A Quiet Normal Life: The Best of Warren Zevon
By Warren Zevon
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Werewolves of London 3:29
-
producer
-
producer, guitar, songwriter
-
piano
-
bass
-
drums
-
songwriter
-
- A2 Play It All Night Long 2:53
-
harmonies
-
producer, synthesizer
-
producer
-
guitar, lap steel guitar
-
bass
-
drums
-
- A3 Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner 3:48
-
producer
-
producer, guitar
-
piano, organ
-
bass
-
drums
-
The Gentlemen Boysharmonies
-
David Lindellsongwriter
-
- A4 The Envoy 3:12
-
producer, guitar
-
producer, synthesizer, guitar, solo
-
producer
-
bass
-
guitar
-
drums
-
harmonies
-
- A5 Mohammed's Radio 3:43
-
producer
-
guitar
-
piano
-
slide guitar
-
bass
-
saxophone
-
drums
-
harmonies
-
harmonies
-
- A6 Desperados Under the Eaves 4:47
-
harmonies
-
guitar
-
producer, piano, string arrangements, harmonies
-
bass
-
The Gentlemen Boysharmonies
-
Larry Zackdrums
-
strings
-
harmonies, vocal arrangements
-
harmonies
-
harmonies
-
- B1 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead 2:59
-
producer
-
guitar
-
piano, harmonica
-
drums
-
jug
-
bass
-
harmonies
-
- B2 Lawyers, Guns and Money 3:01
-
producer
-
producer, guitar
-
piano
-
drums
-
bass
-
- B3 Ain't That Pretty at All 3:34
-
producer, background vocals
-
producer, synthesizer, background vocals
-
producer
-
bass
-
guitar, background vocals
-
songwriter, acoustic guitar
-
lead guitar
-
drums
-
percussion
-
background vocals
-
- B4 Poor Poor Pitiful Me 3:08
-
producer
-
guitar
-
fiddle
-
bass
-
saxophone
-
harmonies
-
Larry Zackdrums
-
piano
-
- B5 Accidentally Like a Martyr 3:43
-
producer
-
producer, guitar
-
piano
-
bass
-
drums
-
The Gentlemen Boysharmonies
-
harmonies
-
- B6 Looking for the Next Best Thing 3:38
-
producer, guitar
-
producer, piano, synthesizer
-
producer
-
bass
-
drums
-
songwriter
-
guitar, songwriter
-
harmonies
-
harmonies
-
- Total length: 41:55
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6 Issues
14 Reviews
For far too many music fans here in the UK, the name Warren Zevon merely equates to the American singer-songwriter’s one and only hit in the late 70s, “Werewolves Of London”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as it’s a great song and Zevon deserved his pop-star moment. Things is there was more to Zevon’s long and varied career than that one song. Much, much more.
Arriving on the New York folk scene in the early 60s at the age of 16, Zevon spent the 60s trying his hand at being a writer for hire, then became half of folk duo Lyne and Cebelle and recording a debut solo album with Kim Fowley in the producer’s chair. After the album bombed and its follow up never saw the light of day, Zevon became the band leader for The Everly Brothers, before helping Phil and Don launch their respective solo careers in the early 70s.
The pull of a solo career didn’t elude Zevon for long though and after a brief sojourn living in Spain, he returned to California, became a flatmate of the then unknown Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and fell in with the rest of a Californian music scene which consisted of Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and his frequent collaborator Jackson Browne. It was Jackson Browne who became the key figure at this stage in Zevon’s career, as it was Browne who convinced Elektra Records to sign Zevon, becoming a regular touring buddy and he then went on to produce and promote his self-titled album.
Warren Zevon is a brilliant album and seemed to have just about every major name from the California rock scene guesting on it somewhere. Even at this stage in his career it was evident that Zevon was in a different league to his contemporaries as a writer, as the album boasted unparalleled songs like “Frank and Jesse James”, “Hasten Down the Wind” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, all of which underlined the fact that he wasn’t afraid to admit that he had already experienced the downside of fame and was able to mould those experiences into killer lyrics and great tunes. Sadly, these three tunes did not make their way on to 1986's A Quiet Normal Life compilation, although thankfully “Poor Poor Pitiful Me", the most raucous of all of Zevon's numbers on the top, did, as did eponymous album closer, and career highlight “Desperados Under the Eves”, an epic hymn to his struggle with alcoholism.
As an album Warren Zevon hailed the arrival of a major new talent and one that in the bloated singer-songwriter scene of the late 70s only had Randy Newman as his peer. Both Zevon and Newman were able to blend darkness and humour into their lyrics, but Zevon was far more the hedonistic rocker than Newman ever was. As a result Zevon, while made friends fast in the American music scene, he had already gone a long way to succumbing to its dark side. Actually, scrap that, he didn’t just succumb to it, he actually embraced it.
