His singing is raw, edgy and so oddly unique that they stand in a category all alone.įorays in country music manifest on Rides Again, most notably on the sweetly melodic “There I Go Again,” which features Rusty Young of Poco on pedal steel guitar. Joe Walsh’s nasally vocals, which sort of resemble Roger McGuinn on steroids, are tailored perfectly for James Gang’s material. True to its title, “Funk #49” gallops to a rather funky groove, while “Woman” stomps and clomps to a wild and weighty wallop of crunchy rhythms and ferocious frequencies. Smoking drum fills join brutal axe-grinding dynamics, resulting in a rumbling reservoir of manic energy and excitement. The whole band shreds with a fierce intensity throughout the track. One example of such mind-numbing noodling (and I honestly mean that in a nice way) is “Bomber,” in which Joe Walsh makes his guitar sound like a screaming jet plane. However, there’s no argument James Gang especially shined when engaging in the heavy stuff. Taking a lead from the power trios of the day, they cranked up the volume and screeched with the best of them, but as Rides Again tangibly testifies, they occasionally visited other musical dimensions. At the time the disc was recorded, James Gang also included bassist Dale Peters and drummer Jim Fox. Released in July 1970, Rides Again marked the Cleveland, Ohio band’s second album, and remains the crown jewel in the catalog. A number of their tunes additionally received liberal rotation on FM radio stations across the land. Although James Gang is mainly remembered as the band that starred Joe Walsh, who eventually spawned a commercially successful solo career and boasted membership in the Eagles, they were actually popular on the live underground circuit.
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