The Envoy

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The Envoy
Studio album by Warren Zevon
Released	1982
Recorded	1981
Genre	Rock
Length	31:59
Label	Asylum
Producer	Warren Zevon, Greg Ladanyi and Waddy Wachtel
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link Music Box link
Warren Zevon chronology
Stand in the Fire (1981) The Envoy (1982) A Quiet Normal Life: The Best of Warren Zevon (1986)

The Envoy is an album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 1982 and considered to be the least well-known of his major-label studio recordings. A commercial failure at the time of its original release, The Envoy caused Zevon's label Asylum to terminate his recording contract, a fact the self-destructive Zevon famously uncovered only after reading about it in the gossip column of Rolling Stone. The result was a binge that nearly killed him, followed by a rehab stint that kept Zevon clean and sober until the last year of his life. For years, Zevon fans agitated for a CD release of the record. Approximately 25 years after it original issue, a CD version of The Envoy arrived at last, first on April 25, 2006 in Japan as a limited-edition CD with an LP-replica sleeve. Subsequently, Rhino issued it as an expanded CD released on March 26, 2007 in the UK, March 27, 2007 in the U.S.

The title track was inspired by veteran American diplomat Philip Habib's shuttle diplomacy during Israel's Lebanon incursion of 1982.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Bonus Tracks (2007 CD release) 2 Personnel 2.1 Additional personnel 3 Charts 4 Notes

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Warren Zevon except as indicated.

1. "The Envoy" – 3:12
2. "The Overdraft" (Thomas McGuane, Zevon) – 2:43
3. "The Hula Hula Boys" – 3:01
4. "Jesus Mentioned" – 2:45
5. "Let Nothing Come Between You" – 3:38
6. "Ain't That Pretty at All" (LeRoy Marinell, Zevon) – 3:34
7. "Charlie's Medicine" – 4:48
8. "Looking for the Next Best Thing" (Kenny Edwards, Marinell, Zevon) – 3:41
9. "Never Too Late for Love" – 4:37

[edit] Bonus Tracks (2007 CD release)

1. "Word of Mouth" (Outtake) – 4:01
2. "Let Nothing Come Between You" (Alternate take) – 3:40
3. "The Risk" (Outtake) – 2:34
4. "Wild Thing" (Chip Taylor) (Outtake) – 2:29

Track listing note: On the original vinyl release, tracks 1-5 comprised Side one, and tracks 6-9 comprised Side two.

[edit] Personnel

• Warren Zevon – vocals, guitar on 1 7, piano on 1 2 5 8 9, synthesizer on 1 5 6 7 8, electric piano on 3,
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar on 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9, percussion on 5, harmony vocals on 5
• David Landau – guitar on 1 2 5 6, backing vocals on 6
• Leland Sklar – bass on 1 2 3 5
• Jeff Porcaro – drums on 1 2 3 5 8, log drums on 3, puili sticks on 3

[edit] Additional personnel

• Don Henley – harmony vocals on 1 5
• Lindsey Buckingham – harmony vocals on 2
• Jim Horn – recorders on 3, saxophone
• Jordan Zevon – harmony vocals on 3
• Steve Lukather – guitar on 5
• Jorge Calderón – harmony vocals on 5
• Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – guitar on 6
• LeRoy Marinell – guitar on 6
• Mike Potts – drums on 6
• Steve Forman – percussion on 6
• J.D. Souther – backing vocals on 6, harmony vocals on 8
• Bob Glaub – bass on 7 9
• Rick Marotta – drums on 7
• Kenny Edwards – bass on 8
• Graham Nash – harmony vocals on 8
• Russ Kunkel – drums on 9

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1982	Billboard U.S. Pop Albums	93 [1]

[edit] Notes