Excitable Boy is the third studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. The album was released on January 18, 1978, by Asylum Records. It includes the single "Werewolves of London", which reached No. 21 and remained in the American Top 40 for six weeks. The album brought Zevon to commercial attention and remains the best-selling album of his career, having been certified platinum by the RIAA and reaching the top ten on the US Billboard 200. A remastered and expanded edition was released in 2007. Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: The further these songs get from Ronstadtland, the more I like them. The four that exorcise male psychoses by mock celebration are positively addictive, the two uncomplicated rockers do the job, and two of the purely 'serious' songs get by. But no one has yet been able to explain to me what 'accidentally like a martyr' might mean—answers dependent on the term 'Dylanesque' are not acceptable—and I have no doubt that that's the image Linda will home in on. After all, is she going to cover the one about the headless gunner? The Globe and Mail panned the album, writing that Zevon's famous friends contributing to "this improbable collection of tunes is a testament to the constant in-breeding among the California types that have so deteriorated the scene out there.".
Really glad this list can still turn up a gem like this occasionally, i really enjoyed this. My pre-listen scan didn’t bode well, 70s American, cover looks like a young Deirdre Barlow, nominated by somebody who rated The Bends as a 1. First song didn’t grab me at first but by the end I was won over
Gotta love Warren Zevon. Great album. 4 stars.
Zevon is a great personal storyteller with his own very distinct twist to his songs. Even a few minor missteps don’t keep this from being, if not excitable, then very enjoyable.
Could have sworn there was some Warren Zevon on the main list. There should have been. Foundational stuff. I've always loved the line "send lawyers, guns and money." However the cover, David Cassidy meets John Lennon, is such a weird choice, when the music is neither.
okay, not first listen-- Have to say, the October picks from the generator have been on point! 🐺 the title track is scarier than the werewolf one, how did I not notice before HL: “Johnny”, “Werewolves”, “Headless Gunner”, “Lawyers”
Zevon is another artist I have known of forever but knew very little about (other than then few highly visible hits). Reading over the bio he feels like a musician's musician as the expression goes: the wild roster of cover artists, admirers, and collaborators he accumulated (including the personnel of this album) speaks for itself. This album is a pretty odd fish - the intermixing of conventional relationship ballad stuff with totally off the reservation historical/political fiction alongside whatever the hell Werewolves is. A little too wierd for a conventional 5 star rating but I'll bump it an extra point because fuck cancer.
Love the song “Werewolves of London” - and have already been listening to that track with it being the Halloween season. Found the wikipedia entry on its history quite interesting, what with it being a “novelty” dance song! I enjoyed the rest of this album. I might have leaned more toward Jackson Browne when looking for something like this to listen to but this was still quite good!
Had a few bad albums in a row on the user list, so this was a nice surprise. Was familiar with the werewolves song, but the rest of the album is also great, good pick.
Rock. Había una canción que me sonaba. Un 4, venga.
Pretty good
This fucking nerd. Music for geeks and dorks and such. Give me your lunch money four-eyes and go play your little piano. Spectacled scuttling sneaking piano boy. Smoke a cigarette maybe before you come up to me.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Nighttime in the switching yard
Poundland nick cave
Alright. very earnest and winsome. I love werewolf of london, but can only take this singer in small doses.
Maybe this one's on me, because it seems to be well liked. I just thought this was weird.
Dude who was upset about this album is probably butt hurt because Werewolves of London didn't end up being All Summer Long by Kid Rock. Settle down. A fantastic album from an artist that, I feel, didn't get enough recognition. This is some good shit!! Favorite songs: Werewolves of London, I Need a Truck, Johnny Strikes Up the Band, Nighttime in the Switching Yard, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, Excitable Boy, Veracruz, "Lawyers, Guns and Money" Least favorite songs: none. A gem of an album 5/5 Also.....it even smells like oatmeal......and The Bends DOES deserve a 1