'Johnny Strikes Up The Band' live at The Record Plant 7/27/78 (Audio) Set lists varied at concerts, but most included these songs in some order: Waddy Wachtel - Guitar, Background Vocals Rolling Stone review by Paul Nelson Mar 23, 1978 With Wachtel's guitar prowling through the rolling fog like Jack the Ripper, Zevon reduces the whole world to a mythic howl, and you feel exhilarated.” “'Werewolves of London' is one of those indescribable, half-sung/half-spoken, stupid/profound anthems that captures something of a city and a time. On 'Johnny Strikes Up the Band' (like the second LP's 'Mohammed's Radio,' a 'tribute to rock & roll'), Wachtel simply picks up the song and carries it away, giving it back only for the vibrant vocals. Musically, Zevon's stalwart singing and rigorous, razor-sharp piano playing hold down the fort, while Wachtel, who brandishes an armory of guitars, takes the high ground with such audacity he nearly steals the action at times. Brassy as Zevon is, he's given comparable backing by the rhythm sections of three superlative rock & roll bands (Linda Ronstadt's, the Section, Fleetwood Mac), exceptionally crisp and complementary production by Jackson Browne and guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and the kind of sound quality (by Gred Ladanyi, who engineered Browne's Running on Empty) that most musicians would kill for. For, if Excitable Boy is clearly a singular triumph, it is also a collective one. “When Warren Zevon needs more power on this album, all he has to do is snap his fingers. *The Gentlemen Boys consisted of: Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderon, Kenny Edwards, J. *The Gentlemen Boys - Harmony Vocals (2, 5, 6, 8)ĭanny Kortchmar - Guitar (6), Percussion (1) Kenny Edwards - Bass (7, 8, 9), Harmony Vocals (2, 5, 6, 8)

Jorge Calderon - Harmony Vocals (2, 5, 6, 7, 8), Spanish Vocals (7) Jackson Browne - Harmony Vocals (2, 5, 6, 8)

Warren zevon tenderness on the block