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Produced by Jackson Browne
Recorded at Sunset Sound, Los Angeles / Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles
USA release: 18 May 1976
Asylum LP 7E-1060
Rhino Collector's Edition 2CD R2 512737
Billboard #189
| Side One 1. Frank And Jesse James
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Frank And Jesse JamesWritten by Warren Zevon
On a small Missouri farm back when the West was young Two boys learned to rope and ride and be handy with a gun War broke out between the states and they joined up with Quantrill It was over in Clay county That Frank and Jesse finally learned to kill Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding 'Til you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding 'Cross the rivers and the range Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James After Appomattox they were on the loosing side So no amnesty was granted and as outlaws they did ride They rode against the railroads, and they rode against the banks And they rode against the Governor Never did they ask for a word of thanks Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding 'Til you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding Across the prairies and the plains Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Robert Ford, a gunman, did exchange for his parole Took the life of James the outlaw which he snuck up on and stole No one knows just where they came to be misunderstood But the poor Missouri farmers knew Frank and Jesse do the best they could Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Keep on riding, riding, riding 'Til you clear your names Keep on riding, riding, riding Across the rivers and the range Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley banjo & fiddle Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums Phil Everly harmonies Warren: I got my first road gig playing piano behind The Everly Brothers. Waddy Wachtel played guitar. Don and Phil invited us both to perform songs of our own with them, so I wrote this one in their honor. 2. Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded
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Mama Couldn't Be PersuadedWritten by Warren Zevon
Gambler ambled down a country lane Looking for a game of chance She was twenty-one or two and she knew what she wanted And she wanted that gamblin' man Her parents warned her Tried to reason with her She was determined that she wanted Bill They'd all be offended at the mention still If they heard this song Which I doubt they will And my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her No, no nevertheless I said my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man. Gambler tried to be a family man Though it didn't suit his style He thought he had him a winning combination So he took us where the stakes were high Her parents warned her Tried to reason with her Never kept their disappointment hid They all went to pieces when the bad luck hit Stuck in the middle I was the kid And my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her No, no nevertheless Mama couldn't be persuaded when my Granny pleaded with her Not to marry that gamblin' man. I said my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her Daughter don't marry that gamblin' man... Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley fiddle Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums John David Souther harmonies Jackson Browne harmonies 3. Backs Turned Looking Down The Path
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Backs Turned Looking Down The PathWritten by Warren Zevon
I was caught between the years Cost me nearly all my tears With my back turned Looking down the path Hit me like a ton of bricks Had to have my outlook fixed With my back turned Looking down the path People always ask me why What's the matter with me? Nothing matters when I'm with my baby With my back turned looking down the path We'll go walking hand in hand Laughing fit to beat the band With our backs turned Looking down the path People always ask me why What's the matter with me? Nothing matters when I'm with my baby With my back turned looking down the path Some may have and some may not God, I'm thankful for what I've got With my back turned Looking down the path With my back turned Looking down the path With my back turned Looking down the path Lindsey Buckingham guitar Warren Zevon guitar Jackson Browne slide guitar & harmony Marty David bass Gary Mallaber drums 4. Hasten Down The Wind
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Hasten Down The WindWritten by Warren Zevon
