Originally broadcast on WMMR-FM at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, PA for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, this performance captures a classic Warren Zevon show, when many believe he was at the height of his creative prowess. Near the start of the show, Zevon steps up to the microphone and exclaims: "It’s great to be back in Philadelphia...And it’s great to be in a rock and roll band!" Then, he launches into a blistering version of his hit, "Excitable Boy,” with all the bravado of a pool hall punk. Later in the show, he…entire summary
Warren Zevon - vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
Bob Harris - synthesizer, piano, keyboards, vocals
David Landau - guitar
Roberto Pinon - bass, vocals
Marty Stinger - drums
Zeke Zirngiebel - guitar, vocals
Originally broadcast on WMMR-FM at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, PA for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, this performance captures a classic Warren Zevon show, when many believe he was at the height of his creative prowess. Near the start of the show, Zevon steps up to the microphone and exclaims: "It’s great to be back in Philadelphia...And it’s great to be in a rock and roll band!" Then, he launches into a blistering version of his hit, "Excitable Boy,” with all the bravado of a pool hall punk. Later in the show, he reminds the audience: "This is one of the best audiences I have ever seen; I may go berserk!”
Recorded on the tour for his third studio album, 1980’s Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, Zevon had a strong band and arguably the best collection of material he performed on any tour in his career. Although Zevon was usually an electrifying performer on stage, it was really his songs that have remained the center of his artistic legacy. His cynical edge gave his songs that Lennon-esque feel, and classics like "Mohammad’s Radio,” "Excitable Boy,” and "Lawyers, Guns, and Money” hold up today as well as they did when Zevon first introduced them in the late 1970s. He was not a great singer, but like his contemporary, Bob Dylan, his voice was right for his arrangements of these songs. He had a top-10 pop radio hit with the novelty song "Werewolves of London,” but his material was best exposed with the many covers of Zevon originals recorded during this same period by Linda Ronstadt.
He also delivers a great version of "Jennie Needs a Shooter,” which he wrote with Bruce Springsteen. He pays tribute to his friend, the Boss, before the start of the song by saying: "God may have rested on the seventh day, but he got up in the afternoon and made us one Bruce Springsteen.” Warren Zevon never again attained the same commercial and critical success as he did between 1978 and 1982, however, he did return to prominence when he went through a very public bout with cancer, recording his swansong album while he was dying. Zevon may be gone, but his musical legacy will go on forever.
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