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| Analog Man 2012 |
623 Miles To Go
Vinyl at 33 RPM.
Singles at 45 RPM.
Eight-tracks.
Cassettes.
Compact discs.
Digital.
The Cloud.
Joe Walsh has seen each "replace" the other with one thing always remaining the same.
The 65-year-old wizard's music is smokin' no matter which format you choose to listen.
He became a guitar star after joining the James Gang in 1968, later going solo and ultimately soaring with the Eagles since the era-defining Hotel California.
Listen to any of the annual classic rock radio holiday countdowns of their top 500 songs and you will hear Walsh in all his incarnations (James Gang - Funk 49, Walk Away; solo - Rocky Mountain Way, Turn To Stone, Life's Been Good; Eagles - Hotel California, Life In The Fast Lane, New Kid In Town, Heartache Tonight).
Now in his sixth different decade of making music, Walsh always has played it with an "aw shucks" humbleness not often seen in rock's galaxy, especially from someone with such a long record of memorable tracks. The mushy drawl on his vocals accentuates his ever-present humility.
Even his albums sport titles that aren't taken too seriously - So What, You Bought It - You Name It, Got Any Gum?, Ordinary Average Guy.
Analog Man (2012) is Walsh's first solo effort in 20 years. It finds him in comfortable and familiar territory on this collection co-produced with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys fame. He also plays on several songs.
The guest list includes several old friends and cronies such as Ringo Starr, Joe Vitale, David Crosby and Graham Nash.
The freshest influences include Walsh's sobriety and more settled family life since marrying Marjorie Bach in 2008, thus becoming a brother-in-law to Ringo and his actress wife Barbara.
The title track is a thematic update to 1983's Space Age Whiz Kids, when Walsh laughingly lamented pinball being replaced by video games. Now, "when something goes wrong, I don't have a clue/some 10-year-old smart-ass has to show me what to do."
Wrecking Ball and One Day At A Time are tributes and admissions to having a problem he now faces "one day at a time."
He says thank you to his friends and fans on the more acoustic Lucky That Way.
Family is a ballad of appreciation for having "a wife and a home and a family that matters" complete with his signature spacey guitar parts.
The intro to Spanish Dancer recalls Hotel California and Funk 50 makes it a trifecta started with Funk #48 (1969) and Funk #49 (1970). Not surprisingly, Funk #49 remains the vintage offering of the three.
Smokin' Joe may be "an analog man in a digital world," but his music will always be a hit regardless of how you hear it.
Song For The Soundtrack: Analog Man
Running Data For Wednesday, May 29:
4.49 Miles
47:27
Mileage In The Change Jar: 0.54 Miles
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