Warren Zevon (album)

Warren Zevon
Studio album by Warren Zevon
Released	May 18, 1976
Recorded	1975–76
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] The cover photo by Jimmy Wachtel, depicts Warren standing in the dark in the parking lot outside of the Hollywood Palladium (taken on the same night as the 18th Annual Grammy Awards). ^{[3] [4]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+ [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[6]
Pitchfork	10/10 [7]
PopMatters	9/10 [2]
Rolling Stone	(positive) [8]
Uncut	9/10 [9]

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.'" ^[5]

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 [10]	189

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Warren Zevon Warren Zevon". AllMusic . Retrieved October 23, 2015.
2. "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon". PopMatters . Retrieved October 23, 2015.
3. Campion, James (2018). Accidentally Like a Martyr: The Tortured Art of Warren Zevon. Blue Ridge Summit: Backbeat. p. 16. ISBN   978-1-61713-672-6.
4. Hasted, Nick (January 23, 2026). "Warren Zevon: "I went looking for trouble"" . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
5. 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.
6. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
7. Cush, Andy (April 2, 2023). "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved April 2, 2023.
8. "Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . July 15, 1976. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2015– via Web.archive.org.
9. "How to buy Warren Zevon". Uncut . October 2023. p. 71.
10. "Warren Zevon Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved April 2, 2023.