Following up Zevon’s major label debut couldn’t have been an easy task, but it’s no accident that it’s follow-up, Excitable Boy, became Zevon’s best known and biggest selling album. Just the fact that it featured the aforementioned “Werewolves of London” would have been enough to ensure big sales, however it also featured some of the strongest songs that Zevon would ever write, with the title track, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” and “Lawyers, Guns and Money” confirming that “Werewolves…” wasn’t just a freak hit single and that Zevon’s writing continued to have a breadth and depth that his contemporaries could only aspire to. All four of these tracks are featured on this compilation, and Excitable Boy was a sizeable hit on the American album charts.
Already the cracks had started to show though. The next album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, saw Zevon further water down his potency by featuring far too many throwaway tracks throughout the album, even resorting to the novelty tune “Gorilla, You’re a Desperado” in an attempt to emulate the success he had with “Werewolves…”. There was good stuff on offer for sure, such as his collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, “Jeanie Needs a Shooter”, but you can’t escape the feeling that Zevon just wasn’t trying as hard anymore. Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School is represented by a single track, "Play it All Night Long", on A Quiet Normal Life.
By the time Zevon released The Envoy in the early 80s, mainstream interest in him was starting to fade, and despite all the evidence that he was continuing to mature as a songwriter, he was continuing to struggle with personal demons along with trying to find his place in a rapidly changing music scene. The Envoy would be the last Warren Zevon album for a few years and he would gently fade into obscurity to battle his addictions.
By the time that A Quiet Normal Life was released, Zevon was actually gearing up to make an unexpected come back, but for his fan base, this compilation represented a fine career summation of an elite songwriter that had apparently succumbed to his demons. While Zevon would continue to release great albums up until his death in 2003, only his final trilogy of albums were critically lauded, which was a shame, as he'd continued to writer and release gems throughout despite wildly fluctuating fortunes.
As a distillation of the best of his years signed to Elektra, A Quiet Normal Life represents Warren Zevon the creative artists in the best possible light, and make the case for him as a top tier songwriter. His pos-comeback work boasted many gems, but it was the phase of his career represented here that cemented his legend.
Arriving on the New York folk scene in the early 60s at the age of 16, Zevon spent the 60s trying his hand at being a writer for hire, then became half of folk duo Lyne and Cebelle and recording a debut solo album with Kim Fowley in the producer’s chair. After the album bombed and its follow up never saw the light of day, Zevon became the band leader for The Everly Brothers, before helping Phil and Don launch their respective solo careers in the early 70s.
The pull of a solo career didn’t elude Zevon for long though and after a brief sojourn living in Spain, he returned to California, became a flatmate of the then unknown Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and fell in with the rest of a Californian music scene which consisted of Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and his frequent collaborator Jackson Browne. It was Jackson Browne who became the key figure at this stage in Zevon’s career, as it was Browne who convinced Elektra Records to sign Zevon, becoming a regular touring buddy and he then went on to produce and promote his self-titled album.
Warren Zevon is a brilliant album and seemed to have just about every major name from the California rock scene guesting on it somewhere. Even at this stage in his career it was evident that Zevon was in a different league to his contemporaries as a writer, as the album boasted unparalleled songs like “Frank and Jesse James”, “Hasten Down the Wind” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, all of which underlined the fact that he wasn’t afraid to admit that he had already experienced the downside of fame and was able to mould those experiences into killer lyrics and great tunes. Sadly, these three tunes did not make their way on to 1986's A Quiet Normal Life compilation, although thankfully “Poor Poor Pitiful Me", the most raucous of all of Zevon's numbers on the top, did, as did eponymous album closer, and career highlight “Desperados Under the Eves”, an epic hymn to his struggle with alcoholism.
As an album Warren Zevon hailed the arrival of a major new talent and one that in the bloated singer-songwriter scene of the late 70s only had Randy Newman as his peer. Both Zevon and Newman were able to blend darkness and humour into their lyrics, but Zevon was far more the hedonistic rocker than Newman ever was. As a result Zevon, while made friends fast in the American music scene, he had already gone a long way to succumbing to its dark side. Actually, scrap that, he didn’t just succumb to it, he actually embraced it.
Following up Zevon’s major label debut couldn’t have been an easy task, but it’s no accident that it’s follow-up, Excitable Boy, became Zevon’s best known and biggest selling album. Just the fact that it featured the aforementioned “Werewolves of London” would have been enough to ensure big sales, however it also featured some of the strongest songs that Zevon would ever write, with the title track, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” and “Lawyers, Guns and Money” confirming that “Werewolves…” wasn’t just a freak hit single and that Zevon’s writing continued to have a breadth and depth that his contemporaries could only aspire to. All four of these tracks are featured on this compilation, and Excitable Boy was a sizeable hit on the American album charts.
