Warren Zevon (album)

Warren Zevon
Studio album by Warren Zevon
Released	May 18, 1976
Recorded	1975
Studio	Sunset Sound, Los Angeles Elektra, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock pop soft rock [1]
Length	37:45
Label	Asylum
Producer	Jackson Browne
Warren Zevon chronology
Wanted Dead or Alive (1970) Warren Zevon (1976) Excitable Boy (1978)
Singles from Warren Zevon
"Hasten Down the Wind" Released: Nov 1976 "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" Released: 1976

Warren Zevon is the second studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. This album was recorded in 1975 and released on May 18, 1976, by Asylum Records. A remastered version of the album with bonus tracks was released in 2008 by Rhino Records. ^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+ [4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
Pitchfork	10/10 [6]
PopMatters	9/10 [2]
Rolling Stone	(positive) [7]
Uncut	9/10 [8]

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "I am suspicious of singer-songwriters who draw attention to phrases like 'hasten down the wind,' and I would suggest a moratorium on songs about the James Brothers that don't also rhyme 'pollution' and 'solution.' But I like the way Zevon resists pigeonholes like 'country-rock' while avoiding both the banal and the mystagogical, and I like quatrains like: 'And if California slides into the ocean/Like the mystics and statistics say it will/I predict this motel will be standing/Until I pay my bill.'" ^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Warren Zevon.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Frank and Jesse James"	4:33
2.	"Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded"	2:53
3.	"Backs Turned Looking Down the Path"	2:27
4.	"Hasten Down the Wind"	2:58
5.	"Poor Poor Pitiful Me"	3:04
6.	"The French Inhaler"	3:44

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"Mohammed's Radio"	3:40
8.	"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"	2:56
9.	"Carmelita"	3:32
10.	"Join Me in L.A."	3:13
11.	"Desperados Under the Eaves"	4:45

Personnel

Musicians

• Warren Zevon – harmonica, piano, rhythm guitar, string arrangements, vocals
• Jackson Browne – harmony vocals on tracks 2, 3 & 11, piano on track 10, slide guitar on track 3
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitar on track 3, harmony vocals on tracks 5 & 7
• Rosemary Butler – harmony vocals on track 10
• Jorge Calderón – harmony vocals on tracks 8 & 11
• Marty David – bass guitar on track 3
• Ned Doheny – guitar on track 10
• Phil Everly – harmony vocals on tracks 1 & 4
• Glenn Frey – rhythm guitar on track 9, harmony vocals on tracks 6 & 9
• The Gentlemen Boys – background vocals on track 11
• Bob Glaub – bass guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4–7 & 9–11
• Don Henley – harmony vocals on track 6
• Billy Hinsche – harmony vocals on track 11
• Bobby Keys – saxophone on tracks 5, 7 & 10
• David Lindley – banjo on track 1, fiddle on tracks 1, 2 & 5, slide guitar on tracks 4 & 7, guitar on track 9
• Gary Mallaber – drums on tracks 3 & 8
• Roy Marinell – bass guitar on track 8
• Stevie Nicks – vocals on track 7 & 10
• Bonnie Raitt – harmony vocals on track 10
• Fritz Richmond – jug on track 8
• Sid Sharp – strings on tracks 4, 6 & 11
• JD Souther – harmony vocals on tracks 2 & 11
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar, vocals
• Carl Wilson – harmony vocals on track 11, vocal arrangements
• Jai Winding – piano on track 5, organ & synthesizer on track 10, vocals on track 11
• Larry Zack – drums on tracks 1, 2, 4–7 & 9–11
• The Gentlemen Boys consisted of: Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderón, Kenny Edwards, JD Souther and Waddy Wachtel.

Production

• Producer: Jackson Browne
• Engineer: Fritz Richmond
• Mixing: John Haeny
• Arranger: Warren Zevon
• Vocal Arrangement: Carl Wilson

Charts

Chart performance for Warren Zevon

Chart (1976)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape [9]	189

References

1. "Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
2. "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
3. Mark Deming. "Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
4. 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.
5. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
6. Cush, Andy (April 2, 2023). "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved April 2, 2023.
7. "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . 1976-07-15. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2015-10-23– via Web.archive.org.
8. "How to buy Warren Zevon". Uncut . October 2023. p. 71.
9. "Warren Zevon Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved April 2, 2023.