Sentimental Hygiene [Original recording remastered]

Product Description
24-bit digitally remastered reissue of 1987 album with 2 bonus tracks 'Leave My Monkey Alone' (Spanish version), 'Nocturne' (instrumental). Virgin. 2003.

Sentimental Hygiene,Warren Zevon,Virgin Records,Album Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

Sentimental Hygiene [Original recording remastered]

Average customer rating:

Sentimental for Zevon
My Favorite WZ Studio Album
"THERE'S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS"
Warren Zevon is a Hindu Love God
The name of the game is be hit and hit back

Sentimental Hygiene
Warren Zevon
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
Warren Zevon
The Envoy
Stand in the Fire
Transverse City

ASIN: B00008NGC7
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Tracks:

Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
The Factory
Trouble Waiting To Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even A Dog Can Shake Hands
The Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone
Nocturne (Instrumental)
Leave My Monkey Alone (Spanish)

Album Description

24-bit digitally remastered reissue of 1987 album with 2 bonus tracks 'Leave My Monkey Alone' (Spanish version), 'Nocturne' (instrumental). Virgin. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Sentimental for Zevon.......2007-04-29

This is another great Zevon album. I had the LP and just bought the remastered version on CD. Maybe it's just me but the title track Sentimental Hygiene, well I just can't get it out of my head since the first time I heard it years ago. Check it out dog..5 stars! It's worth the price of the CD just to crank it up and rock out to it.

My Favorite WZ Studio Album.......2006-11-11

In my opinion, this is Warren's best studio album (my favorite album is "Stand in the Fire".) (I AM a rabid Zevon Fan.) Every song on this record is strong. There's variety; but all rock. I really like the wit of the lyrics (I DO like detox mansion! "I was rakin' leaves with Liza ... Now I'm doin' my own laundry and I'm GETING THOSE CLOTHES CLEAN!") I was so pleased with this comeback album. It was his high-water mark and he never again approached it, though I like "Transverse City," "Mt Ride's Here," and "Life'll Kill Ya." The only of his other albums that I compare with this one is Excitable Boy.

Great rocking record. Enjoy.

"THERE'S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS".......2005-02-18

Although I'm not a hardcore WARREN ZEVON fan, I owned several of his albums back in the era of Licorice Pizza (vinyl records). And I did catch him live once in the late '80s - a fairly mundane performance, and this in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. When I sold off my LPs and made the transition to compact discs, his eponymous debut was the only recording I reacquired.

On vacation this past July, I heard SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE in a store and bought a copy; it having reminded me of my youth and those daze of "Liquid Sedation."

I've never listend to ZEVON for the music. He's not terrifically "musical" and his sandpaper-edged vocals lack range. It's Zevon for the lyrics; for his wry take on life. He was Rock's Grim Reaper on Laughing Gas! Zevon's writing didn't just put angst on the table, it presented it as the entree, but usually with rich jocularity sauce ladled over the top for seasoning. A 12 ounce glass of arsenic. . . .with a "twist" of humor (or perhaps that ought to be, "with a twisted humor.") He always gave us the WAR-IN-ZEVON : that interior knockdown, drag-out struggle of a slightly warped man in a totally insane world.

Overall, this is the warped boy's hardest rocking disc. After a much publicized stint in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, this was a "comeback" album designed to show that he had indeed gotten up off the canvas swinging! For me, the standout tracks are :

BOOM BOOM MANCINI -- A thunderous anthem to the lion-hearted, Youngstown, Ohio pugilist. It is driven by an appropriately over-amped, bruising guitar hook and uppercut! I can still remember the car radio announcement that informed me of Mancini's 14 round loss to Alexis Arguello in 1981. I bawled for the brawler. But then I was "LIQUIDATED" at the time - some evil man at Dodger Stadium having sold me 2 beers an inning for 9 innings. (Don't hate me; I wasn't driving!)
THE WAR-IN-ZEVON : "Some have the speed and the right combinations; if you can't take the punches, it don't mean a thing."

RECONSIDER ME -- A plaintive and moving ballad sung straight on the rocks....no "twist."
THE WAR-IN-ZEVON : "If it's still the past that makes you doubt, darlin' that was then and this is now. Reconsider me."

BAD KARMA -- A very funny song about picking up the gauntlet thrown down by life and coming to grips with disillusionment.
THE WAR-IN-ZEVON : "Was it something I did in another life? I try and try but nothing comes out right for me. Bad karma, killing me by degrees."

