Album Review: Sentimental Hygiene (Warren Zevon)

WARREN ZEVON
SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE
1987-VIRGIN
Produced By WARREN ZEVON, ANDREW SLATER & NIKO BOLAS

1. Sentimental Hygiene
2. Boom Boom Mancini
3. The Factory
4. Trouble Waiting To Happen
5. Reconsider Me
6. Detox Mansion
7. Bad Karma
8. Even A Dog Can Shake Hands
9. The Heartache
10. Leave My Monkey Alone

After the commercial failure of The Envoy, Zevon was dropped from his label and went into musical hiding for 5 years. Sentimental Hygiene is his comeback. Utilizing the band R.E.M., the sound is heavier and much more lively, and relies less on that horrible 80's keyboard sound he had adapted on his 2 previous releases. The guest list is impressive: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Flea, Mike Campbell and Brian Setzer all contribute. Now sober, Zevon's songs are on the money for the most part. He sings about his rehab on several tracks, takes a stab at being Springsteen on "The Factory", and flat out nails the albums best song, "Boom Boom Mancini".

Although his next album would be nowhere near this, it was a strong comeback for Zevon. It was during the recording of this album that most of the Hindu Love Gods material was done as well.

This is album #54 in an ongoing series.