WARREN ZEVON : STAND IN THE FIRE

  1. Stand in the Fire
  2. Jeannie Needs a Shooter
  3. Excitable Boy
  4. Mohammed's Radio
  5. Werewolves of London
  6. Lawyers, Guns and Money
  7. The Sin
  8. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
  9. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
  10. Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger/BoDiddley
    Bonus Tracks :
  11. Johnny strikes up the band
  12. play it all night long
  13. frank and jesse james
  14. hasten down the wind

Label : Rhino

Release Year : December 26, 1980 / March 26, 2007 (expanded edition)

Venue : The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, California, USA

Recording Date : August 1980

Length : 60:34

Review (AllMusic) : After the release of Warren Zevon's fourth album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, he was clean and sober for the first time in years, and on-stage he was determined to make the most of his newfound strength and self-control. While his songs long had a dark and frantic undercurrent, Zevon was now capable of playing a no-holds-barred rock show where he could bring the sharper edges of his music to the forefront. Anyone who saw Zevon on what he called "The Dog Ate the Part We Didn't Like Tour" can attest to the fact he was in superb form, playing music that rocked hard while displaying intelligence, passion, and a sharply corrosive wit, and Stand in the Fire, recorded during a five-night stand at L.A.'s Roxy near the end of the tour, captures Zevon and his band at their peak. The musicians (anchored by flashy lead guitarist David Landau) pour out these tunes with plenty of fire, and the songs rock a lot harder than anything Zevon had summoned in the studio at that point. And the artist proved he was a superb rock & roll frontman on this tour, singing with mean-spirited glee (for a change, "Werewolves of London" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" sound just as menacing as they were meant to be) and spewing hilarious bile at every turn (his ad-libbed "the Ayatollah has his problems, too" on "Mohammed's Radio" alone is worth the price of admission). The set list is dominated by Zevon's better-known tunes of the period, though there are two otherwise unrecorded originals (the OK title cut and the blazing "The Sin"), and a rave-up encore on "Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger" that revels in the joyous surrealism of the lyrics, and if one might have hoped for a more imaginative selection of material, these guys nail everything on deck. No one argues that Warren Zevon is a gifted singer and songwriter, but Stand in the Fire proves that, when he wants to, he can also rock with the best of 'em.

Review (Wikipedia) : Stand in the Fire is a live album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, released December 26, 1980. It was recorded in August 1980 during a five-day residency at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California and featured two new original songs ("Stand in the Fire" and "The Sin") and one new cover ("Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger"). The album was dedicated to Martin Scorsese. It was released in a limited edition, LP replica sleeve on CD April 25, 2006 in Japan. A remastered and expanded edition was released on March 26, 2007 in the U.K., March 27, 2007 in the U.S. Band members Zeke Zirngiebel, Bob Harris and Marty Stinger were in Boulder, a band signed to Elektra Records. The singer was Stan Bush. Their self-titled album was released in 1979 and it included Zevon's "Join Me in L.A." Bob Harris later went on to work with Frank Zappa. Zevon called the concerts "The Dog Ate the Part We Didn't Like Tour".