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
Chimes of Freedom (song) set. The song was also performed by a reformed line-up of the Byrds featuring Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman in January 1989. In addition to its appearance on "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Chimes of Freedom" has appeared on several Byrds' compilation albums, including "The Byrds' Greatest Hits", "The Byrds Play Dylan", "The Very Best of The Byrds", and "The Essential Byrds". "Chimes of Freedom" has also been covered by artists as diverse as Phil Carmen, Jefferson Starship, Youssou N'Dour, Martyn Joseph, Joan Osborne, Starry Eyed and Laughing, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.