Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
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Free Music Notes for Sentimental Hygiene
Free Music Review: Gonna Take A Sentimental Journey
Hit: 5 Stars
The 24-bit, digitally remastered CD of Warren Zevon's "Sentimental Hygiene" sounds better than ever."SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE" - The literal translation of the song title means nostalgic for practices, such as cleanliness, conducive to health. It's ironic, since Warren had recently gotten clean and sober enough at that time to write and record this album. I would imagine he was longing to get drunk or high again! Neil Young's blistering guitar solo highlights this classic Zevon song.
"BOOM BOOM MANCINI" - It's a hard rocking tribute to a great boxer, who could take it as well as he could dish it out. It could also be an analogy for a particular singer-songwriter.
"THE FACTORY" - It's a Springsteen style ode to the working man, featuring Bob Dylan on harmonica.
"TROUBLE WAITING TO HAPPEN" - The song title is an apt description of Warren's wild lifestyle. Much like Ozzy Osbourne, Warren seems to suffer from memory lapses. "The mailman brought me the Rolling Stone, it said I was living at home alone. I read things I didn't know I'd done. It sounded like a lot of fun. I guess I've been bad or something. Trouble waiting to happen."
"RECONSIDER ME" - This is a ballad in which Warren tries to persuade his former lover to take him back. Boasting a memorable melody, a moving vocal performance, heartfelt lyrics and tasteful production, it's one of Warren's best songs. It should have been a big hit.
"DETOX MANSION" - This song takes a tongue in cheek approach to describing Warren's treatment for alcoholism. Nowadays, it's almost a requirement for a successful celebrity to go in for rehab.
"BAD KARMA" - I don't believe in reincarnation, but Warren has me convinced that predestination is responsible for a lifetime of bad luck. I especially like the sitar playing on this song.
"EVEN A DOG CAN SHAKE HANDS" - It's a hard rocker whose melody reminds me of Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." Warren seems to be implying that show business agents and other Hollywood types may not be the sincerest people in the world. Go figure!
"THE HEARTACHE" - This bluesy ballad about unrequited love features tasty backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes.
"LEAVE MY MONKEY ALONE" - There will always be an England, but the British Empire ain't what is used to be. "Down in Kenya where the Masai roam, and the grass grows tall on the veldt, in our old colonial home we drank our bitters while the empire fell. Leave my monkey alone." The funky production of this song was done by George Clinton.
"NOCTURNE" (previously unreleased) - The first bonus track is an instrumental. It's not very melodic and was wisely left off the original album.
"LEAVE MY MONKEY ALONE" (previously unreleased) - Not only is this bonus track sung in Spanish, it also features more background vocals and jungle sounds.
"Sentimental Hygiene" is one of Warren Zevon's strongest albums, and the excellent remastering job makes this CD an essential purchase.
Free Music Review: Essential for Zevon and REM fans...and everyone else!
Hit: 5 Stars
Five years of waiting to get an album out sharpened Warren Zevon. "The Envoy" was a very good album that wasn't given a good reception, and - even though he was already getting his life on track beforehand - this was the album that spotlighted Warren under full command of his powers. Backed mostly by the members of R.E.M. (along with a line-up diverse enough to include Bob Dylan and George Clinton), "Sentimental Hygiene" was simply one of Warren's best albums to date.There was considerable muscle being flexed here. R.E.M. were not yet the megastars that they would be in another year, but they were probably the coolest band on the planet. Minus Michael Stipe (who does contribute a background vocal on "Bad Karma"), they were obviously having a grand time providing Warren with some rocking drive on the topical "Boom Boom Mancini" and Springsteen-ish "The Factory." The sardonic irony that is one of Warren's strongest points is also given joyous reign in "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands" and "Detox Mansion." Who else but Warren Zevon could take such a turning point in his life and twist it so gleefully?
Yet an adult sense of responsibility surfaces here. "Reconsider Me" is one of the best pleas for forgiveness ever set to tape, even getting some airplay when the album was released. It's the sound of a man who recognizes what his self screw-ups have done to those around him, and is delivered with a rare courage. It's the central heart of "Sentimental Hygiene." The album's other attempt at a "hit" (including a video) was "Leave My Monkey Alone," which was funked up by "Atomic Dog" walker George Clinton.
