Warren Zevon – Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School (Mofi Records Hybrid SACD)

Play It All Night Long: Warren Zevon Explores Contrasts and Classical Flourishes on Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, Which Includes Collaborations with Members of the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Other Luminaries

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, housed in mini-LP-style packaging, and strictly limited to 2,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s hybrid SACD presents Zevon’s fourth album in audiophile sound. Co-produced by Zevon and longtime studio partner Greg Ladanyi, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School benefits from key collaborations with ace musicians such as Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Ben Keith, Waddy Wachtel, J.D. Souther, and Eagles members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Don Felder. Their contributions, as well as the steadiness and punch of Zevon’s small combo, can be heard with unhindered detail, presence, and pacing.

You will experience wide instrumental separation; dynamic elements that underscore the depth of the rhythms; transparency that traces a through-line to the original sessions at the Sound Factory; naturalism that elevates the body and tenor of Zevon’s vocals; and revealing levels of openness, balance, and imaging. Everything from the .44 Magnum that Zevon fired into a barrel of sand to capture percussive effects at the beginning of the title track to the variety of slide, pedal, lap-steel, and electric guitars used throughout comes through with engaging clarity.

Dedicated to crime-fiction author Ken Millar, who helped steer Zevon through his drying-out period, and distinguished by a back cover that famously features a disparate image — a pair of ballet shoes resting alongside a machine gun and spent bullets — Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School often reveals the singer-songwriter at his most personal. He pairs such unguardedness with two concise string interludes that evoke chamber-music aspirations and reflect his admiration for composer Igor Stravinsky, whom he once visited in Russia.

Thematically, the title song finds the then-newly divorced Zevon pledging to change. The high-and-lonesome T Bone Burnett co-write “Bed of Coals” extends that commitment. And the sweeping piano-based ballad “Empty-Handed Heart” witnesses Zevon at his most conciliatory and tender despite the fact the subject of his affection has moved on. On the latter track’s coda, a descant gorgeously sung by Ronstadt sends the tune into another orbit and affirms the deep–seated levels of texture and touch widespread throughout Zevon’s work.

Those characteristics are also present on the Top 20 record’s rowdier fare. Partnering with his pal Jorge Calderon, Zevon delivers one of his classic mercenary tales on “Jungle Work.” Dense and damp, the song broadcasts an apt desperado vibe via a macho military-styled refrain and beefy tones. Joe Walsh’s memorable turn on lead guitar ups the risk factor. For the socially biting “Gorilla, You’re a Desperado,” Zevon lays down a melody that moves like a squeezed accordion. Henley and Browne join on the chorus, and the collective seemingly dances its way amid a vibrant landscape dotted with rubber-mask absurdity, humor, and commotion.

In addition to industry friends, Zevon draws major-league pitcher Bill Lee — known for his unfiltered statements and outrageous personality — into the mix by way of a namesake tribute on which the singer’s harmonica cleverly substitutes for off-the-cuff vocal remarks Lee would utter. And while Bruce Springsteen doesn’t appear, a rousing anthem he co-wrote, “Jeannie Needs a Shooter,” makes a permanent mark by way of push-pull riffs, magnetic grooves, twinkling keyboard notes, tolling bells, and Walsh’s illustrative guitar lines. To say nothing of Zevon’s yearning vocals that somehow manage to remain controlled amid the tension.

By comparison, the singer lets loose with a few yelps on a snappy rendition of Allen Toussaint’s “A Certain Girl” — complete with old-school-soul call-and-response exchanges and lithe rhythms — and sends out the closing “Wild Age” with delirious excitement. By the time it wraps, what else, really, is there left to do but surrender to Zevon’s advice?

You know it well: Turn those speakers up full blast. And play it all night long.

Track Listing

1. Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
2. A Certain Girl
3. Jungle Work
4. Empty-Handed Heart
5. Interlude No. 1
6. Play It All Night Long
7. Jeannie Needs a Shooter
8. Interlude No. 2
9. Bill Lee
10. Gorilla, You’re a Desperado
11. Bed of Coals
12. Wild Age