thought this would be a good place to do this. I didn't see a thread that was dedicated to Walsh's solo career, James Ganf career and with The Eagles. I know Joe's reedy vocals can be an acquired taste but they shouldn't take a backseat to his terrific guitar playing. First up- The James Gang: Yer Album is a fun album and, although not quite as perfect as the Rides Again album, it has some transcendent moments. I refer to this as the jam album because a lot of the songs came about because Joe, Jim and their first bassist Tom Kriss seemed to have made up much of these songs while jamming and seemed less like songs to my ears. There is some terrific playing and the version of "Lost Woman" and "Stop" are epic. Walsh wasn't an original member of the band of course. He joined after auditioning at the suggestion of his guitarist Glenn Schwartz (who played with a The James Gang briefly before eventually heading to California to form Pacific, Gas and Electric). Joe had played with his own band The Measles prior to joining. I like Joe's playing on the album quite a bit and it hints at greater things. I wonder if Mofi will put out Yer Album and Third as they did with the superb Rides Again.
Really odd that you're mentioning Joe. I was just listening to There Goes The Neighborhood yesterday and thinking I was glad I purchased it. He really is a very good craftsman/wordsmith when he does get it right. I found Yer Album a little more of an acquired taste but it finally clicked. His James Gang work is excellent.
American legend, second JG and all his subsequent albums up through You Bought It are essential. Random tracks like The Confessor and Decades after that.
What's really even more odd is I was listening to this yesterday and this morning as well! That's what inspired me to do the thread. Weird! Yes, Yer Album focuses less on songs and more traditional n jams that they shaped imto pieces for the album. The second album is much more carefully crafted and written. There is a Wild quality though to some of those tracks on the first album. Later whenJoe's partying caused him to spiral ddown now the drain, the craftsmanship and songwriting suffered. Once he got sober, things did pick up again.
The Confessor and Rosewood Bitters are both excellent performances on the album. It's a pity most of the rest of it is throwaway material...
I HEART Joe Walsh. It pleases me to no end that he's still with us and didn't end up, well, you know. He has true soul, great sense of humor, humbleness, and tasteful guitar work. Yes, I like his vox as well. This is worth gold:
Well I'm a huge fan of his. All four of the James Gang albums he's on are 5 stars in my opinion. Yer Album and Live - to think much of these went down 'as is' with very little production - warts and all - makes them timeless. I even have the Bluesway singles off Yer Album which are mono (although probably folded). Collage is a gem.
I was in Japan when that came out. Imagine how great it was walking around listening to a Life of Illusion again and again
First heard / saw Joe, when The Old Grey Whistle Test (OGWT), showed a film of Rocky Mountain Way, and Turn To Stone, I think it was 1975.This introduced me to Joe's fantastic facial expressions! Bought, You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind, which introduced me to Walk Away, which made me seek out, James Gang, albums. Love Joe's guitar playing, and singing. Every time I play the live version of Turn To Stone, which is fairly regularly, I'm immediately taken back to the visuals from BBC 2's wonderful music show, the OGWT. He also made Eagles dirty!
Joe Walsh is the only reason why I give a damn about the Eagles. They were a great band before he joined, but when he did, they then became LEGENDARY.
A lot is said about his guitar playing and rightfully so, but I can't imagine The James Gang without his Hammond organ playing on certain songs ... Take A Look Around, Tend My Garden (on Rides Again and Live In Concert), etc. I bought Rides Again first, then Yer Album ... excellent debut album.
Tainted by that '80's production' sound. I actually prefer Michael Stanley's version from his first album in 1972 -- which Joe plays on. Stanley's first two albums on the Tumbleweed and MCA labels respectively were both recorded in Colorado while Joe lived there. They have Barnstorm & Joe throughout them. Wonderful albums.
Yer Album Kind of like Phish meets Moe. meets Mother Love Bone with a touch of Doobie Brothers (IMO). Definitely music-forward. For me, the drum performance gets in the way of loving this LP. Just too busy, too in the way. The bass, guitar, keys, vox - I like. The LP itself is kind of inyerface with its ideas/approach. Were they disturbed with Cream comparisons at the time? How much were they on the radar? I have no real history/insight with this band other than later recordings.
I was still in high school when Joe was playing the bars here in Kent, OH. One of the few instances of wishing I was just a few years older.
Oh there's no doubt that Michael's is the better version but I like Joe's as well. It was nice to see Joe cover the song though. I'm surprised he just didn't use the original arrangement minus the 80's sound.
I never saw them live (too young) but, at any point (besides the early days), did they have anyone joining them on stage on a regular basis to help with organ and other parts. To the best of my knowledge they didn't (not while Joe was a member).
It wasn't until Rides Again came out (the next year) that they became known. Funk 49 was a minor AM radio hit while FM radio played the heck out of that album. Seems like every other guy over the age of about 16 had a copy of Rides Again in their collection. But power trios were pretty common in the US and UK at the time so I don't recall much if any direct Cream comparisons per se. I used to tell people who were unfamiliar with them that, if they liked Cream, they would probably like The James Gang.
That's a perfect description of the album. I will admit I got on board with "Rides Again" so heard the debut after and it was hard to adjust to it after the more structured approach of the second album.
I would like an expanded edition of "You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind" (1976) . It is only 35 minutes long.
