Mr. Bad Example

Mr. Bad Example is an album by the American musician Warren Zevon, released through Giant Records in October 1991.^[1][2] Zevon supported the album with a North American tour, with Odds serving as both opener and backing band.^[3][4]

Mr. Bad Example
Studio album by Warren Zevon
Released	October 1991
Recorded	1991
Studio	The Sound Factory, Los Angeles; Dodge City, Glendale, California
Genre	Rock
Length	40:15
Label	Giant
Producer	Waddy Wachtel
Warren Zevon chronology
Transverse City (1989) Mr. Bad Example (1991) Learning to Flinch (1993)
Singles from Mr. Bad Example
"Finishing Touches" Released: 1991 "Searching for a Heart" Released: 1991

Production

Mr. Bad Example was produced by Waddy Wachtel.^[5] Los Angeles session musicians contributed to the album.^[6] Zevon sometimes struggled for songwriting ideas, but always finished a song once he had started.^[7]

Dwight Yoakam provided backing vocals on "Heartache Spoken Here"; Dan Dugmore played pedal steel.^[8][9] David Lindley played a variety of instruments on "Quite Ugly One Morning".^[10] "Searching for a Heart" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Love at Large.^[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Calgary Herald	C[13]
Chicago Tribune	[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Uncut	8/10[17]
Vancouver Sun	[6]

The Boston Globe called Mr. Bad Example "a wonderful, resonant album, eclectic and accessible."^[18] The Chicago Tribune deemed it "a return to the terse guitar-drums-keyboard format of [Zevon's] '70s albums."^[14] The Sun Sentinel considered it to be "pure, earthy rock accessibly colored by Zevon's typically wry imagery."^[19]

The Calgary Herald wrote that "Zevon's become a somewhat torpid renegade wailing away about his rebellion while safely ensconced in L.A. security."^[13] The Austin American-Statesman determined that "Zevon's first-person characters on this record are shocking, reprehensible and relentlessly slapstick."^[20]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Warren Zevon, except where indicated.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Finishing Touches"		4:05
2.	"Suzie Lightning"		4:04
3.	"Model Citizen"	LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, Zevon	4:39
4.	"Angel Dressed in Black"	Julia Mueller, Waddy Wachtel, Zevon	4:24
5.	"Mr. Bad Example"	Jorge Calderón, Zevon	3:22

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Renegade"		4:51
7.	"Heartache Spoken Here"		3:48
8.	"Quite Ugly One Morning"		3:53
9.	"Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead"	LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, Zevon	2:53
10.	"Searching for a Heart"		4:16

Personnel

• Warren Zevon – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Jorge Calderón – bass guitar on "Mr. Bad Example", "Quite Ugly One Morning" and "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead", harmony vocals
• Dan Dugmore – guitar on "Model Citizen", pedal steel on "Heartache Spoken Here"
• Bob Glaub – bass guitar
• Jim Keltner – drums on "Mr. Bad Example" and "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead"
• Tito Larriva – harmony vocals on "Angel Dressed in Black"
• Kipp Lennon – harmony vocals on "Searching for a Heart"
• Mark Lennon – harmony vocals on "Searching for a Heart"
• Michael Lennon – harmony vocals on "Searching for a Heart"
• David Lindley – fiddle on "Renegade", saz, lap steel guitar, cümbüş on "Quite Ugly One Morning"
• Jeff Porcaro – drums
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar, harmony vocals
• Dwight Yoakam – harmony vocals on "Heartache Spoken Here"
• Jordan Zevon – harmony vocals

Production

• Producer: Waddy Wachtel
• Engineer: Marc DeSisto
• Assistant engineers: Andrew Ballard, Scott Blockland, Jeffrey Shannon, Brian Soucy
• Mixing: Niko Bolas, John Beverly Jones
• Dave Collins – Mastering
• Technical assistance: Peggy McAfee, Tom Smyth
• Art Direction and design: Jeri Heiden
• Photography: Diego Uchitel, Jimmy Wachtel