She tells him she thinks she needs to be free He tells her he doesn't understand She takes his hand She tells him nothing's working out the way they planned She's so many women He can't find the one who was his friend So he's hanging on to half her heart But he can't have the restless part So he tells her to hasten down the wind Then he agrees he thinks she needs to be free Then she says she'd rather be with him But it's just a whim By which she hopes to keep him on the limb She's so many women He can't find the one who was his friend So he's hanging on to half her heart He can't have the restless part So he tells her to hasten down the wind Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley slide guitar Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums The Sid Sharp Strings Phil Everly harmony Warren: This song was so personal, I had to write it in the third person. The title was reviled by certain sanguinary New York critics, but I thought it sounded like John O'Hara. 5. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
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Poor Poor Pitiful MeWritten by Warren Zevon
I'd lay my head on the railroad tracks And wait for the Double "E" But the railroad don't run no more Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me These young girls won't let me be Lord have mercy on me Woe is me Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood I ain't naming names She really worked me over good She was just like Jesse James She really worked me over good She was a credit to her gender She put me through some changes, Lord Sort of like a Waring blender Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me These young girls won't let me be Lord have mercy on me Woe is me I met a girl at the Rainbow bar She asked me if I'd beat her She took me back to the Hyatt House . . . I don't want to talk about it Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley fiddle Bobby Keyes saxophone Jai Winding piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums Lindsey Buckingham harmony Warren: I got ahold of a fiddle somewhere and wrote this tune while sawing on the open strings. It was inspired by Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" (which I sang an odd folk version of in Berkeley coffee houses for a while), for reasons that elude me now. The last verse was ad-libbed in the studio. 6. The French Inhaler
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The French InhalerWritten by Warren Zevon
How're you going to make your way in the world, woman, When you weren't cut out for working When your fingers are slender and frail How're you going to get around In this sleazy bedroom town If you don't put yourself up for sale Where will you go with your scarves and your miracles Who's gonna know who you are Drugs and wine and flattering light You must try it again till you get it right Maybe you'll end up with someone different every night All these people with no home to go home to They'd all like to spend the night with you Maybe I would, too But tell me How're you going to make your way in the world, woman, When you weren't cut out for working And you just can't concentrate And you always show up late You said you were an actress Yes, I believe you are I thought you'd be a star So I drank up all the money, Yes, I drank up all the money, With these phonies in this Hollywood bar, These friends of mine in this Hollywood bar Loneliness and frustration We both came down with an acute case And when the lights came up at two I caught a glimpse of you And your face looked like something Death brought with him in his suitcase Your pretty face It looked so wasted Another pretty face Devastated The French Inhaler He stamped and mailed her So long, Norman She said, so long, Norman Wadddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums The Sid Sharp Strings Glenn Frye & Don Henley harmonies Warren: this is actually quite an early song, and it helped forge my richly deserved if long-forgotten reputation as the foremost chronicler of Hollywood life in the '70s. |
Side Two 1. Mohammed's Radio
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Mohammed's RadioWritten by Warren Zevon
Everybody's restless and they've got no place to go Someone's always trying to tell them Something they already know So their anger and resentment flow But don't it make you want to rock and roll All night long Mohammed's Radio I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful On the radio, Mohammed's Radio You know, the sheriff's got his problems, too He will surely take them out on you In walks the village idiot and his face was all aglow He's been up all night listening to Mohammed's Radio Don't it make you want to rock and roll All night long Mohammed's Radio I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful On the radio, Mohammed's Radio Everybody's desperate trying to make ends meet Work all day, still can't pay the price of gasoline and meat Alas, their lives are incomplete