Warren Zevon – Stand In The Fire (Speakers Corner)

"Stand In The Fire", an ambiguous title of the artistically comprehensively educated as well as hard show business nibbling Zevon, delivers ingeniously simple straight ahead rock for the debut, which hits the nerve of the audience in the centre. Excited and eager to play, the band fires content-rich lyric verses into the round on colourfully embedded chords ("Jeannie Needs A Shooter") and stokes the emotional fire with high-speed rock salvos ("Excitable Boy"). Zevon proves his qualities as a singer and songwriter in the ballad-like and powerful-voiced "Mohammed's Radio".

In comparison, the hit "Werewolves Of London" is direct and straightforward, breaking its way in tight harmonic circles. Zevon shows how he manages to drive rather delicate skills such as voices and word weaving across the stage in a restlessly rocking manner in the punchy mix of heavy and honky-tonk ("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead") and to the raucous conclusion with percussive, metrically interlaced alternating vocals in "Bo Didley's A Gunslinger".

"The songs including 'Werewolves' with cool guitar by David Landau came out a lot rougher and groovier than the studio versions. The closing 'Bo Diddley' medley goes all out." (Good Times, February/March 2020)

"Excellent reissue of the only live album by a cult rocker." (LP, 2/2020)

This Speakers Corner production was made using 100% pure analogue master tape and mastering. All licenses and GEMA fees have been paid.

Recording: August 1980 live at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, USA, by Billy Youdelman and Greg Ladanyi.

Production: Greg Ladanyi & Warren Zevon