Already the cracks had started to show though. The next album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, saw Zevon further water down his potency by featuring far too many throwaway tracks throughout the album, even resorting to the novelty tune “Gorilla, You’re a Desperado” in an attempt to emulate the success he had with “Werewolves…”. There was good stuff on offer for sure, such as his collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, “Jeanie Needs a Shooter”, but you can’t escape the feeling that Zevon just wasn’t trying as hard anymore. Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School is represented by a single track, "Play it All Night Long", on A Quiet Normal Life.
By the time Zevon released The Envoy in the early 80s, mainstream interest in him was starting to fade, and despite all the evidence that he was continuing to mature as a songwriter, he was continuing to struggle with personal demons along with trying to find his place in a rapidly changing music scene. The Envoy would be the last Warren Zevon album for a few years and he would gently fade into obscurity to battle his addictions.
By the time that A Quiet Normal Life was released, Zevon was actually gearing up to make an unexpected come back, but for his fan base, this compilation represented a fine career summation of an elite songwriter that had apparently succumbed to his demons. While Zevon would continue to release great albums up until his death in 2003, only his final trilogy of albums were critically lauded, which was a shame, as he'd continued to writer and release gems throughout despite wildly fluctuating fortunes.
As a distillation of the best of his years signed to Elektra, A Quiet Normal Life represents Warren Zevon the creative artists in the best possible light, and make the case for him as a top tier songwriter. His pos-comeback work boasted many gems, but it was the phase of his career represented here that cemented his legend.
Published
E2 60503 CD (1986)
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Warren Zevon will be forever known for the terrific "Werewolves Of London", but as this best of compilation shows, there was much more to him than that. Not many people know that he actually wrote "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", a song made more famous by Linda Ronstadt.
His songwriting could be cutting, witty and sensitive. Always melodic and tuneful, but his lyrics always belied his true intentions.
The musical world lost a true original when he died, and is a much lesser place without him.
His songwriting could be cutting, witty and sensitive. Always melodic and tuneful, but his lyrics always belied his true intentions.
The musical world lost a true original when he died, and is a much lesser place without him.
Published
ma come si fa a lasciar fuori da un Best of Carmelita e Hasten Down the Wind???
Published
A hooooooo ahh Werewolves in London...I know very little about Mr Zevon and basically only got hold of this album as I remember a mate at University whose musical opinion I began to respect recently used to bang on about him....some absolutely brilliant lyrics, probably best seen in Lawyers, Guns and Money and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and just some damn great straight rock tunes such as Werewolves....
Although I have no idea of how representative this is of the rest of his work or whether it is a good compilation in comparison to some of his others...it is enough to make a newbie to the artist wanting more.
Although I have no idea of how representative this is of the rest of his work or whether it is a good compilation in comparison to some of his others...it is enough to make a newbie to the artist wanting more.
Published
Every song is a winner but with the best 6 of the 9 songs from Excitable Boy (the LP configuration only had 4), this CD compilation is quite unbalanced . Why then buy the Excitable Boy album if you own this? Instead of adding both that album's title track & "Johnny Strikes Up the Band", another one from Zevon's first such as "Carmelita" or "Hasten Down the Wind" would have been welcomed. And with only 1 track from Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School "Play It All Night Long", it should have also included "Gorilla, You're a Desperado". And although it's a fine song I'd would have replaced "The Envoy" with "Charlie's Medicine" and added "The Hula Hula Boys" to bring up to 4 tracks from The Envoy LP. At 46+ minutes (the LP was 40+) this set could have easily contained another 20 minutes (of course back in 1986 record companies were afraid to maximize a CD's capacity somewhat due to the inability of some playback equipment).
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology) supersedes this by including 22 tracks from the Asylum Records years and a second disc of his years with ... & Giant. Only his last 3 albums on Artemis are not represented.
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology) supersedes this by including 22 tracks from the Asylum Records years and a second disc of his years with ... & Giant. Only his last 3 albums on Artemis are not represented.
Published
9 60503-2 CD (1986)
What a damn fine compilation this is! Every track on here is a great example of Warren Zevon's genius (and genius it is!): Accessible without being bland, weird without being appalling - this guy really knew how to balance it out without sacrificing either. I constantly find myself playing this (and wanting to buy all his albums - he's one of those), and everytime I play it, I find myself enjoying it as much as the first time. Amazing artist, awesome compilation!
By the way, my personal favorite here is "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". What a story!!!
By the way, my personal favorite here is "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". What a story!!!
Published
9 60503-2 CD (1986)
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It doesn't get better than this.
Published
9 60503-2 CD (1986)
One of THE great best of albums period! We all know 'Werewolves..' right? But what of the rest i hear you ask....well it's bloomin' GENIUS. 'Lawyers,Guns and Money' is mind blowingly ace and 'Accidentally...' is sheer beauty. 'Excitable Boy' is on the CD version and it will have you laughin' yer socks off! Brilliant.
Published
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