WARREN ZEVON - Excitable Boy (1978)

Flying stark in the face of my late-career loving ways, commercially speaking Zevon peaked early.  He got some attention with the self-titled, then Excitable Boy was the big smash, then  Excitable would persist as the high, the proverbial dragon that he'd spend the rest of his career chasing.  "Early" is relative, though, when one considers how long WZ spent bumming around trying to make the music career happen.  The actual recording of that first record that nobody wants to talk about happened a full nine years before "Werewolves Of London" blew up.  By this point he'd paid his dues, and it was about time to land something that'd keep him eating - or at least, less likely to run out of money - over the next few decades of following his muse.

Excitable is one of only three non-compilation Zevon records that I owned on CD back when that was a thing, when I was making my first attempt to get into him.  It's interesting going back to hear this stuff in context now.

Track One:  "Johnny Strikes Up The Band"

As usual with Zevon by this era, the song includes two features - a solid piano riff and something interesting going on with the guitar, in this case a neat sounding open chord.  A song follows that's never been particularly memorable to me one way or another.  It does sound nice.  There's not much of a hook beyond the slightly overlapping repetition of the "when Johnny strikes up the when Johnny strikes up" parts, which is catchy.  It's fine, I guess.  Doesn't seem like the stuff of opening tracks for soon-to-be legendary records.

I think this may be the first time I've ever felt obligated to listen to a song again immediately after looking up lyrics and interpretations, just to be sure I wasn't misjudging it.  See, I was wondering whether "Johnny" was some friend of his, or some double entendre (guaranteed to please...).  Maybe it would have been more obvious to someone in the moment - although I'm pretty old, this was all still way before my time - but the internet is certain* that "Johnny" here is Johnny Carson, getting ready to make the day a little more pleasant for a nation of TV viewers, and that the song is straight up sentimental without any irony.  I tried listening specifically in that spirit.  And... it's fine, I guess.  JSUTB certainly doesn't do anything to explain to the listener anything about Johnny or why his show is so special.  And who's "my little friend?"  There's no there there when it comes to the sort of storytelling I want from Zevon. 

Track Two:  "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner"

...and here's your storytelling!  As far as pop culture memory is concerned (greatest hits compilations and the like), Excitable Boy yielded four "big" tracks, including the big hit.  All four of them are weird fucking songs.  I love Zevon taking this tack of an old-timey story song that's just total nonsense, and I love putting it as the second track.  I love the fact that it has more than the standard three verses and choruses, and I love the way the background singers join in and add extra lyrics.  Somehow doesn't it seem right for there to be the headless body of a Norwegian mercenary, responding to taking his revenge on his CIA-hired killer by showing up wherever there's a civil war or some other way for a bunch of people to die violent deaths?  Offbeat in all the best ways. 

Track Three:  "Excitable Boy"

"Excitable Boy" has an instantly recognizable piano tune - lots of those on this record!  Another of the big four weird-ass songs, this one doesn't do as much for me.  I guess I'm not quite dialed into the particular brand of comedy that would let me appreciate the juxtaposition of the cheery music and the nasty subject material, or to be amused over and over by the same refrain of a clear sociopath being brushed off as "just an excitable boy."  I just think the saxophone part is honestly pretty annoying.  I kinda want maybe more incisive commentary about the kid gloves with which we handle those who come from money.  Or maybe hijinks that stay wacky even as they grow more destructive.  Or a better chorus.  Or, I dunno, something more.

Track Four:  "Werewolves Of London"

"Werewolves Of London" is not the classic atypical novelty hit that's not representative of its artist.  The track very much fits at least the side of Zevon we see throughout the vast majority of Excitable Boy.  What is this record as a whole if not goofy with a dark edge, murder and maiming with a healthy helping of charm over a pop hook that's catchy as hell?  I said that "Excitable Boy," the song, had a distinctive piano riff.  Well, "Werewolves" has an absolutely legendary one, innocently bouncy and pairing gorgeously with the guitar counterpoint that comes in at the end - just iconic.  I said that the aforementioned title track was weird.  Well, WOL is a doubly weird song, fixating on a very strange choice of character type and peppering it with references to landmarks and people that one can only just roll with.  WOL epitomizes the well-known fact that the way words roll off the tongue is more important than their literal meaning.  There's something that feels perfect about chatty phrases like "little old lady got mutilated late last night" and "I saw Lon Chaney Junior, walkin' with the queen."

Special shout out to Zevon for managing to put the proper enthusiasm behind each and every "a-whoo" howl.  It's gotta be hard to keep it fresh.

I heard an internet legend that Zevon deliberately based the chord pattern around "Sweet Home Alabama" because he knew that was the way to make it a hit, and someone claimed to have seen him try to prove it by singing WOL's lyrics over a band or jukebox or something that was playing SHA.  I have not seen this story again anywhere else, and it does not mesh with any accounts I've seen from those who were there about the song coming together totally off-the-cuff in an alcoholic haze.  Striking how similar the two songs are, and also how I likely would never have noticed it if others hadn't pointed it out.  "Werewolves Of London," is just... I mean, it's "Werewolves Of London."  There's nothing else quite like it, and Zevon is your only source for anything else that's even close.

