''Wanted Dead or Alive'' is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

. The album released by

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

in 1970 under the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Zevon".

Production

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

began the project as producer, but left after disagreements with Zevon and did not take credit for production duties. Fowley later remembered:

arrenwanted to play all the instruments himself. He wouldn't listen to anybody. I wasn't trying to produce him because you really couldn't produce Warren, at least not in those days, but I was trying to help him make a record that might sell more than ten copies, all purchased by his friends. But, he didn't listen to anyone about anything, and one day I just walked in thinking I'd had enough.Crystal Zevon, '' I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon'', p. 32.

Zevon chalked up his disagreement with Fowley to a "sudden attack of taste".

Reception

"''Wanted Dead or Alive''" was a commercial and critical failure. The album was released "to the sound of one hand clapping", as Zevon later remarked. Sales were poor, and critics ignored the album.

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

later commented, "I don't remember thinking

he album He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

was as good as he really was." Attempts to record a follow-up album, called ''Leaf in the Wind'', were abandoned, and Zevon found work as band leader and musical coordinator for

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

. His next album, the critically acclaimed classic ''

'', was not released until 1976. Once Zevon reached stardom, ''Wanted Dead or Alive'' ended up as an all-but-forgotten relic of his early career.

Re-release

''Wanted Dead or Alive'' was initially released on CD by One Way Records in 1996. Following the announcement that Zevon had terminal lung cancer,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

put out a remastered version of the album in early 2003, which was initially intended to have the entirety of ''Leaf in the Wind'', but those plans were scrapped at the last minute for unknown reasons.

Legacy

The track "She Quit Me" was featured in the 1969 film ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama (film and television), drama film, based on the 1965 Midnight Cowboy (novel), novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars ...

'' (performed by

Lesley Miller Lesley Miller (born April 18, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter. As a recording artist, she released several singles between 1964 and 1969. As a backing vocalist, she has recorded for numerous artists such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Dav ...

) as "He Quit Me". "Tule's Blues" was written about Zevon's lover, Marilyn "Tule" Livingston, mother of his son

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. It was covered in 1972 as a single by the group Sugarblu on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Warren Zevon; except where indicated

Personnel

*Warren Zevon – bass guitar, guitar, piano, percussion, harmonica, vocals *

Skip Battin Clyde "Skip" Battin (February 18, 1934 – July 6, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, bassist, performer, and recording artist. He was a member of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Εarly life C ...

– bass guitar *Drachen Theaker – drums *Jon Corneal – drums on "Hitchhikin' Woman" and "Tule's Blues"; percussion on "Fiery Emblems" *Toxey French – drums on "A Bullet for Ramona" *Brent Seawell – bass on "A Bullet for Ramona" *Sweet Trifles – background vocals on "Iko-Iko" * Shutter Ed Caraeff – maracas on "Hitch Hikin' Woman" ;Technical *Johnny Golden - engineer *

Richard Edlund Richard Edlund, (born December 6, 1940) is an American visual effects artist and inventor. He was a founding member of Industrial Light & Magic, having already founded Pignose amplifiers, and later co-founded Boss Film Studios and DuMonde VFX. H ...

– photography, artwork

References

{{Authority control Warren Zevon albums 1970 debut albums Imperial Records albums Capitol Records albums One Way Records albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios