Warren Zevon 5: Stand In The Fire

Those who saw him back in The Day say Warren Zevon was as exciting a performer onstage as he was a songwriter. The public at large got something of a chance to judge for themselves with Stand In The Fire, a live album recorded at L.A.’s Roxy club with a young pickup band. None of these guys were names yet, but they attack the songs with the level of rock defined by the studio versions, and then some, while he fed on their energy.

Most of the selections were familiar radio hits, even if the ones best known from the Linda Ronstadt versions. Naturally it starts with brand new song—the title track, and a decent enough tune about rockin’. (While those harmonies sound like Jackson Browne, they’re not.) “Jeannie Needs A Shooter” likely brought Bruce Springsteen even more residuals, but the crowd goes nuts for “Excitable Boy”, to which he responds with glee. “Mohammed’s Radio” has timely lyrics reflecting the Iranian hostage situation, while “Werewolves Of London” is stretched out with some other topical references to up the humor.

“Lawyers, Guns And Money” is a little more unhinged vocally, and then we get another new one. “The Sin” is an accusatory diatribe that provides more insight when he changes the subject of the rant from “you” to “I”. He takes time out of “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” to demand his road manager come out and dance. After the man does, and takes the microphone himself to threaten the crowd into dancing too or else, the band does a rave-up that manages to evolve into “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. (By now he’s not planning to use his .44 Magnum on himself while the guitarist does his best Waddy Wachtel imitation.) After introducing the players, they plow into a medley of “Bo Diddley’s A Gunslinger” and “Bo Diddley”, which isn’t hard to do.

Despite strong reviews, Stand In The Fire basically fell out of print by the ‘90s, and didn’t make it to CD (except in Japan) until 2007, when it was bolstered by four extra tracks. “Johnny Strikes Up The Band” is in the same spirit, but “Play It All Night Long” is a little slow, possibly after being prefaced by the interlude from the album, transferred to synth. But in stark contrast, “Frank And Jesse James” and “Hasten Down The Wind” are solo at the piano, the latter prefaced by appreciation that his life is better now than when he wrote it. By now he’s kinda hoarse, which he would be after giving a show like that. (In 2021, Stand In The Fire was rereleased again, but only on vinyl, with another six tracks so it filled four sides total.)

Warren Zevon Stand In The Fire (1980)—3½
2007 remaster: same as 1980, plus 4 extra tracks