Don't it make you want to rock and roll All night long Mohammed's Radio I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful On the radio, Mohammed's Radio You've been up all night listening for his drum Hoping that the righteous might just might just might just come I heard the General whispering to his aide-de-camp "Be watchful for Mohammed's Lamp" Don't it make you want to rock and roll All night long Mohammed's Radio I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful On the radio, Mohammed's Radio Mohammed's Radio Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley slide guitar Bobby Keyes saxophone Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums Lindsey Buckingham & Stephanie Nicks harmonies Warren: I wrote it on the piano in my ex-in-laws' house in Aspen. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were there - it's a longish story - and they started singing harmony. It's like a gospel song. Dylan once told me he was doing it on tour with the Grateful Dead, which I thought was ironic, since the song is just a pale imitation of Dylan. 2. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
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I'll Sleep When I'm DeadWritten by Warren Zevon
So much to do, there's plenty on the farm I'll sleep when I'm dead Saturday night I like to raise a little harm I'll sleep when I'm dead I'm drinking heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin I'll sleep when I'm dead Straight from the bottle, twisted again I'll sleep when I'm dead Well, I take this medicine as prescribed I'll sleep when I'm dead It don't matter if I get a little tired I'll sleep when I'm dead I've got a .38 special up on the shelf I'll sleep when I'm dead If I start acting stupid I'll shoot myself I'll sleep when I'm dead So much to do, there's plenty on the farm I'll sleep when I'm dead Saturday night I like to raise a little harm I'll sleep when I'm dead Wadddy Wachtel guitar Fritz Richmond jug Warren Zevon piano & harmonica Roy Marinell bass Gary Mallaber drums Jorge Calderón harmony Warren: Written at a practice drum set in the middle of the day at a friend's house on the edge of Death Valley. Jorge Calderón improvised the Spanish exhortations in the background. 3. Carmelita
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CarmelitaWritten by Warren Zevon
I hear Mariachi static on my radio And the tubes they glow in the dark And I'm there with her in Ensenada And I'm here in Echo Park Carmelita, hold me tighter I think I'm sinking down And I'm all strung out on heroin On the outskirts of town Well, I'm sittin' here playing solitaire With my pearl-handled deck The county won't give me no more methadone And they cut off your welfare check Carmelita hold me tighter I think I'm sinking down And I'm all strung out on heroin On the outskirts of town Well, I pawned my Smith Corona And I went to meet my man He hangs out down on Alvarado Street By the Pioneer chicken stand Carmelita hold me tighter I think I'm sinking down And I'm all strung out on heroin On the outskirts of town Carmelita hold me tighter I think I'm sinking down And I'm all strung out on heroin On the outskirts of town Wadddy Wachtel guitar David Lindley guitar Glenn Frey rhythm guitar & harmony Warren Zevon electric piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums Warren: One of my earliest songs, a cheerful number about heroin, a substance with which, happily, I had only a brief flirtation and not a tragic love affair. People always told me the Pioneer Chicken stand wasn't on Alvarado Street. Really. 4. Join Me In L.A.
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Join Me In L.A.Written by Warren Zevon
Well, they say this place is evil That ain't why I stay 'Cause I found something that will never be nothing And I found it in L.A. It was midnight in Topanga I heard the DJ say "There's a full moon rising "Join me in L.A." "Join me in L.A." I was at the Tropicana On a dark and sultry day Had to call somebody long distance I said "Join me in L.A." "Join me in L.A." Ned Doheny guitar Warren Zevon rhythm guitar Bobby Keyes saxophone Jai Winding organ & synthesizer Jackson Browne piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums Bonnie Raitt & Rosemary Butler harmonies 5. Desperados Under The Eaves
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Desperados Under The EavesWritten by Warren Zevon
