)"Warren Zevon" 3)"Excitable Boy" 4) "Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School" and 5)"The Envoy".

Originally released in 1982, Zevon's third album was one of his best releases, arguably his zenith. On the whole, the tone of the album is surprisingly light hearted ("The Hula Hula Boys") and optimistic ("Never Too Late for Love"). It also contains some of Zevon's most direct and unflinching looks at his substance abuse issues ("Ain't That Pretty at All" and the incredible "Charlie's Medicine").

While many of the tracks from this release have dribbled out on various compilations over the years, somehow this great album has been unavailable on CD until now. This imported version is indeed pricey, but the sound quality is great and the packaging is wonderful, completely recreating (albeit in miniature) the original LP packaging. Worth it? You'll have to decide for yourself, but as someone who's been waiting at least 15 years to get this on CD, I'm happy with my purchase.

Warren Zevon once claimed this album was "the Excitable Boy grows up." Instead of weird werewolves or kinky serial killers, we had Government deal makers. In a song that sounds timely even two decades later, Warren Zevon snarls

"Nuclear arms in the Middle East
Israel's attacking the Iraqis
The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
And Baghdad does whatever she please.
Looks like another threat to world peace
for the Envoy."

Not bad for a song written in 1982. This is Zevon's great lost album, which pretty much went into commercial no-man's land when it was first released. (Which probably explains why it had not reached CD till after his death.) When new wave and wild videos were making inroads, Zevon's California rock probably sounded archaic. The swooping synths that spot the CD - and which sound terribly dated now - seem like a concession to that moment. But they most certainly do not mar the terrific songs.

The title track, "The Overdraft" and "Looking For The Next Best Thing" are among some of Zevon's best. Lindsey Buckingham's manic vocals on "The Overdraft" add to the edginess of Zevon's collaboration with novelist Thomas McGuane. It was this kind of songwriting that placed the spotlight on the maturity of Zevon's work. The most telling and intense moment comes via "Charlie's Medicine." Charlie is a dealer who breaks into a Doctor's office and gets killed. Where the Warren Zevon that loved guns and spent more than a little time with foreign substances coursing through his body might have rationalized making a hero out of Charlie, he now makes the realization that it was all a sham.

"Charlie dealt in pharmaceuticals
he sold those expensive drugs.
I gave Charlie all of my money.
What the hell was I thinking of?"

It is a stunning revelation on an album that was - at least for me - a harbinger of the the classic "Sentimental Hygiene." One that album, Zevon was in full confessional mode about "Detox Mansion" and begged you "Reconsider Me." On "The Envoy," he realized that his past worst habits weren't worth keeping, and began to write more emotionally open songs like "Let Nothing Come Between You" and "Never Too Late For Love." I have been waiting a long time for this artistic link of Zevon's to hit CD. It was well worth it.

"Who am I to say I know the way you feel
I felt your pain and I know your sorrow
You could try to let the past slip away
Live for today
Don't stop believing in tomorrow."