[rating=3.00]
For guitarist/songwriter Joe Walsh it’s always been about personality. Striding onstage in pink velvet pants with his group Barnstorm in the early 1970’s, Walsh was the master of rock gesture taking classic rock licks and exaggerating them to the point of hyperbole, mugging madly all the while. Whether in his role as front man for the James Gang in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s (the 1971 album James Gang Rides Again is still the best single-disc example of Walsh’s early brilliance), as the leader of Barnstorm, or as a member of The Eagles beginning with Hotel California in 1976, Walsh always managed to express himself, instrumentally and lyrically, in a style that was unmistakably his own. A new album, Analog Man, his first in over twenty years, shows that though Walsh has mellowed over the years, he’s still the same guy
Inspired by the British blues-guitar heroes of the 60’s, Walsh developed an arresting approach to lead guitar, bending into and out of notes in a relaxed fashion that better qualified him for the nickname “Slow Hand” than Eric Clapton. Walsh’s vocals were unusual, featuring a high nasal vibrato that successfully navigated the line between irritating and endearing. His songwriting was equally idiosyncratic. While earlier songs focused on romantic misfires with occasional flights into whimsy or nostalgia, Walsh began regularly lampooning himself after joining The Eagles. His tongue-in-cheek ode to rock and roll self-indulgence, “Life’s Been Good to Me So Far” became his biggest hit, poking fun at the corporate rock star mentality from within at the same time punk rock was assailing it from without. Walsh tackled social issues in songs like “Turn to Stone” with Barnstorm and “In the City,” a song from The Warriors motion picture soundtrack which also appeared on The Eagles’ The Long Run. Forays into keyboard-driven soft rock following The Eagles’ break-up obscured his personality somewhat, but 1991’s “Ordinary Average Guy” showed Walsh’s wry sense of humor was still intact. “I may be eccentric,” he seemed to say to his audience, “but I’m a lot like you.”
Walsh’s best qualities are all present on Analog Man. The album’s title track takes a shot at contemporary culture’s overdependence on technology: “The whole world’s livin’ in a digital dream, it’s not really there, it’s all on the screen.” But the song has a double message; it also alludes to feeling left out in an age of pervasive social media: “it makes me forget who I am, I’m an analog man.” Walsh, co-writer of The Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane” can still accurately portray a self-destructive lifestyle, but in “Wrecking Ball,” he warns while he describes. With age, ideally, comes wisdom and several songs on Analog Man promote the older-but-wiser approach. “Lucky That Way” is a straightforward statement of gratitude for the good things in life, the singer suggesting his audience adopt the same attitude. Even when he’s serious, though, Walsh’s goofy sense of humor is never far away. On “Spanish Dancer,” a stately reflection on unattainable beauty, Walsh breaks out his signature talk box guitar for a hilarious interlude before resuming the mood. It’s as if Walsh could no longer keep a straight face. A recent interest in eastern music is evident in a couple of places including “The Band Played On,” a pithy commentary on a society that continues blithely on while ignoring all the danger signs. “Family” and “One Day at a Time” express Walsh’s new-found appreciation for his closest relationships and sobriety. Though we can be genuinely happy that Walsh is a healthier and happier man, why are songs about health and happiness routinely less compelling? “Hi-Roller Baby,” a joy ride about a high-end lover, features Walsh’s wonderful slide guitar work. “Funk Fifty” is a disappointing update of its fabulous James Gang-era numerical predecessors. The final track, “India,” is an instrumental that allows Walsh to strut his stuff on guitar, but the dance-mix treatment seems a bit out of character. Walsh co-wrote several of the tracks for this project and that could well explain the occasional loss of focus. What sounds like programmed drums on several tracks wear thin with repeated listening.
It’s wonderful to have a new album from Joe Walsh. He’s a true musical innovator and that by itself makes him worth hearing. His newest project has some great moments. At its best it succeeds in the same way Walsh’s work has always succeeded: sounding like nobody but himself. After all, it’s about personality.