I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel I was staring in my empty coffee cup I was thinking that the gypsy wasn't lying All the salty margaritas in Los Angeles I'm gonna drink 'em up And if California slides into the ocean Like the mystics and statistics say it will I predict this motel will be standing Until I pay my bill Don't the sun look angry through the trees Don't the trees look like crucified thieves Don't you feel like desperados under the eaves Heaven help the one who leaves Still waking up in the mornings with shaking hands And I'm trying to find a girl who understands me But except in dreams you're never really free Don't the sun look angry at me I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel I was listening to the air conditioner hum It went Mmm... Look away down Gower Avenue Look away... Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Larry Zack drums The Sid Sharp Strings Carl Wilson, Billy Hinsche, Jai Winding, Jackson Browne & Warren Zevon harmonies (arranged by Carl Wilson) Closing Harmonies by The Gentlemen Boys Warren: John David Souther used to say he thought this song was about Barabbas, the thief who was spared from the cross instead of Christ. I remember Jackson saying, "Let's get the Beach Boys to sing "California."" I conducted the strings. |
| Rhino Collector's Edition CD 2 1. Frank And Jesse James (Solo Piano Demo) 2. The French Inhaler (Solo Piano Demo) 3. Hasten Down The Wind (Band Demo) 4. Carmelita (1974 Demo) 5. Mohammed's Radio (Solo Piano Demo) 6. Backs Turned Looking Down The Path (Take 1 - 1/28/76) 7. Join Me In L.A. (Take 2 - 11/20/75) 8. Poor Poor Pitiful Me (Alternate Version) | 9. Frank And Jesse James (Alternate Version) 10. Mohammed's Radio (Take 2 - 11/6/75) 11. The French Inhaler (Take 1 - 1/13/76) 12. Carmelia (Alternate Version) 13. Desperados Under The Eaves (Take 2 - 1/13/76) 14. Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded (Live WMMS 10/13/76) 15. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Alternate Version) |
Singles
USA Singles
· Hasten Down The Wind c/w Mohammed's Radio 7"
UK Singles
· I'll Sleep When I'm Dead c/w Mohammed's Radio 7"
· Hasten Down The Wind c/w Mohammed's Radio 7"
UK Singles
· I'll Sleep When I'm Dead c/w Mohammed's Radio 7"
Additional Info
- Linda Ronstadt popularized many songs that appeared
on Warren's major label debut through her own versions. Linda's "Poor
Poor Pitiful Me" became a top 40 hit in the U.S., reaching #31. Other
tracks Linda covered include "Carmelita," "Mohammed's Radio,"
and "Hasten Down The Wind." Hasten Down The Wind was also
the title of her 1976 platinum album, which went to #3 on the Billboard album
chart.
- Notable guest musicians include Phil Everly, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Lindsey Buckingham, Glenn Frye, Don Henley, Carl Wilson and Bonnie Raitt.
- On October 13, 1976, Warren appeared on "Coffee Break Concert" on WMMS 101-FM Radio Cleveland hosted by Matt "The Cat" Lapczynski. The radio show aired every Wednesday, starting at 11 a.m. Warren played an interesting setlist, which included songs that would appear on his next album, Excitable Boy. "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" from this broadcast was included on the 2008 Collector's Edition of Warren Zevon. Setlist: Excitable Boy · Desperados Under The Eaves · Simple Man, Simple Dream · Poor Poor Pitiful Me · Mohammed's Radio · Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded · Hasten Down The Wind · Excitable Boy
- The first CD version of Warren Zevon was released on February 25, 1991 in Japan from Elektra. The United States would not have a CD release until the following year on May 19, 1992.
- In 2008, Rhino released a 2CD Collector's Edition of Warren Zevon, featuring 15 previously unreleased takes. A 2LP vinyl edition was released on June 26, 2024 as part of Rhino's Sounds Of The Summer series which included 11 of the 15 tracks on the second vinyl disc.
- Notable guest musicians include Phil Everly, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Lindsey Buckingham, Glenn Frye, Don Henley, Carl Wilson and Bonnie Raitt.
- On October 13, 1976, Warren appeared on "Coffee Break Concert" on WMMS 101-FM Radio Cleveland hosted by Matt "The Cat" Lapczynski. The radio show aired every Wednesday, starting at 11 a.m. Warren played an interesting setlist, which included songs that would appear on his next album, Excitable Boy. "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" from this broadcast was included on the 2008 Collector's Edition of Warren Zevon. Setlist: Excitable Boy · Desperados Under The Eaves · Simple Man, Simple Dream · Poor Poor Pitiful Me · Mohammed's Radio · Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded · Hasten Down The Wind · Excitable Boy
- The first CD version of Warren Zevon was released on February 25, 1991 in Japan from Elektra. The United States would not have a CD release until the following year on May 19, 1992.
- In 2008, Rhino released a 2CD Collector's Edition of Warren Zevon, featuring 15 previously unreleased takes. A 2LP vinyl edition was released on June 26, 2024 as part of Rhino's Sounds Of The Summer series which included 11 of the 15 tracks on the second vinyl disc.