The Envoy (Expanded & Remastered) [Original recording remastered]

At last this "long lost" Zevon classic finally receives its long awaited digital release albeit as an "import" at a price that frankly smacks of a cash in given the albums 33 minute length. It is such a pity that some of Warren's finest work (this and Mr Bad Example) cries out for a mid-price release while record execs insist on re-releasing the likes of Transverse City and Life'll Kill Ya with bogus bonus tracks that hardly warrant a second purchase. However, all is not lost as this is Warren doing what he does best singing bittersweet tales of love and loss and rocking out with grit and gusto. A remarkable return to form following the patchy Bad Luck Streak album The Envoy, Warren's fourth studio offering, blends in some tasteful synths to his usual mix of piano, guitar and drums that thankfully have aged well and don't sound chessey or limp. If you have the excellent Quiet Normal Life best of compilation you'll be familiar with three of the tracks on offer here but the rest of this album is well worth checking out.

The opening title track is that rarest of beasts a political song that hasn't dated (say like Neil Young's Ohio) The Envoy is a punchy rocker recounting the tensions that have dogged the Middle East for generations. With the conflict escalating between Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Iraq and nuclear arms proliferating it's time for the President's Envoy to smooth the waters on his diplomatic mission, but with the real agenda of keeping that oil flowing - sound familiar? Well that's Warren displaying his political and historical intelligence but always with a satirical sideswipe at the soundbite doublespeak that tries to hide the real motivations behind political intrigues. The joyful rocker The Overdraft is one of Warren's finest a road-movie song of desperados on the run with a fantastic guitar solo from long time cohort Waddy Wachtel. The pace slows with the gorgeous and lilting Hula Hula Boys that may not impact on first listenings with it's Hawaiian chorus but it's a real grower not least for a sublime polynesian flute solo that curiously recalls the celtic atmospheres of Macgillicuddy's Reaks from My Ride's Here. But as always with Warren the girl he's searching for is involved in dark dealings as he finds her with her skirt torn and a bag full of heroin. The albums highlight though is the achingly poignant ballad Jesus Mentioned that is in a similar vein to Hasten Down The Wind, slow, meaningful and with a mesmerising haunting quality but this time Warren is in Graceland contemplating digging up Elvis to see if he really was Jesus in disguise (!) OK I know that's a surreal concept at the best of times but it is truly a wonderful song and the line about him "walking on the water with his pills" is spinetingling. Let Nothing Come Between Us is a curiosity a Zevon love song that doesn't really work but it's not without it's charms, just not up to Warren's usual standard. The drunken romp of Ain't That Pretty At All cranks up the biting acerbic wit once again and manages to blend a killer riff with some tasteful synth fills - a rare feat for early 80's rock. The fine mid paced rocker Charlie's Medicine is yet another highlight, a tale of drug dealing in Beverly Hills implicating well known doctors and shadowy celebrities in the death of a major player, but Warren's a stand up guy he know's Charlie's dead but he still wants to settle up his bills for services rendered - it also features some fine lead from Wachtel. Looking For The Next Best Thing is a classy hook laden gem and should have been a massive hit again blending keys and sterling rock guitar to thrilling effect as Warren laments the failed quests of Don Quixote and Sinbad. The closing Never Too Late For Love cements Warren's incredible reputation for heart wrenching soulful ballads that are brimful of real emotion not schlock cheesey cliché. It's quite simply breathtakingly beautiful with a simple piano & cello arrangement and featuring emotive tremelo guitar (recalling Floyd's Dave Gilmour) that adds a real power and weight without being overblown. The final line "Live for today, don't stop believing in tomorrow" would sound mawkish by anyone else but with Warren's deep baritone drawl it resonates with a pathos and world weary ennui that still offers hope and redemption.

In short this is a must have for Zevon fans (it's like Neil Young's On The Beach a solid gold classic hardcore fans adore) and will appeal to the casual listener as well - though at this current price (15 quid) it's asking a lot for your money to gamble on an artist you're maybe not familiar with - but it's an album that will grow on you and give value with every listening and it does feature some outstanding intelligent songwriting that any fan of Springsteen, Dylan, Hiatt or Graham Parker will love.

Warner/Rhino releases, finally, a domestic CD version of the late Warren Zevon 1982 masterpiece, the stylistically ambitious "The Envoy."

I still hold on to my original US vinyl copy, although I could not resist buying the first ever CD release on Japanese Warner MSIG 0280, which came out in 2006 at the usual "unaffordable" price. It came in grand style - with full mini-LP guise - but without the four bonus tracks featured here.

While pop fans knew him mainly from his 1978 horror-show hit "Werewolves of London", Zevon enjoyed mainly a solid cult following as well as the acclaim - and lucrative cover versions - of his peers.

