Track 1, Side 1 of one of my favorite albums, Excitable Boy.

“Johnny Strikes Up the Band”

I love Excitable Boy, so many top notch songs, Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me is my favorite song from that album.

I'm also fond of his Hindu Love Gods album that he did with the R.E.M. guys, here they are covering Prince.

Track 2, Side 1. Excitable Boy.

“Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”

Zevon co-wrote this one along with David Lindell, a former mercenary. Zevon met Lindell in Spain, where the latter was running a bar after a stint working as a mercenary in Africa, and where Zevon was working as live entertainment.

My first experience with Zevon was called “My Sh..s F’ed up”. A friend with cancer shared the song with me.

quote:

Originally posted by Roguepilot:
My first experience with Zevon was called “My Sh..s F’ed up”. A friend with cancer shared the song with me.

He was 56 when he died.

And what a final song that was that he put out. Amazing and touching.

I want to have this played at my funeral someday:

No Lawyers, Guns, and Money?

ah woooooo

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
And what a final song that was that he put out. Amazing and touching.

I want to have this played at my funeral someday:

You got that right. They used this song as the backround music for one of the final scenes of House.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kkina,

Funny story about a line from one of his songs:


It's summer 1993 and I was in the Army in Germany, put in leave to travel to London for a week or so and went with my barracks roommate and fellow 94B Army cook in the dining facility there.

We were walking around London one night..in Soho...in the rain. I look up and I did a double-take and had to walk back and take it all in. A sign for a restaurant...a Chinese restaurant. Lee Ho Fook!

quote:

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's
Gonna get a big dish of Beef Chow Mein
Werewolves of London

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
No Lawyers, Guns, and Money?

If you’re patient you’ll get that one. Waddy Wachtel was brought in later to co-produce the album. Jackson Browne was the producer, but he told Wachtel that Zevon wouldn’t listen to him, “Maybe he’ll listen to you,” Browne said.

He tells the story of hearing it for the first time with a group of people. Side one had everyone mesmerized. Side two had two stinkers on it and people were walking away from listening. Wachtel had to leave for a tour with Linda Ronstadt and he told Zevon to write two new songs. He did, “Tenderness on the Block (written with Jackson Browne), and “Lawyers, Guns, and Money,” the last song on side two.

The list of musicians and singers that contributed to this album is incredible.

PASig. Thanks for posting “Keep Me in Your Heart for Awhile.” In truth, I purposely avoided Zevon’s final recordings. I was pretty disheartened at his cancer diagnosis and the knowledge that it was advanced. I knew he was essentially saying goodbye, and I didn’t want to hear it. I have been compiling a list of songs for my own memorial service (rather macabre, I know), I’ll add this to my list.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

We were walking around London one night..in Soho...in the rain. I look up and I did a double-take and had to walk back and take it all in. A sign for a restaurant...a Chinese restaurant. Lee Ho Fook!

Did it look like this? (The actual restaurant that inspired the lyric)

Splendid Isolation is my favorite.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

We were walking around London one night..in Soho...in the rain. I look up and I did a double-take and had to walk back and take it all in. A sign for a restaurant...a Chinese restaurant. Lee Ho Fook!

Did it look like this? (The actual restaurant that inspired the lyric)

Yes but I don't think that is the original location, I think it moved at some point. When I saw it, it was on a corner.

^I think it actually had 2 locations, or something like that.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
If you’re patient you’ll get that one.

I know. I attached it to my post...

.

I was going to post every song on the album from Track 1, Side 1 through to Track 4, Side 2 (“Lawyers, Guns, and Money”), but I came to the realization that I may well be the only Forum member who thinks there are no bad cuts on this album. So, if the song, or the story behind the song is interesting; I’ll add that to the thread.

“Werewolves” is both an interesting song and story. This is Track 4, Side 1.

Zevon played in Phil Everly’s backup band for awhile in the mid-70s. Everly watched the 1935 movie Werewolf of London one night and as kind of a joke, presented the title to Warren Zevon as a possible song title. It’s said that Zevon, Waddy Wachtel, and LeRoy Marinell wrote the song “in about 15 minutes.” That’s a bit ironic in that recording it took all night and into the next morning, eating up most of the budget for the album. Reportedly, none of the three took the song seriously.

In the recording studio 59 takes were recorded with at least seven different configurations of musicians.
This is the ultimate configuration of musicians:
Warren Zevon – piano, vocals
Mick Fleetwood – drums
John McVie – bass
Waddy Wachtel – guitars

Elektra Records chose “Werewolves” as the albums first single, over Zevon’s objection. It was Zevon’s only top 40 hit.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
but I came to the realization that I may well be the only Forum member who thinks there are no bad cuts on this album.

Don't know why you came up with this conclusion.
I, for one, consider it a great album in the class of Rumours, Back in Black, in the sense each are packed with killer songs. Also had no idea this was an Excitable Boy thread...

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
I was pretty disheartened at his cancer diagnosis and the knowledge that it was advanced. I knew he was essentially saying goodbye, and I didn’t want to hear it.

The man did not go to any doctor for over 20 years.

If he had, they may have caught that cancer early and he'd still be with us.