Analog Man by Joe Walsh

When I was in high school for some reason Joe Walsh was considered one of the cooler people in the Entertainment World. I had a friend named Bob who had a shirt that said Bob for Pope, Joe Walsh for President.

It has been a long trip for Joe Walsh. He has stayed on the periphery of pop culture but not been a major influence for the last twenty years or more. Occasionally a solo album. he would reappear and make a ton of money as part of any Eagles reunion but all in all Joe Walsh has been quiet.

This year his exposure increased in the spring when he made a few appearances playing guitar for Paul McCartney. Walsh has married into the extended Beatles family recently by marrying his good friend Ringo Starr's sister. Walsh had played on several of Ringo's All Star Tours. Rock and Roll is a primarily incestuous family much of the time.

Now this month Walsh has released a solo album and at least to my ears it is a very strong album. One should not confuse very good with will be a big seller as I do not know what the market for any album is any more, at least one that does not have hip hop or teenage girls singing but Walsh has released an album anyone of a rock and roll youth should enjoy.

The album begins with the title cut Analog Man in which Walsh plays everyman, stating that he is not comfortable with technology and does not everything need, that vinyl is just fine Joe is and will remain an analog man. I find this to be a quandary for many of our age group. I detest all the technology but I love my Iphone, Spotify, and of course here I am blogging. Let's just say I am conflicted.

Many of Walsh's albums in the last decades have had a cute song or too but the albums as a whole cannot carry the load. This album is much deeper. For those wishing to hear a little Eagles inflected Joe Walsh the song Spanish Dancer will be a hit. Close your eyes and the first thirty seconds will place you in the late seventies Joe Walsh Eagles sound.

The album ends with Funk 50 and update of the old James Gang Funk 49, followed by an instrumental India. These are both interesting but the instrumental especially is not virtuoso material, that is, warranting a spot on the album is questionable.

This is corrected however by a couple standout songs on the album. In Band Played On Joe takes us through some of the modern day problems that we appear not to be able or willing to fix. Much better is the song Family, in which the now happily married Walsh sings about the happiness and contentment he has found with wonder. " I finally found a wife and a home, and a family that matters means more to me than anything I'll ever believe," Walsh sings from the heart, he has been through a busy life, a crazy up and down life and now he ....it seems ...he feels blessed for not only his wife but his circle. Good for you Joe.

One Day at a Time is a standout. When Walsh says " I was always the first to arrive at the party and the last to leave the scene of the crime, it started with a couple of beers and went I don't know how many years." he tells us of the excesses in his life. He learned to live his life One Day at a Time. Maybe not the party anthem of the summer but for many his age the song will be very resonant.


These songs in itself make a strong album, but Just Lucky That Way makes it clear that this album will connect. An auto biographical song Walsh admits how lucky he has been, how far above his original wishes he has come. When Joe says he is Just Lucky That Way he is thanking the stars for the last forty years of success and perhaps also thanking for coming out on the other end of that success and feeling a level of contentment all the party days never provided.

Not an album that will change rock and roll. Still an album many aging rockers and rock and roll fans can appreciate and connect with. As Joe would sing " That's not so bad after all. "

Analog Man by Joe Walsh

On Rolling Stone.com today one can hear the first single from the forthcoming album from Joe Walsh. Walsh who has had a bit of a comeback in recent months has not released an album in twenty years. Walsh a longtime rock God going back to the James Gang, a sole career, and of course a long membership in The Eagles has over the last decade done a radio show, and toured occassionaly as part of Ringo Starr's All Star Revue's.

On his albums in the late eighties and nineties Walsh recorded some funny songs such as Ordinary Average Guy and I Like Big T*ts.

Still Walsh has made some very good music, The Pretender being one of them.

The reason this most recent song works is that Walsh again is speaking for his target audience. White men who were teenagers in the late seventies and first half of the eighties will enjoy and relate to the lyrics.

Walsh still sounds, if not good, like Walsh. He plays guitar well. The song is a keeper. It made me smile. Hopefully the rest of the album will be as good. We need some actual good music, much of it is a wasteland.

Thanks Joe.

By the way check out this link to see the funny side of Joe Walsh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFWOV1nGPb8

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

This Martin Scorsese directed biopic appeared in two parts on HBO last fall. As part of the new feature HBO GO I watched this on my Ipad this weekend.

Scorsese appears to be the leader in this type of movie as he continues to do these type of biopics on musical performers. This is a very well done show. It compares well with the Beatles Anthology that we saw years ago while focusing on George himself.

Harrison's interest in Eastern relgions is well documented. His relationship with Ravi Shankir was long and prosperous. His relationship with Eric Clapton and Patty Boyd and the whole Layla mess is shown in detail.

Outside of that however we see much about Harrison's musical career. It was very interesting to note that All Things Must Pass was the most successful of the Beatles first solo albums. Harrison had a stockpile of material. While Something and Here Comes The Sun highlighted Abbey Road the fact is that there was not much room for Harrison's material on The Beatles albums. Thus he was well prepared.

Harrison was a conflicted individual. As much as he embraced religion and explored Eastern ideas he also had a long and large experience with drugs. His concert for Bangladesh was the first large scale charity concert yet he was embroiled in many lawsuits with his fellow Beatles.

As we look at Harrison's later career his time with The Traveling Wilbury was a highlight. It is hard to think about a band with Harrison, Dylan, and Tom Petty. What an amazing group that was.

Harrison died too young. In watching the movie one will see perhaps the most interesting Beatle as he was very hard to paint. When Ringo breaks into tears when talking about the last time he was with George it is hard not to choke up yourself. Harrison was a strong character in our time.