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| Warren Zevon - Wanted Dead or Alive Band: Warren Zevon Tracks: - Wanted Dead or Alive - Hitchhikin' Woman - She Quit Me - Calcutta - Iko Iko - Traveling in the Lightning - Tule's Blues - Bullet for Ramona - Gorilla - Fiery Emblems A Great Start First albums are never the artist's best album. "Wanted Dead or Alive" is a fine addition to any collection, given you realise that the "Excitable Boy"-era Zevon is still a while off. No, it doesn't sound like your average Zevon record, it was intended to sound like a John Hammond, Jr. record, and it does. Keep that in mind when listening. It's true that Zevon's disowned it. It's not in his style, but that doesn't stop it from being a damn fine record. Rough but enjoyable The standard Warren Zevon biographies and discographies refer to Warren Zevon's 1969 debut album "Wanted Dead Or Alive" as a botched effort, a record that never should have been made, a disaster, or sometimes use even less flattering descriptions. Certainly Zevon himself Felt that way, and had it not been for the efforts of his pal Jackson Browne, that may have been the end of his solo career. For the next few years, Zevon went off to obscure bars in Spain and occasional jobs as musical arranger. It wasn't until he was "discovered" again in 1976 that his career began anew. A couple of listens to this CD may not convince you that this is his best album, but it will be a unique and valuable early foray into Zevon's deranged universe. "Wanted" was Zevon's first release as a solo Artist after briefly flirting with the psychadelic sound as one-half of the duo Lyme & Cybelle in the mid-1960s. (You can find a couple Lyme & Cybelle tracks on the CD compilation "Happy Together: The Very Best Of White Whale Records".) His song noir style and the classic hapless and impulsively self-destructive characters that Zevon nurtured to perfection over the years began to blossom on this album. The title track highlights the desperation of a man on the run who can't seem to hide because "they say I have an outlaw face." "A Bullet For Ramona" is about a man who tried to let go of a failed relationship, but when he saw her with a drifter, "I knew right then Ramona had to die." "She Quit Me" finds Zevon wondering "where did she get the Nerve to say goodbye?" This track, when it was included with modified lyrics on the "Midnight Cowboy" Soundtrack of the same year, became his first commercial success, albeit through a different Artist and style. Some of the other tracks, like "Hitchhikin' Woman" and "Tule's Blues," are wistfully pleasant songs. "Iko-Iko," the album's low point, seems to be a parody of itself, with Zevon leading a chorus of girls into a chaotic series of silly shouts of "Iko!" "Traveling In The Lightning" and "Gorilla" explore some of the novel studio effects of the day, and have a frenetic energy to them. "Fiery Emblems" is an early Zevon instrumental. The biggest criticism of the album has always been the production. Good production highlights the music - poor production focuses on the effects. Some of the double-tracking of Zevon's voice, like on the title track, can get tiresome. The instrumentation is often quite good, and in some cases outstanding, but the mixing tends to muffle the sound or accentuate the wrong elements of the song. All in all, the production's rough qualities lend a certain simple charm to his first solo work. This album has been repeatedly criticized as a throw-away, but to dismiss Warren Zevon's first alb Important Addition For Classic Zevon Fan For those that of us that Love Warren, then this CD is an essential addition to the collection.<BR>A bullet for Ramona is classic Zevon, as is Wanted Dead or Alive. Not the quality of some of his best but well worth it, even if only for 'A bullet for Ramona' Buy Warren Zevon Wanted Dead Or Alive at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
