4 Warren Zevon The Envoy ASYLUM 1982, EXPANDED EDITION RHINO 2007 £7.10

You Say: “This was Zevon saying, ‘I may be gone some time’.” Michael O’Neill, via e-mail

The record that got Zevon dropped from Asylum is far better than its lacklustre studio predecessor, 1980’s Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School. Recorded while the singer was dating Knots Landing actress Kim Lankford, and in the depths of dangerous pharmaceutical abuse, The Envoy is tangled in paranoia and braggadocio, optimism and regret. So while its hardrocking overproduction might reek of cocaine hubris and Darvon sweats, stand-out tracks such as drug-dealer eulogy Charlie’s Medicine, The Hula Hula Boys, and Zevon’s forlorn hymn to Elvis, Jesus Mentioned, possess an exquisite weary beauty. Plus: R.E.M. and Paul Simon both owe The Envoy a huge lyrical debt.