It was my first day back at work in 11 days,
so maybe it’s appropriate I start the week off with an album cover full of men
with suits.
Disc 1835 is…The Envoy
Artist: Warren Zevon
Year of Release: 1982
What’s up with the Cover? We must assume this is a depiction of the titular “envoy” off to do some international diplomacy on that waiting jet.
In addition to Mr. Zevon playing the title role, we have a whole lot of other dudes milling around in blue and black, feeling their own importance.
The dude to the left has a briefcase. Remember in the days before laptops when we walked around with briefcases full of important papers? Forgot to bring something important for that critical international summit? I’m afraid you’re officially S.O.L., my friend. Maybe ‘envoying’ isn’t for you.
How I Came To Know It: My friend Randall put me on to Warren Zevon, but by the time I was buying up obscure albums liked “The Envoy” I was already well into my own personal journey through the back catalogue.
How It Stacks Up: I have 10 Warren Zevon albums. Of those, I put “The Envoy” at #5, narrowly edging out “Sentimental Hygiene”.
Ratings: 4 stars
I once did a presentation at university on Robert Frost’s political poetry. If you don’t know Robert Frost’s political poetry, it is because it is not his best work, nor his most memorable. He wrote a fair bit of it, but he did it for himself.
Like Frost, Warren Zevon sang about whatever he wanted, in whatever style that appealed in the moment. Also like Frost, Zevon is a gifted, brash and brilliant writer whose legacy has been more than proved with the passage of time.
Did someone say political poetry? Zevon has you covered. The title track is not a metaphor for someone engaging in diplomacy, it’s a literal song about an envoy. Zevon demonstrates the dread import of foreign affairs with music that feels like the theme song to an international thriller, only cooler. It helps if you are a news junky, but either way it’s nice to have a song celebrating the heretofore unsung heroes engaging in the complex and unforgiving world of international politics.
Zevon goes from the slow majestic build of “the Envoy” with “The Overdraft” which has the reckless fast pace of a driving song, spilling you around corners with fast breaking electric guitar, and Zevon’s ever-present breathy baritone delivery.
From here, Zevon lightens up a bit, with “The Hula Hula Boys” a tongue-in-cheek ballad about a man who loses his girl to some local Hawaiian lads. The song has the laid-back luau sound of Hawaii mixed artfully with Zevon’s signature rising melodies. It is majestic, but farcical, and proof that Zevon is equally good at gravitas and humour, applying them simultaneously when the need arises.
Not content with trying on two styles, Zevon adds in an original Doo Wop number, with “Let Nothing Come Between You”. This one felt so aligned with that late fifties sound (recently reviewed back at Disc 1823) I was sure it was a cover, but turns out it was a Zevon original.
My favourite song on the record is “Never Too Late for Love,” mostly for its majestic melodic structure, and the heroic refrain of:
“You say you’re tired
How I hate to hear you use that word.”
Zevon’s vocals in that moment lift you up with sheer force of will, and maybe a little chastisement as well – like he knows you can do it. The first half of the song is all heavily struck piano, filling you with the reverberations of hope, and then later electric guitar crashes in, perfectly mirroring the spiritual lift Zevon exhorts out of his listener. This song finds hope among the wallow, and yet never feels trite or forced. Great stuff.
“The Envoy” is a fine example of Warren being brilliant in a way few appreciated. This record had zero hits, and only one song that even charted (“Let Nothing Come Between You” managed a modest #24). And yet, the strange and marvelous genius of “The Envoy” endures, because just like a Warren Zevon melodic hook, good things rise up, inexorable, to inspire us when we need them most.
Best tracks: The Envoy, The Hula Hula Boys, Let Nothing Come Between You, Never Too Late for Love
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