Excitable Boy

Warren Zevon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002GW7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,060 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Track Listings

1. Johnny Strikes Up The Band

2. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner

3. Excitable Boy

4. Werewolves Of London

5. Accidentally Like A Martyr

6. Nighttime In The Switching Yard

7. Veracruz

8. Tenderness On The Block

9. Lawyers, Guns And Money

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With this 1978 LP, Warren Zevon stepped forward as something of the dark prince of California. Like fellow Southern California outcast Randy Newman, Zevon achieved some fame, albeit not what his talent would have earned him had he written songs more like his mellower pal Jackson Browne and a little less like Jack the Ripper in a convertible. Fascinated with bloodthirsty antiheroes, Zevon wrote with the flair of a desperately bright pulp writer and summoned images of mutilated mercenaries ("Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"), pampered bad boys ("Lawyers, Guns and Money"), helpless sickos (the title track), and, of course, feral Chinese-food fiends ("Werewolves of London"). Excitable Boy's 1976 predecessor (Warren Zevon) may be a more consistent album, but this is the one that put Zevon in the public consciousness as someone to keep an eye on--for protection as well as promise. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

Zevon's 1977 smash on CD or vinyl! Lawyers, Guns and Money; Werewolves of London, and more!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked literary treasure.. November 21, 2002

By spiral_mind

Format:Audio CD

Jackson Browne once called Zevon "the first and foremost proponent of song noir," and I might as well lead off with that description since I can't think of one more simple and eloquent myself. From the late 60s to the present, WZ has developed an uncanny ability like no one else - the art of mixing oddball black humor with melodies so bright and spirited you catch yourself humming them for a week. The arguable peak of his 70s material is this album you're reading about now, Excitable Boy, and not just because everybody knows "Werewolves of London." Much of it is simple rock and roll, but to me there's always been a uniquely creative quality about everything here that keeps any of it from sounding stale or tired. Maybe it's partly because I have a thing for cool titles like "Lawyers, Guns and Money." Maybe I just can't help admiring someone who can rhyme 'word' with 'Johannesburg' and make it work. I can't explain it.. I just know that I still get a kick out of this stuff after years of listening, and Warren's recent diagnosis with terminal lung cancer has saddened me like no other bit of celebrity news in recent memory.

But anyway - back to the album. To be sure there are a couple more somber moments here: "Accidentally Like a Martyr" for example (Dylan, eat yer heart out), or the growing-up theme of "Tenderness on the Block".. and that's not even getting into the strange half-creepiness of "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and the like. But even despite all those, it's a safe bet you've rarely heard such cynicism with such a sweet sugarcoating as you'll hear here. The title track is probably the best example; the words verge on downright disturbing, yet it's driven along with a joyfully sunny saxophone and a bright "oo-wah-oo" backup chorus. "Lawyers..." is Warren's finest example of the perfect straightforward three-chord rocker, while "Veracruz" establishes a foreign setting by mixing in some flute. I can even forgive the 70s disco-funk touch of "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" considering what brilliance it's surrounded by. The whole disc plays like a short-story anthology in musical form, peppered with characters that range from oddly lovable to frighteningly strange.. from Roland and his mercenary comrades, to the trouble-loving thug in a tight spot begging his father for help, to the album's namesake with his habit of murdering prom dates. It's a guilty treat for the cackling cynic in all of us; a way of unflinchingly looking at the dark side of humanity and realizing that, when you get right down to it, something about it all is wickedly funny for a reason we can't really explain.

Or maybe I'm reading way too much into it, and it's just nine plain songs to stick in your head and give you a good laugh. Of course there's nothing wrong with that either, and there are much worse ways of spending a few quick dollars than this. Enjoy and beware the werewolves.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Warren Zevon hits his early peak! March 31, 2007

By Tim Brough TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

More than anyone else in the whole El Lay songwriter movement of the late seventies, Warren Zevon had absolutely no problem with getting a good laugh at the expense of the insularity of it all. And on his second proper album, he took the whole scene and turned it properly on its backside. "Excitable Boy" threw in a mix of werewolves, mercenaries, drug abusers and paranoid spoiled brats, yet while frequently offering exceptional tenderness and insight. It was easy to see why Jackson Browne was his mentor and Linda Ronstadt his patron angel.

A song as reckless as the album's title track could come from nothing less than genius. The chirpy sweet background vocals and sugary melody buoy the dark tale of a murderous high school student who kills on the night of his junior prom. "Hotel California" this most certainly wasn't. At the same time, "Accidentally Like a Martyr," with its stately piano line, encompasses the horror of a sunken love affair in barely three and a half minutes. These juxtapositions carry all the way through "Excitable Boy," with only one misstep in the CD's nine songs (the forced funk of "Nighttime In The Switching Yard").

Warren Zevon made several other great albums, but "Excitable Boy" was the moment that his youthful exuberance and a mind uncluttered by too many foreign substances produced a stunner. As a document of the California Sound that Elektra/Asylum records was known for in the seventies, this is indispensable.

The remaster is stunning. The piano to "Accidentally Like A Martyr" just leaps out of the mix (where before it seemed kind of flat). The same can be said for "Nighttime In The Switching Yard." What originally sounded compressed now sounds so much livelier. The bonus tracks are only so-so, with the alternate take of "Werewolves" being somewhat interesting and "I Need A Truck' humorous but unnecessary. What you really want here is the original album, and "Excitable Boy" is worth the remastered wait.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The under-rated classic of the 70's July 9, 2002

By dale caudwell

Format:Audio CD

I've always felt that some gifted musicians were never given the full exposure they needed to go to the next level. Although Warren Zevon has experienced a truly great career, I think he can take to heart that a lot of people really enjoy listening to his music. One of the best albums to be released in the 70's was Zevons "Ëxcitable Boy".
This was another record I heard on a local FM station who would have "Album Hour" every night. They would play new LP's by well known or obscure talents. When this album came on, I had no idea who the artist was nor had I heard anything similar. The vocals were gruff and somewhat reserved. The sound was deep rooted and together. From the opening tune "Johnny Strikes up the Band" I felt that this was worth hanging around for. Warren exposes himself as a decent song writer and pocess' somewhat of an imagination. Great arrangements on the songs gives substance to the lyrics. Excellent musicians fill out the rest. Great cuts to listen to over and over, "Lawyers, Guns and Money", Night Time in the Swiutching Yard", "Tenderness on the Block" and the stalwart "Werewolves of London".
All the songs here are very well done and Warren Zevon is without question on par with the best. This album I feel really was a true gem. If you like this, try "My Ride's Here". All in all "Good Music".