Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as Charlie, Warren had dealt in pharmaceuticals..., 23 Mar 2007
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.
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3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"The Envoy" saves the day, 1 May 2007
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.
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~ Warren Zevon
~ Warren Zevon
~ Warren Zevon
~ Warren Zevon
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