The Envoy (Warren Zevon album)

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The Envoy
The Envoy (Warren Zevon album cover).jpg
Studio album by
Warren Zevon
ReleasedJuly 16, 1982
Recorded1981
StudioRecord One, Los Angeles, California
Genre Rock
Length31:59
Label Asylum
Producer Warren Zevon, Greg Ladanyi, Waddy Wachtel
Warren Zevon chronology
Stand in the Fire
(1981)		The Envoy
(1982)		 A Quiet Normal Life: The Best of Warren Zevon
(1986)
Singles from The Envoy
  1. "Let Nothing Come Between You"
    Released: 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Robert Christgau A− [2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Music BoxStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Uncut 8/10 [5]

The Envoy is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The album was released on July 16, 1982, by Asylum Records. The album's lack of commercial success caused Zevon's label to terminate his recording contract.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The title track was inspired by veteran American diplomat Philip Habib's shuttle diplomacy during the 1982 Lebanon War.

Zevon later said of the album's lack of success, "I would start a record more or less as soon as I'd finished the one previous to it, and they took longer, cost more and more, and actually did sort of less and less well. Particularly The Envoy. I was a little discouraged after that.". [6]

Despite the fact that "Let Nothing Come Between You", a love ballad written by Zevon, charted as high as 24 on the Mainstream Billboard Rock chart, Asylum dropped Zevon after the commercial failure of The Envoy. It would be five years before Zevon made another studio album, 1987's Sentimental Hygiene , released on Virgin Records.

Actors Ted Shackelford and James Houghton appeared on the album's cover. [7]

Track listing

All songs written by Warren Zevon except as indicated.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Envoy" 3:12
2."The Overdraft" Thomas McGuane, Zevon2:43
3."The Hula Hula Boys" 3:01
4."Jesus Mentioned" 2:45
5."Let Nothing Come Between You" 3:38
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Ain't That Pretty at All"LeRoy Marinell, Zevon3:34
7."Charlie's Medicine" 4:48
8."Looking for the Next Best Thing" Kenny Edwards, Marinell, Zevon3:41
9."Never Too Late for Love" 4:37
Bonus Tracks (2007 reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Word of Mouth" (Outtake) 4:01
11."Let Nothing Come Between You" (Alternate take) 3:40
12."The Risk" (Outtake) 2:34
13."Wild Thing" (Outtake) Chip Taylor 2:29

Personnel

Additional personnel
Technical

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] 100
Billboard Pop Albums 93 [9]

References

  1. ↑ Mark Deming. "The Envoy – Warren Zevon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "CG: warren zevon". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  4. ↑ John Metzger (July 19, 2007). "Warren Zevon – The Envoy (Album Review)". Musicbox-online.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ "How to buy Warren Zevon". Uncut . October 2023. p. 71.
  6. ↑ Sylvie Simmons. "Warren Zevon". Rock's Backpages .(Subscription required.)
  7. ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/james-houghton-knots-landing-young-and-restless-1236150927/
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "The Envoy – Warren Zevon | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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