Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
Since the mid 70's, Warren Zevon has written and performed
great, memorable rock songs presenting himself as a nihilist trouble
maker. He has also written touching, sensitive ballads. Mr. Bad
Example is easily Zevon's best record between 1987's Sentimental
Hygiene and 2000's Life'll Kill Ya. He has fun flouting societal
conventions but also shows his gift for a moving ballad. The fact that
Zevon hasn't had a hit since 1978's rock classic filled Excitable Boy
LP adds to Zevon's mystique as a crank who doesn't give a damn
anymore.
Mr. Bad Example has a lot of songs that are great fun, with Zevon
gladly playing the bad boy. Angel Dressed In Black is a skewed love
song. Zevon sings about "sitting on the sofa, suckin' a bowl of
crack." He's worried that his lady, who hasn't come home, might have
been arrested or attracked, but he's too screwed up to go out and look
for her. Jeff Porcaro's drums and Waddy Wachtel's guitar keep the
exciting rock song moving so the focus isn't too tight on Zevon's
pathetic tale. Zevon follows with the title track. The sound of a
joyful marching band accompanies the tale of a con man who gleefully
ruins people, using techniques he developed early when he was an altar
boy stealing the children's fund. Finishing Touches is an angry rock
song about the end of a relationship which Wachtel gives an
appropriately raw, tough sound. Things To Do In Denver When You're
Dead is surreal fun with Zevon's cheesy, chirpy keyboards.
For all his cynicism, Zevon has depth and feelings. Searching
For a Heart is one of the best songs Zevon has ever written. Over lush
backup harmonies, Zevon sings with winning vulnerability of a quest
for love so strong that ,"you can't stop it with a gun." Suzie
Lightning, about missing a lover who lives an exciting globe trotting
life, is a little sickly sweet. I prefer the similarly slow but more
soulful Renegade, which is just Zevon's piano and a simple drum beat
on the verses but reaches a certain grandeur on the chorus. Zevon
wistfully sings about being a rebel who doesn't want to grow old
gracefully. Amid the serious emotion of much of the record, Heartache
Spoken Here is a welcome diversion, a pleasant country rock song
offering help to others in pain, with harmonies from Dwight Yoakam.
Mr. Bad Example is a very good record with good hard rockers
and ballads, funny and serious songs delivered with Zevon's
distinctive personality.
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