EVEN A DOG CAN SHAKE HANDS -- Ya gotta love the enthusiastic energy of this one. It starts out with "YEAH!! WOO-OOO!! HEEEEEY!!" Good stuffs about the tie-wearing parasites in the music biz. Now, if you've lived in L.A., you know that the San Fernando Valley is where you take up residence just prior to limping out of town with yer head down and yer tail tucked between yer legs. So it's pretty funny when our singer is warned to play the game properly or he'll "end up dead, living in The Valley someday." As though the two are synonymous.
THE WAR-IN-ZEVON : Abandon all hope and don't rock the boat, and we'll all make a few hundred grand. Everybody's trying to be a friend of mine. Even a dog can shake hands."

THE HEARTACHE -- Another ballad on the rocks, no "twist." The subject is unrequited love, which in common parlance means, "unsuccessful open-heart surgery." The Heartache contains one of the greatest lines in song : "THERE'S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS." This one line has haunted me ever since I first heard it in 1987. In all these years, not a month has passed that I didn't find myself silently reciting it in response to some unfortunate situation, or while merely contemplating the setting of the sun. If you don't get it, then consider yourself lucky and rejoice in your insensitivity.
THE WAR-IN-ZEVON : "There's a sadness in the heart of things," of course! Why, it's only the most poignant moment on the entire album!

I rarely award 5-Stars, but I could have given SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE 4-Stars if the songs that I don't care for, I felt merely neutral about. But I actively dislike DETOX MANSION, Zevon's noisy, irreverent attempt to make light of his drug and alcohol rehab. To plagiarize one of his earlier songs : "It ain't that funny at all." The attempt at humor sounds forced. I once wrote a poem called, 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' which included the lines, "THESE BOYS DON'T CRY WHEN THEY SHOULD / AND LAUGH / WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T." Detox Mansion is a prime example.

One of my pet peeves in music is when lifelong Rock Stars with Champagne and Brie on their breath sing about the tough life of 'the working man.' Boys, give it a rest! Don't let your conscience convince you that we need to hear your understanding. If you want to sing to us about how difficult it is to have 13 groupies a night, but only 2 hotel suites, or how the bad roadie forgot to remove the brown M&Ms from the backstage candy bowl, or how room service is too slow at the Hilton, fine. But don't be telling us about punching a time clock with the bossman looking over your shoulder! Don't gripe about the 8 to 5 'blue collar' life because you don't know it like we do! (Are you listening Paul Simon, Jackson Browne & Bruce Springsteen?) Zevon commits this cardinal Rock Music sin in the unconvincing and unmusical THE FACTORY. Aside from all that, the first four lines are poorly conceived : "I was born in '63 / Got a little job in the factory / I don't know much about Kennedy / I was too busy working in the factory." (Give that some real thought.)

Overall, SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE is a very solid effort. His self-titled, WARREN ZEVON, however, remains his essential release, which includes his real masterpiece, DESPERADOS UNDER THE EAVES, and CARMELITA with its reference to the infamous "Pioneer Chicken Stand." Which, incidentally, once stood on the Southeast corner at Alvarado and Montana Streets in L.A., a few blocks north of Echo Park. The spot is now just the upper corner of the Vons Supermarket parking lot. But if any of you Zevon diehards ever make the pilgrimage to this 'legendary' location, don't tell anyone that you heard from Stephen T.; I hear they're still hunting me.

Warren Zevon is a Hindu Love God.......2004-05-03

The late Warren Zevon was one of America's great songwriters. His acidic wit and poignant prose is fueled here by his recent detox visit to the Betty Ford Center and his newfound kinship with REM, who backed him on this release(and also recorded with him as the HINDU LOVE GODS). Getting clean and sober never rocked so good as it does here. Zevon's smokey baritone voice is in top form, the production is supreme and there are contributions from the usual suspects (Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Brian Setzer, George Clinton)

