''Sentimental Hygiene'' is the sixth studio album by rock 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 Th ...

and his first " sober" one. The album was released on August 29, 1987, by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

. The release of ''Sentimental Hygiene'' marked the first studio album for Zevon in five years. It produced the single "Reconsider Me", as well as the dance single "Leave My Monkey Alone". The band on the album includes guitarist

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...

, bassist

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...

and drummer Bill Berry (all of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

), who also recorded an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

of covers with Zevon (under the name “ Hindu Love Gods” at this time. The single version of "Leave My Monkey Alone" was extended to 10:34 minutes and included a remix by the Latin Rascals (Albert Cabrera and

Tony Moran Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and " K ...

) and the non-album track, "Nocturne". "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands" was used as the opening theme music for the short-lived Fox comedy series ''

Action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

''. The song was co-written by Buck, Berry and Mills.

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

, lead singer of R.E.M., appears on the song "Bad Karma". The album also features contributions by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, playing harmonica on “The Factory”, and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

playing lead guitar on “Sentimental Hygiene”. The song "Boom Boom Mancini" was inspired by boxer

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...

and his contest against Bobby Chacon.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Warren Zevon, except where indicated.

Personnel

*Warren Zevon – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, guitar, piano, keyboards, emulator, vocals * Bill Berry – drums *

– guitar *

– bass guitar * Jorge Calderón – bass guitar on "Sentimental Hygiene"; harmony on "Detox Mansion" * Mike Campbell – guitar on "Reconsider Me" *Darius Degher –

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

on "Bad Karma" *

– harmonica on "The Factory" *

Amp Fiddler Joseph Anthony "Amp" Fiddler is an American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. His musical styles include funk, soul, dance and electronica music. He is probably best known for his contributions to the ba ...

– keyboards on "Leave My Monkey Alone" *

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

– bass guitar on "Leave My Monkey Alone" * Don Henley – harmony on "Trouble Waiting to Happen" *

DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight DeWayne Stephen "Blackbyrd" McKnight (born April 17, 1954) is an American guitarist. He was a member of The Headhunters, a jazz-funk fusion band from 1975 through 1978 and Parliament-Funkadelic from 1978 through 2008. He served briefly as gu ...

– guitar on "Leave My Monkey Alone" *

Craig Krampf Craig Krampf (born October 22, 1954) is an American drummer, percussionist, arranger, record producer and songwriter. The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging f ...

– drums on "Reconsider Me" and "Leave My Monkey Alone" *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1 ...

– bass guitar on "Reconsider Me" * David Lindley – lap steel guitar on "Detox Mansion", bowed saz on "Bad Karma" *

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

– harmony on "Bad Karma" *

Rick Richards The Georgia Satellites are an American Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They achieved mainstream success with their 1986 self-titled debut album, featuring their best-known single " Keep Your Hands to Yourself", which peaked at No. 2 o ...

– guitar on "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands" *

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

– lead guitar on "Trouble Waiting to Happen" *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass guitar on "The Heartache" *

– harmony on "Bad Karma" *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

– acoustic guitar on "Sentimental Hygiene", "Reconsider Me" and "The Heartache" *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for ...

– harmony on "The Heartache" *Jai Winding – keyboards on "Reconsider Me" *

– lead guitar on "Sentimental Hygiene" *Will Alexander, Brian Bell – computer programming on "Leave My Monkey Alone"

Production

*Producer: Warren Zevon,

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

, Andrew Slater *Engineer: Duncan Aldrich, Niko Bolas, Richard Bosworth *Assistant Engineer: Richard Cottrell, Richard Landers, Bob Levy, Mark McKenna, Dan Nash, Bob Vogt *Mixing: Niko Bolas, Larry Ferguson,

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

*Mastering:

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

*Arranger: Niko Bolas, George Clinton, Larry Ferguson *Emulator: Warren Zevon *Programming and computers: Willie Alexander, Brian Bell *Art Direction: Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff, Margo Chase *Cover Photo:

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums Elektra Records albums R.E.M. Virgin Records albums Warren Zevon albums Albums produced by Warren Zevon Albums produced by Niko Bolas Alternative rock albums by American artists Hard rock albums by American artists Folk rock albums by American artists