Mondays are hard and I am a little
tired despite a workday that wasn’t that bad. First a review and then, as
Leonard Cohen would say, I’m going to “get lost in that hopeless little screen.”
Even Leonard Cohen watched television once in a while.
Disc 1110 is… Wanted Dead or Alive
Artist: Warren
Zevon
Year of Release: 1969
What’s up with the Cover? Giant Head cover! Funny how
nowadays bands love covers where they aren’t even pictured. Back in 1969 it was
giant heads all the way, baby!
How I Came To Know It: Once I realized how much I loved
Warren Zevon it was a simple matter of digging through his entire discography
for my favourite records. This one eluded me for a while, but I finally found
it at my local record store as a remastered edition released shortly after his
death.
How It Stacks Up: I have 10 of Zevon’s 12 albums (his last two
didn’t grab me). Of the 10 I have, “Wanted Dead or Alive” comes in…last. Sorry,
Warren.
Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3
Sometimes it takes an artist to find their sound.
When you have a sound as unique and varied as Warren Zevon it takes a little
longer than most.
“Wanted Dead or Alive” is Warren Zevon’s first
album, and came out seven years before his career would properly launch with
his self-titled album. It has all the elements of what would make him amazing
later: brave production decisions, a mix of country, hard rock, blues a knack
for storytelling and a sense of humour. However, it feels very much like he’s
still exploring how to make it all fit. The result is a record with flashes of
greatness but a lot of disjointed musical notions that don’t quite connect.
Being 1969, there are a lot of late raunchy sixties
rock tracks like “Hitchhikin’ Woman”
and “Calcutta” that reminded me of Jimi
Hendrix or Zeppelin, but not as good. On “Bullet
For Ramona” he tries for a barroom Merle Haggard style as he tells the
story of some lowlife chasing down his fleeing ex and killing her. On a later
album Zevon would twist some dark humour out of the tale, but here it just
feels by-the-numbers creepy.
On the title track and “Gorilla” he explores various beats and rhythms, playing around with
how the song progresses and looking for something interesting to result. “Wanted Dead or Alive” succeeds better
than “Gorilla” (which is a bit of a
hot mess) but in both cases it doesn’t quite come together.
The album’s nadir is his cover of “Iko Iko.” Why was this annoying
song ever a hit and why do people keep remaking it and what the hell was Warren
Zevon thinking? Zevon’s version came out in 1969, in between the 1965 Dixie
Cups’ painful “bang the drum sticks together” version and the sexy mall-tart
version (complete with a pointless sax solo) by Natasha England in 1982. The
only version that captures this song’s ridiculousness sufficiently is the one
by Europop band Captain Jack in the early oughts. Please, check it out, I’ll
wait.
And…we’re back. I hope you stuck with that last one
long enough to enjoy the giant plush snake or lizard or whatever that wanders
in midway through. But I digress…
Back to “Wanted Dead or Alive” and on to the good
parts. When everything does come together, as it does on “She Quit Me,” the greatness of what Zevon will become shines through.
The song starts with a little blues harmonica, held down by the insistent and
aggressive playing of an acoustic guitar that burns with the confusion and conflicting
emotions of the song’s theme. Zevon’s vocals are big and bold and the lyrics
are simple but effective. This is a “what the hell happened?” breakup song, and
Zevon delivers it with just the right mix of anger and sadness.
“Tule’s Blues”
is also strong, as Zevon shows off his folksy side with a song that walks the
perfect line between Celtic folk and alt-country. No, I didn’t notice any blues
to speak of except maybe the subject matter, which tells of another sad lovers’
parting.
The record ends on a high note, with “Fiery Emblems,” a rock instrumental that
reminded me a bit of Alan Parson’s Project but more…majestic. Few do majestic
as well as Warren Zevon when he’s on his game.
Knowing the kind of music Zevon would create later
makes “Wanted Dead or Alive” more enjoyable because it is fun to see the early
seeds of his sound being planted. It even has some solid tracks of its own. Just
avoid “Iko Iko”. Except that Captain
Jack version – give that a look.
Best
tracks: She Quit
Me, Tule’s Blues, Fiery Emblems
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