Worth its wait and its weight, this was one of the best of 1987. The remastering makes it even heavier sounding. The bonus cuts, unfortunately, offer no revelations. "Nocturne" sounds like some noodling noise that eventually became the intro to "They Moved The Moon" on "Transverse City," and the Spanish mix of "Monkey" is kind of pointless. Regardless of those additions, "Sentimental Hygiene" remains an essential not just for Zevon fans, but for lovers of R.E.M.
Free Music Review: Pretty close to Zevon's masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
There's a rule in the music biz -- all it takes to have your best album reissued is to be dead or dying. Sadly, that's what it took to get Virgin to reissue this classic album along with the less well regarded Transverse City and Wanted : Dead or Alive (via its sister company Capitol). Two of these albums have been out of print for quite some time now. Luckily, Virgin has had pity on Zevon fans and reissued these with 24 bit remastered sound and bonus track(s). Without either of these attributes, both SH and TC are worth listening to.Zevon is America's own homegrown morbid ironic cynic. He's dredged up the underbelly of America with sympathy and understanding. When you listen to a song as moving as Carmelita and look at the year it was written, you begin to have an appreciation for Zevon's depth and power as a songwriter. He has managed to tune into the quiet desperation that surrounds most lives as crystal clear as a digital tuner. In fact, there's only a handful of songwriter's comparable to Zevon in America (Springsteen, Steve Earle, the late Townes Van Zandt and the ex-patriot Brit Richard Thompson).
I've always been partial to Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School for some reason or another but, honestly, SH is probably Zevon's sharpest, most literate album. The lyrics are always heartfelt and powerful without betraying the emotion at its core. Although Zevon relied on a string of session musicians during much of his career, they haven't hindered his songs. The sleek, slick playing compliments Zevon's rough voice and memorable melodies.
The two bonus tracks on SH aren't essential. They're interesting but hardly important. They're like a nice fluffy desert after a rich, hearty meal.
Free Music Review: Sentimentally - Zevon's best studio album
Hit: 5 Stars
Warren Zevon's "Sentimental Hygene," recorded a decade after his late 1970s heyday as a popular songwriter, stands now in light of his recent terminal illness as the best of his original studio albums. The ten tracks are all pure Zevon and are all outstanding. The rocking title track kicks things off strongly preceeding the burning putdown of boxer "Boom Boom Mancini." Of the rest of side 1, "Trouble Waiting to Happen" is another excellent rocker while "Reconsider Me," is an actual tender ballad. Things don't slack off in the second half. "Detox Mansion," "Bad Karma" and "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands," are the kind of quirky humorous rockers Zevon seems to write effortlessly. The
album then ends with the truly bizarre chant "Leave My Monkey Alone." On most of the songs Zevon is backed by the then-up and coming R.E.M., and as a result the music absolutely crackles.
Note: This reissued version of the CD is not really enhanced by its two extra tracks. The first is an instrumental that is nothing more than grating noise, while the second is a Spanish language version of "Leave My Monkey Alone." In other words, if you already own an older version of this CD, there's no compelling reason to replace it with this one.
Free Music Review: A Zevon Masterpiece!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is definitely Zevon's best album of the 80's -- and his best since his eponymous 1976 Asylum album. Performed mainly with R.E.M., this album is augmented by Don Henley, Neil Young and Bob Dylan to name a few. It contains one of his strongest song cycles, and features a sound that sounds like no other album of his. While all of the songs are highlights, my favorites are the title track and "The Heartache." You may remember "Even A Dog Can Shake Hands" from the short-lived Fox series, Action.
Newly remastered (not a huge lift, since the album was released during the CD age), with a couple of bonus cuts. A very nice package. The throwaway is "Nocturne," an instrumental, that literally sounds like Warren screwing around with the keyboards for two and half minutes. Oddly enough, he apparently nixed an unreleased song from these sessions at the last minute while leaving "Nocturne" on! But, the Spanish "Leave My Monkey Alone" is certainly interesting!
Since not ...listed the tracks, here they are: 1. Sentimental Hygiene, 2. Boom Boom Mancini, 3. The Factory, 4. Trouble Waiting To Happen, 5. Reconsider Me, 6. Detox Mansion, 7. Bad Karma, 8. Even A Dog Can Shake Hands, 9. The Heartache, 10. Leave My Monkey Along, 11. (BONUS) Nocturne, 12. Leave My Monkey Alone (Spanish).