The Envoy (Warren Zevon album)
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| The Envoy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 16, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Studio | Record One, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 31:59 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Producer | Warren Zevon, Greg Ladanyi, Waddy Wachtel | |||
| Warren Zevon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Envoy | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| Music Box |  [4] |
| Uncut | 8/10[5] |
The Envoy is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The album was released on July 16, 1982, by Asylum Records. The album's lack of commercial success caused Zevon's label to terminate his recording contract.[citation needed]
The title track was inspired by veteran American diplomat Philip Habib's shuttle diplomacy during the 1982 Lebanon War.
Zevon later said of the album's lack of success, "I would start a record more or less as soon as I'd finished the one previous to it, and they took longer, cost more and more, and actually did sort of less and less well. Particularly The Envoy. I was a little discouraged after that.".[6]
Despite the fact that "Let Nothing Come Between You", a love ballad written by Zevon, charted as high as 24 on the Mainstream Billboard Rock chart, Asylum dropped Zevon after the commercial failure of The Envoy. It would be five years before Zevon made another studio album, 1987's Sentimental Hygiene, released on Virgin Records.
Actors Ted Shackelford and James Houghton appeared on the album's cover.[7]
All songs written by Warren Zevon except as indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Word of Mouth" (Outtake) | 4:01 | |
| 11. | "Let Nothing Come Between You" (Alternate take) | 3:40 | |
| 12. | "The Risk" (Outtake) | 2:34 | |
| 13. | "Wild Thing" (Outtake) | Chip Taylor | 2:29 |
