Excitable Boy

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Excitable Boy
Excitable Boy cover.jpg
Studio album by
Warren Zevon
ReleasedJanuary 18, 1978 (1978-01-18)
Recorded1977 (1977)
Studio The Sound Factory, Los Angeles
Genre Rock
Length31:29
Label Asylum
Producer Jackson Browne, Waddy Wachtel
Warren Zevon chronology
Warren Zevon
(1976)		Excitable Boy
(1978)		 Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
(1980)
Singles from Excitable Boy
  1. "Johnny Strikes Up the Band"
    Released: 1978
  2. "Excitable Boy"
    Released: 1978
  3. "Werewolves of London"
    Released: January 18, 1978
  4. "Nighttime in the Switching Yard"
    Released: 1978
  5. "Lawyers, Guns and Money"
    Released: 1978

Excitable Boy is the third studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. The album was released on January 18, 1978, by Asylum Records. It includes the single "Werewolves of London", which reached No. 21 and remained in the American Top 40 for six weeks. The album brought Zevon to commercial attention and remains the best-selling album of his career, having been certified platinum by the RIAA and reaching the top ten on the US Billboard 200. A remastered and expanded edition was released in 2007. [1]

Contents

Music and lyrics

"Excitable Boy" and "Werewolves of London" were considered macabrely humorous by some critics. [1] The historical "Veracruz" dramatizes the United States occupation of Veracruz. It was the first song Zevon wrote with Jorge Calderón. Likewise, "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a fictionalized account of former mercenary David Lindell's experiences in Africa. "Lawyers, Guns and Money" is a tongue-in-cheek tale of a young American man's adventures in Cold War-era Latin America. In addition, there are two ballads about life and relationships ("Accidentally Like a Martyr" and "Tenderness on the Block"), as well as the funk/disco-inspired "Nighttime in the Switching Yard".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Music BoxStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
PopMatters 9/10 [1]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [6]
Uncut 9/10 [7]

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote:

The further these songs get from Ronstadtland, the more I like them. The four that exorcise male psychoses by mock celebration are positively addictive, the two uncomplicated rockers do the job, and two of the purely 'serious' songs get by. But no one has yet been able to explain to me what 'accidentally like a martyr' might mean—answers dependent on the term 'Dylanesque' are not acceptable—and I have no doubt that that's the image Linda will home in on. After all, is she going to cover the one about the headless gunner? [3]

The Globe and Mail panned the album, writing that Zevon's famous friends contributing to "this improbable collection of tunes is a testament to the constant in-breeding among the California types that have so deteriorated the scene out there." [8]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny Strikes Up the Band" Warren Zevon 2:49
2."Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"David Lindell, Zevon3:47
3."Excitable Boy"LeRoy Marinell, Zevon2:40
4."Werewolves of London" Waddy Wachtel, Marinell, Zevon3:27
5."Accidentally Like a Martyr"Zevon3:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Nighttime in the Switching Yard" Jorge Calderón, Lindell, Wachtel, Zevon4:15
7."Veracruz"Calderón, Zevon3:30
8."Tenderness on the Block" Jackson Browne, Zevon3:55
9."Lawyers, Guns and Money"Zevon3:29
Bonus Tracks (2007 reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."I Need a Truck" (Outtake)Zevon0:50
11."Werewolves of London" (Alternate version)Wachtel, Marinell, Zevon3:41
12."Tule's Blues"" (Solo piano version)Zevon3:13
13."Frozen Notes" (Strings version)Zevon1:59

Personnel

Additional personnel

Technical

Charts

Certifications

OrganizationLevelDate
RIAA – U.S. Gold April 17, 1978
CRIA – CanadaGoldJune 1, 1978
RIAA – U.S. Platinum November 7, 1997

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy". PopMatters. May 2, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ Mark Deming. "Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: Z". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 23, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  5. ↑ John Metzger. "Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (Album Review)". Musicbox-online.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ (Posted: Mar 23, 1978) (March 23, 1978). "Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2015.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "How to buy Warren Zevon". Uncut . October 2023. p. 71.
  8. ↑ McGrath, Paul (March 1, 1978). "Warren Zevon". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Charts.nz – Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Warren Zevon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1978". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
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