The name of the game is be hit and hit back.......2004-03-15

After battling addiction to drugs and alchohal, Warren Zevon returned from a worrying absense...with his strongest album yet (and possibly ever). Of all the album he ever made, this is rocks the hardest and his songwriting returned with renewed power. For the most part, he is backed by the musicians of R.E.M., who had not yet achieved their full success. The songwriting, however, is almost all his and it shows, despite the plethora of guest stars.
He starts out with the strong steady kick of the title track, proclaiming that he 'needs some Sentimental Hygiene' and musing that 'everybody's at war these days'. A strong tune (Neil Young plays lead guitar) but nothing amazing for Zevon. 7/10 stars.
'Boom-Boom Mancini', the second song, is possibly the heaviest rock song he ever wrote and paints a dark (and true) storyscape of the famous boxer (who apparently, after hearing this song, became good friends with Zevon). One of his best, darkest songs ever. 10/10.
'The Factory', a Springsteen-ish number with BobDylan on harmonica, is catchy (try to not like him shout 'yes, sir, no, sir' as loud as he can during the chorus). 7/10.
'Trouble Waiting To Happen', written with J.D Souther, is plainly about his addiction. 'The mailman brought me the Rolling Stone. It said I was living at home alone. I read things I didn't know I'd done. It sounded like a lot of fun.' Depressed but witty. 9/10.
'Reconsider Me' is one of the few ballads on the albums and also one of the best he'd ever written. Reportedly, when asked if he had ever written songs personal enough for him to consider not using them, he pointed at once to this song. It's easy to see why, as he begs someone, perhaps everyone, to reconsider him and promises that he'll 'never make them sad again'. He seems to be speaking of his addiction again, especially when he says 'if it's the past that make you doubt, darling, that was then and this is now'. Excellent. One of his best. 10/10.
'Detox Mansion', written with long-time callaborater Jorge Calderon, is a joky look at how his alchohal detox. Funny, with a bitter side hiding under the numorous jokes and puns. 10/10.
'Bad Karma' finds him blaming the fates for his mifortune. Michael Stipe, the lead singer of R.E.M., joins his bandmates to sing the harmony on this and the music includes a sitar. Zevon wails that he can't get away from his fate and wonders what he did to deserve it. Dark. 8/10.
'Even A Dog Can Shake Hands' is the only song on the album that Warren Zevon actually wrote with R.E.M. It's one of his quirkiest rockers, filled with witty indictments of the way Hollywood and the music business work. Funny. 9/10.
'The Heartache' finds Warren Zevon joined by Jennifer Warnes to sing a sad tale of loving someone who does not share your affection. 9/10.
'Leave My Monkey Alone' is a dark, funky tale about Kenya and the Mau Mau inscurrectionists. It features Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) on bass and was produces and arranged by George Clinton. 10/10.
The bonus tracks are hardly essential or great new additions. 'Nocturne' is awful, a mess of random synthasizer sounds that sounds as thought he was fooling randomly around on his keyboard. The Spanish version of 'Leave My Monkey Alone' is interesting and features some slightly different music and more jungle noises.
All in all, the best from a man who seemed unable to produce anything truly bad. It should be the first in your Warren Zevon collection, along with 'Excitable Boy'.

Average customer rating:

Sentimental Hygiene
Warren Zevon
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Transverse City
Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School

ASIN: B00008EPZE
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
Factory
Trouble Waiting to Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even a Dog Can Shake Hands
Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone

Average customer rating:

Some muscle, grit, heart and awareness
Zevons Finest Moment
Sentimentally - Zevon's best studio album
Majestic album
Classic Warren -- possibly his last really great album

Sentimental Hygiene
Warren Zevon
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
Warren Zevon
Learning to Flinch
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon
VH1 (Inside) Out - Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart

ASIN: B000008MM9
Release Date: 1992-06-29

Tracks:

Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
The Factory
Trouble Waiting To Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even A Dog Can Shake Hands
The Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone

Customer Reviews:

Some muscle, grit, heart and awareness.......2005-02-10

This is music that will stick with you. It's well thought out but is also very fun and, go figure, sentimental in a charming, funny way. One of the most muscular songs I've ever heard (including heavy metal) is 'Boom Boom Mancini.' It moves with the posture of a Chevy Nova but is as enjoyable to hear as some of my favorite pieces of Bach. It's probably unintentional on Zevon's part, but it's impossible to hear this song and not want to know more about the guy who wrote and performed it.

The whole album never misses a beat and it's one of the rare disks I've heard where you can just let it play and not have to think about a part that needs skipping.

Another thing I love about it, too, is it's very 80's. The songs and cd pamphlet layout bring me to the 80's for a while. It has to be one of the best albums that came out of that decade.

No one can accuse Warren Zevon for not being honest and while he's constantly coming up with poignant lyrics that cover a range of topics (dog-like handshakers, pitiful pity-party types, drunks with a clue, disappointed lovers, can't-make-the-right-decision-if-you're-life-depended-on-it Karma believers, and lots else) this is an album that also includes a fair share of instrumental excitement to go with it, which doesn't happen all the time with him.

