Search - Warren Zevon :: Envoy

Well, three and a half stars actually...

M. Bergeron | Colchester, VT United States | 03/29/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Along with the wonderful, now-available live set "Stand in the Fire", we now have the two missing Asylum Zevon albums. While "Envoy" is marred by a few weak tracks, the strong ones more than make up for them.

This, Zevon's final release for Asylum records scores with the title track, still ringing as true today as back in 1982, the chilling "Charlie's Medicine" and the biting "Hula-Hula Boys", and the album's original closer "Never Too Late For Love".

The bonus tracks are a bit disappointing, "Word of mouth", while moody, features a badly dated-sounding keyboard (DX7?) which ruins it for me. An alt version of "Let Nothing..." which was never a stong track for me, is pleasant. "The Risk" shows promise but needs work and the "Wild Thing" jam is fun but hardly essential.

Like the reviewer below stated, this in no way detracts from the original release. Well worth you time and money."

An oft-overlooked, but essential Zevon album

DanD | 04/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE ENVOY was a great rock record. Period. It kicks off with a politically-charged number that's as important today as it was then, fueled with electric guitars and impassioned vocals. It ended (the original, at least) with a beautiful ballad about never giving up (the last words of the song: "Don't stop believing in tomorrow." It's a shame the bonus features follow this song; because this line is, overall, the message of the album.



I hope I'm not boring you by reading something philisophical into Zevon's music; Zevon fans have been doing it for longer than I've been alive. And, let's face it, Zevon records are FUN; you never know where he's gonna go next. The title track is tongue-in-cheek political commentary; "The Hula Hula Boys" is probably the most hilarious break-up song I've ever heard (the image of a woman leaving a rocker for "the fat guy from the swimming pool" is classic; and then there's the Polynesian chanting...). "Jesus Mentioned" is the creepiest (and tenderest) Elvis tribute of all time; when Zevon's not singing about digging up the King's body, he's reminding us how Elvis walked on whater (with his pills, of course). "The Overdraft," lyrically beautiful, is made all the better by Lindsey Buckingham's crazed background vocals. In "Charlie's Medicine," a drug pusher dies (and Zevon shows up to pay his bill). And "Looking For the Next Best Thing" remains an anthem for all those who are willing to settle for silver. The "new" instrumental "Word of Mouth" is compelling; as is "The Risk" and Zevon's take on the classic "Wild Thing."



The reissue of THE ENVOY makes a great addition to Zevon collections, or rock collections in general. It is simply a great rock record, one of many Warren Zevon managed to make before his untimely death. Zevon was one of the great folk/rock artists whose legacy will live on as long as there is music for us to listen to."

One of Zevon's most fully realized works

J. Carroll | Island Heights,NJ | 05/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Starting with the title track and it's chillingly prophetic, "Nuclear Arms in the Middle East," THE ENVOY fires on all cylinders and supplies the listener with the essence of Zevon's talent. Thought provoking numbers like the rocking title track and the elegiac "Jesus Mentioned," rage with a sense of humor("Ain't That Pretty at All"),and another look at damaged relationships with one of Zevon's most pathetic narrators ("The Hula Hula Boys") all make for one of Zevon's most balanced works. Added to this is one of his sweetest love songs, "Don't Let Nothing Come Between You" with its wonderfully childlike chorus and you have a fine example of Zevon's range. This is one of Zevon's best and it's nice to see it out on CD."