It seems like Zevon himself regarded his one hit that doesn't reflect everything he is as an artist with a sort of bemused amusement.  I don't know if some of the WZ faithful resent WOL for overshadowing their own personal favorite.  I was kind of surprised to realize how typical it actually is of at least this period of Zevon's work.  A very good example of one of the main things he does.  Speaking as at least a Zevon appreciator, I have yet to ever get sick of hearing WOL.

Track Five:  "Accidentally Like A Martyr"

Yeah, so as alluded to above, Excitable is totally the sort of record epitomized by "Werewolves Of London."  If I wanted to explain how different it is from the first two records, I'd just mention that it's five tracks in before we get a sad song.  ALAM is further really only one of two sad songs on the whole set, and the only one that's (I assume) autobiographical.  I like it quite a bit.  Words fit together so well - I have no idea what the title lyric means, just like the way it sounds.

On the other hand, I've spent years intermittently having 

We made mad love, shadow love
Random love and abandoned love

pop into my head without realizing how efficiently the entire arc of a relationship is packed into just a few words.  Seems like every type of love/sex except the one built to last.  "Abandoned love," damn, that's some kind of writing.

Track Six:  "Nighttime In The Switching Yard"

I think late-'70s rockers were contractually obligated to do a bass-heavy song with some funk elements.  Of all the songs from that era fitting that vague description, NITSY is certainly one of them.

Track Seven:  "Veracruz"

Storytelling with some actual history this time.  I always have to listen to "Veracruz" to remember how it goes.  Once it's playing, I'm always fine to let it play through.  I like the bridge with the Spanish singing.  I like the way the piano and the actually non-gimmicky Spanish guitar play off each other.  Good album track.

Track Eight:  "Tenderness On The Block"

I don't know if TOTB is actually an unheralded gem or if I'm mostly reacting to potential here, but I kinda feel like people unfairly slept/sleep on this one.  Musically the staccato piano stands out, whilst the resolution of the chorus into the title lyric really lands.  Lyrically, I don't know whether I should be cringing at Zevon trying to talk about "jive talk" or use the phrase "the Block" as of he knows what it means.  Dig a little, deeper, though.  TOTB is the serious sort of funny song.  Depending on one's mood, the lyric can be viewed as gleefully regaling a parent with their worst nightmare as their precious daughter takes up with the "wrong" crowd, as kids do.  You tried to give your good girl resources and security, and she wanted something more exciting than anything you could ever offer.  Sucks to be you, you old person!  Yet, isn't the song kinda uplifting nonetheless?  I mean, "she was wide-eyed, now she's streetwise."  From the way it's musically structured, the song certainly seems to think that the character will be okay, and better off for figuring out who she is on her own terms.  I'm convinced there's some depth here, and that Zevon is letting his basic faith in humanity sneak in.

I don't know where else to put this, but I had this weird delusion for years that the record ended with "Tenderness On The Block" ("Lawyers, Guns, And Money" came somewhere in the middle, in the tracklist in my head).  I am so locked into this idea of "Tenderness" as a closing track.  Did I get a weird pressing of the CD?  Maybe it's because I'm always kinda composing concert setlists in my head, and I imagined Zevon, or a cover artist, doing a bunch of the really heavy death-oriented songs during the first encore, and then coming back out to close with a livelier old-school deep cut, and I fixated on TOTB?  As best as I can tell, though, every version of Excitable Boy ever has in fact continued past TOTB and has ended, plus or minus bonus tracks, with...

Track Nine:  "Lawyers, Guns, And Money"

The fourth and final of the ones I'm considering famous and weird.  I imagine this being a fan favorite, and if so, it's hard to begrudge it its favoriteness, even if it's not a personal favorite of mine.  Do like the title phrase and the basic conceit, don't like Zevon vamping it up too much with the whooping sounds, do like the main "da-da-da-da da-da da-da, DA-da-da, da-DA" motif running through the song.  For a taste of Zevon sounding like a desperate man whilst painting a picture of a comically ridiculous situation, you could do a lot worse.

Overall thoughts:

I don't want to repeat myself too much, but my late-period view of Zevon's music skews dark and sentimental, with even the wackiness tinged by regret.  I've never seen that side of him more muted than on Excitable Boy.  Most of the songs here are lively, pure irreverence, or both.  It's fun overall.  But is this what the fanbase connect to?  Is this WZ at his best, to the faithful?

One thing that I can't really argue is that at the time of its release, Excitable was the best Zevon record to date.   I'm sure the self-titled has its backers too, sure.  To me, the songwriting is continuing to grow, as the record reels off one classic melody after another.

Favorite track:  "Werewolves Of London"

Runner up:  "Accidentally Like A Martyr"

Least favorite:  "Excitable Boy"

Rating:  4/5

We continue with Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School, whenever I get around to it!

*Although obviously one shouldn't take internet interpretations as gospel.  Genius.com states that Zevon here "recalls a simpler time, when America tuned-in to late night mid-western humor."  A simpler time, like... uh, the then-present?  As of the time of the release of Excitable Boy, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson remained one of the most popular programs on the air and was still nearly fifteen years away from ending.