Certainly, you can't go wrong buying this album. It's truly Zevon in full-form and not just the nice, gentle part of Warren that left him mis-portrayed in the latest tribute album.

Zevons Finest Moment.......2003-03-19

This is the one to have. That said, Warren Zevon has many 5 star albums but this is his finest. The sound, searing guitar work and lyrical imagery are unmatched by anything else he has done before.

There are so many strong tracks on this record that it's hard to pick a favorite.

Sentimentally - Zevon's best studio album.......2002-12-15

Warren Zevon's "Sentimental Hygene," recorded a decade after his late 1970s heyday as a popular songwriter, stands now in light of his recent terminal illness as the best of his original studio albums. The ten tracks are all pure Zevon and are all outstanding. The rocking title track kicks things off strongly preceeding the burning putdown of boxer "Boom Boom Mancini." Of the rest of side 1, "Trouble Waiting to Happen" is another excellent rocker while "Reconsider Me," is an actual tender ballad.

Things don't slack off in the second half. "Detox Mansion," "Bad Karma" and "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands," are the kind of quirky humorous rockers Zevon seems to write effortlessly. The album then ends with the truly bizarre "Leave My Monkey Alone." On most of the songs Zevon is backed by the then-up and coming R.E.M., and as a result the music absolutely crackles.

Overall, an outstanding studio album from an original, quirky and now lamented rock songwriter.

Majestic album.......2002-09-19

Rooting through my dad's record collection I stumbled across this asolute gem of an album. From the in your face rockin' of the title track through to the gentle and heartfelt ballad 'Heartache', this album does not disappoint. Fantastic from start to finish, a must for any music lover's collection.

Classic Warren -- possibly his last really great album.......2002-01-29

I love this album and first got it on vinyl. Backed largely by Messrs. Buck, Mills and Berry from R.E.M., Zevon shows the black humor and sincere sentimentality that marked his earlier stuff.

A guitar solo on the title track sounded like Neil Young and Crazy Horse in full glory, and sure enough there's Neil in the credits. Boom Boom Mancini is a great sports bio; Reconsider Me and The Heartache a classic love ballad that ODs on true sincerity; I'm sure Detox Mansion was autobiographical and because it probably was is funnier than hell. Ditto Bad Karma and Even a Dog Can Shake Hands.

This truly is a 5 star album folks. I'm sorry I missed Warren last time he swung around here on tour. His more recent stuff is a bit less accessible but no less rewarding once you get into it.

Average customer rating:

REM + Zevon make one great LP

Sentimental Hygiene
Warren Zevon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000026XVQ
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Tracks:

Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
Factory
Trouble Waiting to Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even a Dog Can Shake Hands
Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone

Customer Reviews:

REM + Zevon make one great LP.......2007-05-21

Not only is this his best in my opinion, this may be one of my favorite all around albums. There's not a throw-away track here as far as I'm concerned. A constant in my rotation. Funny thing, I've never considered myself a big REM fan.

Average customer rating:

Some muscle, grit, heart and awareness
Zevons Finest Moment
Sentimentally - Zevon's best studio album
Majestic album
Classic Warren -- possibly his last really great album

Sentimental Hygiene
Warren Zevon
Manufacturer: Indent Series
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
Warren Zevon
Learning to Flinch
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon
VH1 (Inside) Out - Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart

ASIN: B000005JKA
Release Date: 1996-07-23

Tracks:

Sentimental Hygiene
Boom Boom Mancini
Factory
Trouble Waiting to Happen
Reconsider Me
Detox Mansion
Bad Karma
Even a Dog Can Shake Hands
Heartache
Leave My Monkey Alone

Customer Reviews:

Some muscle, grit, heart and awareness.......2005-02-10

Zevons Finest Moment.......2003-03-19

This is the one to have. That said, Warren Zevon has many 5 star albums but this is his finest. The sound, searing guitar work and lyrical imagery are unmatched by anything else he has done before.

There are so many strong tracks on this record that it's hard to pick a favorite.

Sentimentally - Zevon's best studio album.......2002-12-15

Overall, an outstanding studio album from an original, quirky and now lamented rock songwriter.

Majestic album.......2002-09-19

Classic Warren -- possibly his last really great album.......2002-01-29

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