Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy

Warren Zevon
Excitable Boy
Asylum K53073
£1
Filed between Young Fresh Fellows 'This One's For The Ladies' and The Zombies 'Odessey And Oracle'.

October 1995, close to Halloween, at the Engine Room in Camden for the famously difficult music quiz. Frequented by NME & Melody Maker journalists, the only time we ever won a prize was for best team name (on the day Britain’s biggest boyband split up we went for ‘Take That And F**k Off’).

On this particular night the themed intros round had so far included the likes of ‘The Monster Mash’ and ‘There’s A Ghost In My House’ when this mid-tempo, piano-led intro kicked in. To my surprise and confusion all my fellow team-mates immediately went for ‘Werewolves Of London’ by Warren Zevon, a song I’d never heard. I was convinced they were wrong – it was surely ‘One Of Those Things’ by Dexys Midnight Runners. No question about it. Okay, so it didn’t fit the theme for the round whereas their answer did but ... it WAS Dexys.

Once the answers were revealed they were proved right – and on subsequent re-issues of ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’, the Dexys track now carries a co-credit to Zevon (the lifting is also noted in Kevin Rowland’s sleevenotes for the Director’s Cut edition).  

I’ve heard ‘Werewolves Of London’ numerous times since, and back in 2004 a BBC poll saw its opening lyrics voted the best of all-time.

I still defend my answer though ...

The Who - My Generation

The Who
My Generation
Brunswick 05944
25p




You will note the disconnect between the sleeve and the record. I would have happily bought 'Long Live Rock' (for one of the b-sides, The High Numbers 'I'm The Face'). But inside I was surprised to see a well-played Brunswick-issued 'My Generation'. Despite the clear wear & tear I'm sure it would sound great on an old Dansette.

The Yardbirds - Roger The Engineer

The Yardbirds
Roger The Engineer
Edsel
Filed between Wreckless Eric 'The World According To Wreckless Eric' and Young Fresh Fellows 'This One's For The Ladies'.



Picked this up more from intrigue than anything. I used to have a Yardbirds best-of, all of which pre-dated this, and to be honest I was never that keen on them. However this album is often referred to as a 60s classic. Have concluded that it's not really my cup of tea ...

Talking Heads - Fear Of Music

Talking Heads
Fear Of Music
£1






Proof you should never give up hope when trawling through those bargain bins. One local charity shop carries, at a guesstimate, in excess of 1,000 LPs (predominantly classical LPs that will never, ever sell). This was the very last one in the last rack.