Warren Zevon humor to wed geopolitical subtexts to hard-boiled narratives. Tracks from this album received heavy FM airplay, and the single release "Werewolves of London", which featured Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, was a relatively lighthearted version of Zevon's signature macabre outlook and a No. 21 success. The critic Dave Marsh, in "The Rolling Stone Record Guide" (1979), called Zevon "one of the toughest rockers ever to come out of Southern California". "Rolling Stone" record reviews editor Paul Nelson called the album one of the most significant releases of the 1970s and placed him alongside Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and Bruce Springsteen
Carmelita (song) was used on the finale of the third season of the Showtime series "Californication", partially covered by Madeleine Martin who portrays Hank Moody's (David Duchovny) daughter. Willy DeVille covered the song on his 2002 album "Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin". Counting Crows also released a cover version of this song as part of a Warren Zevon tribute in 1999. Rachel Stamp covered this song on their 'Didn't I break my heart over you' single. A 'punked up' version of the song was also featured on The Wildhearts covers album "Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before Vol 1." This