Warren Zevon Albums Ranked
Warren William Zevon (/ˈziːvɒn/; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Zevon’s most famous compositions include “Werewolves of London”, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”, and “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”, all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978), whose title track is also well-known. He also wrote major hits that were recorded by other artists, including “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”, “Accidentally Like a Martyr”, “Mohammed’s Radio”, “Carmelita”, and “Hasten Down the Wind”. Along with his own work, he recorded or performed occasional covers, including Allen Toussaint’s “A Certain Girl”, Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan”, Steve Winwood’s “Back in the High Life Again”, and Prince’s “Raspberry Beret”. Known for his dry wit and acerbic lyrics, he was a guest numerous times on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman. Here are all of Warren Zevon albums ranked.
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10. The Envoy (1982)
“Warren’s 5th studio release “The Envoy”, was probably his strongest release since his 1976 album, “Warren Zevon”. Warren was coming off his rockin’ live album “Stand In The Fire”, and at 35 was in top form. The album didn’t sell like Warren thought it would, and that’s really a crime, because it’s got top rated material. After the album landed, Warren again fell off the wagon and spiraled into alcohol and drug addiction again, it would be 5 years before Warren came back sober and strong and released the brilliant “Sentimental Hygiene”, in 1987. “
9. Learning To Flinch (1993)
“Wonderful collection of primarily Warren Zevon and his 12 string guitar and piano playing the classics and the lesser-knowns from his repertoire. He doesn’t deviate much from the pacing and tempo of the recorded versions, but when he does it’s a gem to behold. From the honky tonk of Excitable Boy to the intricate opening medley for Poor Poor Pitiful Me, Zevon is at the top of his form in voice and instrumentation. He was a marvelous talent.”
8. Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School (1980)
“The 1980 LP version of “Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School” was my introduction to Warren Zevon. Warren’s lyrics remind me of 1970’s ‘Gonzo Journalism’. Gonzo journalists lived with their counterculture subjects (e.g., the Oakland California Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang) prior to writing about them. Gonzo journalists were the domestic equivalent of war correspondents. They observed much and they overheard many interesting stories. Warren’s lyrics indicate he has observed and overheard much also.”
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7. Mr. Bad Example (1991)
“The Mr. Bad Example (MBE) songs are stronger and with repeated listening’s I have grown to love them more and more. Warren has always been a guy that you have to grow to love, maybe that is why he doesn’t get more play or recognition for his work. The songs on MBE are deep and quality. “Searching for Heart”, “Heartache Spoken Here” are great songs, Finishing Touches, MBE, Suzie Lightning, Quite ugly one Morning”, Model Citizen, and Angel Dressed in Black grow on you so much I find myself humming them from time to time.”
6. Stand In The Fire (1980)
“Everyone has their favorite- the live album that seems to capture the artist at his or her best, setting free all the emotion and energy only a live performance can unleash. For me, it has always been STAND IN THE FIRE. The band is ragged, a bar band supplemented by David Landau, plays with energy and just tries to hang on as Zevon cuts loose. This is barely controlled chaos-with Zevon as a hyper kinetic ringmaster. Even when the music slows down, the intensity remains. There is always a feeling that anything can happen. “
5. Sentimental Hygiene (1987)
“If you haven’t been introduced to WZ yet, this is a good place to start. If you know only the Warren Zevon of “Lawyers, Guns and Money” and that pesky werewolf song, this CD will surprise and delight you. If you listened to him back in the 1970s but lost touch with him after _Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School_, this is where to reconnect. And if you’ve just picked up _Life’ll Kill Ya_ and you’re looking into some of WZ’s earlier releases, _Sentimental Hygiene_ is probably an ideal choice.”
4. Life’ll Kill Ya (2000)
“Zevon’s best album since his first and maybe his best period. There is not a bad track on this album and that is rare. The songs are very dark (death, aging, regret, bad choices made) but underlying everything is an upbeat current or at least one that says that I’ve learned from all of these scars. Several other reviewers think that Hostage-o is about S&M. Well, I guess in a way but my take is that it is about substance addiction.”
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3. The Wind (2003)
“This is the last album Warren Zevon recorded. It’s one hell of an amazing goodbye note from a dying man. His song, “Keep me in your heart “ moves me to tears as I think about how brave Warren was being and yet so scared of his inevitable next step. Though out the album you can hear his wit, his absolute joy in making his music. “
2. Warren Zevon (1976)
“This is the last album Warren Zevon recorded. It’s one hell of an amazing goodbye note from a dying man. His song, “Keep me in your heart “ moves me to tears as I think about how brave Warren was being and yet so scared of his inevitable next step. Though out the album you can hear his wit, his absolute joy in making his music. “
1. Excitable Boy (1978)
“The songs subjects range from: music, a mercenary, a very, very sick boy, werewolves, a love song,a train song, Mexico, separation anxiety, and being caught in the crossfire. How can one person pull these seemingly diverse subjects into a cohesive album? Well, the three people mentioned in the first paragraph and the rest of the studio musicians did.
