Warren Zevon- Nevada Nevada
For this installment of On The Record, Kevin gives new vinyl releases from Warren Zevon and Nevada Nevada a spin.
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressing)
Ah-ooo! It is a little ironic that Warren Zevon, writer and singer of such tender songs as "Hasten Down the Wind" and "Keep Me in Your Heart" should break through to mass popularity with the endearing novelty song "Werewolves of London." But that's exactly what happened when the song was selected as a single from Zevon's 1978 release Excitable Boy. And now fans can howl along to the song, still a radio favorite 45-years later, presented here with ultra clean sound and clarity in this Original Master Recording from audiophile specialists Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
Excitable Boy presents a bit of everything that's in the Zevon oeuvre, from the twisted violence of the title track and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" to the emotional "Veracruz" and the touching "Accidentally Like a Martyr" to the boogie of "Nighttime in the Switching Yard." Also containing the pure joy of "Johnny Strikes up the Band" and another cut that would become an all-time favorite, "Lawyers, Guns and Money," the songs on Excitable Boy set the bar very high when it came to expectations of future releases. This Mobile Fidelity pressing really brings out every note of Zevon's crack band that included hot shots like Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel and Leland Sklar as well as guests Karla Bonoff, Jeff Porcaro, Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderon, Linda Ronstadt, Rick Marotta, Kenny Edwards and John David Souther. And helping Zevon howl around your kitchen door, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac on "Werewolves of London." Zevon has been gone for 20-years now and his fans miss him deeply, making this excellent pressing of Excitable Boy all the more dear. Housed in a gatefold jacket and presented on two 180-gram high-definition discs,
Excitable Boy from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab plays at 45-RPM.
Nevāda Nevada - Past Life
Despite the fact that they name check the Silver State in their band name (twice, one for each way that folks pronounce "Nevada") Nevāda Nevada are in fact from Brooklyn. A foursome consisting of Kathryn Musilek on lead vocals, guitar and keys, Andrew Gerhan on guitars and bass, Alicia Berbenick on guitars and bass and David Olson on drums, Nevāda Nevada offer up an intriguing sound on
Past Life, their debut full-length. Musilek, the writer of all songs here, sings over music that nears busy psychedelia on "Loaded," and that mimics the frantic confusion as to what to do about the craziness of today's world in "We Can Leave." "CHARGE" seems to be inspired by acts like the Smashing Pumpkins while "Trickster" is subdued and seems at first listen to be addressed to a child but more likely is about a mental affectation. Closing track "The Difference" is a long cut that grows in intensity as it goes along and where Musilek's voice recalls the work of singers like Natalie Merchant. Pressed on fuchsia colored vinyl.
