The Envoy

The Envoy is an album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 1982 by Asylum (see 1982 in music). It is considered to be the least well-known of his major-label studio recordings because it was not released on compact disc until 2006. A commercial failure at the time of its original release, The Envoy caused Zevon's label to terminate his recording contract, a fact the self-destructive Zevon famously discovered only after reading about it in the gossip column of Rolling Stone. The result was a binge that nearly killed him, followed by a rehab stint that kept Zevon clean and sober until the last year of his life.

The title track was inspired by veteran American diplomat Philip Habib's shuttle diplomacy during Israel's Lebanon incursion of 1982.

Track listing

All songs written by Warren Zevon except as indicated.

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
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

Bonus tracks (2007 CD release)

1. "Word of Mouth" (Outtake) – 4:01
2. "Let Nothing Come Between You" (Alternate take) – 3:40
3. "The Risk" (Outtake) – 2:34
4. "Wild Thing" (Chip Taylor) (Outtake) – 2:29

Track listing note: On the original vinyl release, tracks 1-5 comprised Side one, and tracks 6-9 comprised Side two.

Personnel

• Warren Zevon – vocals, guitar on 1 7, piano on 1 2 5 8 9, synthesizer on 1 5 6 7 8, electric piano on 3,
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar on 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9, percussion on 5, harmony vocals on 5
• David Landau – guitar on 1 2 5 6, backing vocals on 6
• Leland Sklar – bass on 1 2 3 5
• Jeff Porcaro – drums on 1 2 3 5 8, log drums on 3, puili sticks on 3

Additional personnel

• Don Henley – harmony vocals on 1 5
• Lindsey Buckingham – harmony vocals on 2
• Jim Horn – recorders on 3, saxophone
• Jordan Zevon – harmony vocals on 3
• Steve Lukather – guitar on 5
• Jorge Calderón – harmony vocals on 5
• Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – guitar on 6
• LeRoy Marinell – guitar on 6
• Mike Botts – drums on 6
• Steve Forman – percussion on 6
• J.D. Souther – backing vocals on 6, harmony vocals on 8
• Bob Glaub – bass on 7 9
• Rick Marotta – drums on 7
• Kenny Edwards – bass on 8
• Graham Nash – harmony vocals on 8
• Russ Kunkel – drums on 9

Charts

Album

Notes