Saturday, July 28, 2012

Joe Walsh Goes Analog

Joe Walsh is one of those guys where I like the hits. "Rocky Mountain Way", "Life's Been Good", "Walk Away", "Funk 49", and a slew of others bring the party with goofy themes and crunching guitars. Even with all these songs I like, I haven't had an interest in Walsh's solo albums beyond hit compilations. This makes his recent disc Analog Man the first proper Joe Walsh solo disc I've owned.

And I gotta say it's pretty good. The title track and "And The Band Played On" have the biting guitar licks, slamming drums and buzzy vocals strong enough to fit alongside Walsh's best material on classic rock radio. Whether you agree or disagree with him, Walsh's old man complaints about the modern world and reflective moments about his life have some weight.

Like any long time rocker, there's gonna be some treading water moments like the sappy ballad "Family" or the reworked "Funk 49" as "Funk 50". Yet overall Walsh displays potency behind his six string sting and producer Jeff Lynne gives some of that Tom Petty sheen to make it go down smooth.

Analog Man is a good solid disc with a handful of killer moments. An above average solo album to me.

1 comment:

Jeannie said...

I liked the album. Wish there was that one awesome song on it though.