This album is actually one of my favourites from Zevon, the satiric, nay sardonic, nay noir singer- songwriter-musician-arranger who, at the time of this recording, had shaken off some very unhealthy habits. Because of this, Warren worked longer and harder on this recording. The results are better-crafted songs, full of great hooks and subtle lyrics.

To me highlights from this album include:

1 "The Envoy" where a kind of political James Bond - actually diplomat Philip Habib - resolves dangerous crises, all around the world, for the US president. The superb Jimmy Wachtel (no relation) cover shot very cleverly hints at this topic.

2 The very tender and heartfelt "Never to Late for Love", a sultry ballad where he sings, in a deeply moving voice: "You could try to let the past slip away/Live for today/Don't stop believing in tomorrow." I am under the impression that these lines are addressed to no other than the singer himself.

3 The memorable and undeniably confessional - although not quite explicit - "Charlie's Medicine" where he recounts tales of murder, drug use and drug dealings; this song, by the way, features some of the best guitar parts ever waxed by Warren's long time cohort Robert "Waddy" Wachtel.

4 "Looking for the Next Best Thing", yet another great song alluding to the process of getting rid of one's addictions. The use of synthesizer and acoustic piano is particularly tasteful; and Waddy's at it again! This song also appears in an alternate version among the bonus tracks but does not bring anything new.

5 "Let Nothing Come between You", another soft and autobiographical song where the singer ignores negative advice from mother and friend alike regarding his romantic projects regarding a girl "that's good around the eyes."

Warren newfound sobriety did not prevent him from singing about some rather weird subjects related to fear, death (natural or induced), desperate loneliness, freaks, horror or whatever bad dreams cross his mind.

On this album, some Jesus/Elvis reincarnation walks on the water after taking pills, the singer hurls himself against the wall (and ain't that pretty at all?) or seeks statutory immunity after having some fun with a minor girl.

In my opinion, this must have been Zevon's way of exorcising his phantasms and deeply built anxieties.

The album was ably produced and engineered by Greg Ladinyi and the cast of musicians is, as usual with Zevon, stellar. The Rhino remastering is state of the art. As already mentioned, Waddy Wachtel - one of my very favourite rock guitarists - shines throughout. Zevon wrote all of the material, with outside help

from novelist Thomas McGuane (track # 2), LeRoy P. Marinell (track # 6) and Kenny Edwards & LeRoy P.Marinell (track # 8.)

It is somehow fitting, given his personal history, that Warren chooses to sing a Hendrix-influenced cover of the Troggs' hit "Wild Thing."

From what I heard, the two other new unreleased bonus songs are kind of OK but not very special either. However, I may be biased, having been used to the other songs for so long. They will maybe grow on me after awhile. Nevertheless, the real meat of this album is the already released material.

Although there are a couple of weak tracks, "The Envoy" features Warren Zevon in classic form. Referred to as "Excitable Boy" grows up when it was first released, "The Envoy" sounds quite good in the latest edition from Rhino. A pity that this wasn't released while Warren was alive. This album was available previously as an expensive import and key tracks were on Warren's two CD retrospective on Rhino but this is the first time (to my knowledge) that the whole album has appeared on CD. This captures Mr. Bad Example in very fine form indeed.

"Jesus Mentioned" played on acoustic guitar is very spare sounding thoughtful song about Elvis Presley and, of course, has plenty of Warren's humor in it. The title track is a killer rocker. "Looking for the Next Best Thing" is one of Warren's great ballads. "Let Nothing Come Beween You" is probably the sweetest song Warren ever wrote. "Not That Pretty at All" isn't my least favorite tune but the sythesizer seems a little overbearing on this track. Overall this album provides a perfect transition to Warren's brilliant "Sentimental Hygene". After this album Warren who had a drinking problem and cleaned up his life briefly fell back into the spiral of addiction before pulling himself out of it five years later.

We get the original album plus a number of great extra tracks here including "The Risk", "Word of Mouth" an alternate version of "Let Nothing Come Between You" and "Wild Thing". The former has all the hallmarks of New Wave at the time with its boxy sounding drums and sythesizer. "Word of Mouth" opens with a mix of sythesizer, piano and guitar and doesn't sound finished as there's no vocal track recorded for it. The arrangement could have been fleshed out a bit more but it's a nice track. Some of the bonus tracks are better than others but don't diminish the original album. "Let Nothing Come Between You" is an alternate take that provides pleasant listening although I prefer the released version. "Wild Thing" is an off-the-cuff performance of the classic Chip Taylor song that sounds like it was recorded during the rehearsal sessions. It's a loose performance that probably wasn't ever intended for release. It sounds like the band was just having fun.

We get extensive sleeve notes as well giving us a bit of background on the recording of the album written by Rolling Stone writer David Wild. We also get photos, original lyrics and credits for the album.