Before joining forces with the commercially successful act, the Eagles, Joe Walsh was in various bands before launching his own solo career, notably in the band Barnstorm. Understandably, Joe Walsh wanted to do his own thing after a while. He followed the tradition of 1970s Hard Rock groups and used those themes in his music. This album release is Joe Walsh’s second solo album. It was produced by Joe Walsh and Bill Szymczyk, and was released on 18 June 1973 on ABC Records and has a running time of nearly 36 minutes in length. Many contributed to this album, including the members of Barnstorm, such as Kenny Passarelli (bass guitar), Joe Vitale (drums and percussion) and Rocke Grace (keyboards). The album was recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles and Caribou Ranch in Colorado. Let’s take a listen to this album, now seen as an iconic collection of music, and we shall hear where it goes.

1. Rocky Mountain Way kicks off the album with some Hard Rock based riffs, not a million miles away from Sammy Hagar territory. Some boogie woogie piano enters, and this tune gets underway nicely. A solidly adventurous and sweet listen. Joe Walsh sings in a distinctively unique and sweet voice that holds passion and fury throughout. A really awesome and interesting tune, although some of the mixing and production sounds a little dated. Nonetheless, this is a very good listening experience. A great mixture of Hard Rock guitars, Southern USA vibes and a joyful vibe throughout, this is a sweet tune to warp you back in time to the 1970s. Very cool and iconic, even though this needs a good remix at the time of writing. Still, even on his solo works, Joe Walsh is a straightforward yet awesome musician. There is a vocoder solo in the second half, which sounds really neat and interesting. This is very underrated and cool to hear. It launches back into the main section of music right towards the end, with slide guitar to boot. An excellent music effort to listen to. Even if Hard Rock isn’t your thing, this is a solidly good listen. Awesome to hear.

2. Book Ends is a shorter tune with piano and electric guitars to begin with. It sounds very 1970s from the get-go. Joe Walsh sings in a proto-Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) style of vocal delivery. In any case, this music definitely has some neat promise about it, but it is not mixed incredibly well. All the same, this music does have an identity of its own. Towards the midsection is a drumroll section, moving this tune along nicely to the verses once again. This music definitely has promise to it all. The edited vocals are also quite good on this tune. An amazing and different listen throughout. This sounds like something straight out of its time. It fades out gently. Good work.

3. Wolf is a downtuned 12-string acoustic guitar piece. It launches into a sad and emotional tune that is very deep-sounding throughout. Joe Walsh and the team sing and play a decent tune, and it all sounds like something out of the Wild West. A warped and odd-sounding song with some artistic lyrics throughout, this music is of a completely different sound and proportion to anything else recorded before or since this song. Nonetheless, this is really cool-sounding. This isn’t the greatest album of all time, but it is decent enough to listen to through and through. The music and sounds are very warped, and it sounds somewhat dark and discordant as a tune. Very weird.

4. Midnight Moodies is a piano-led piece from the start of the song. It quickly enters into a song with drums, bass guitar and electric guitars thrown into the mix. This is a sweet instrumental that is only three and a half minutes long. This is a nice piece of music in the centre of this album, complete with a flute being played. Obviously, Joe Walsh and friends were having a bit of a ball on this tune. A decent and interesting piece of music that never loses its charm throughout. In the second half is a good guitar solo, which could have been modified or mixed in better to improve its sound. Nonetheless, this is an interesting piece of music from start to finish. Musically great and melodically sweet from start to finish. This is a good instrumental that is not really done in music much anymore in a similar way at the time of writing. Still, it works. Nice going.

5. Happy Ways begins with some good and low-down bass guitar, with some Salsa/Samba instrumentation thrown into the mix. The singing on this record is simple, pleasant and listenable, even if not everyone will enjoy its warped nature and quirkiness as a song. Nonetheless, this music sounds sweet, upbeat and fine. There is a nice acoustic guitar section in the middle of this song, which continues on the intricate music throughout. The lyrics are artistic and impressionable throughout. A very good sub-three-minute-long song with some killer harmonies to match it all. Excellent. The outro is awesome.

6. Meadows begins with a random sample of someone yodelling and screaming, launching into a good tune that is straightforward Classic Rock to listen to. A supercharged, interesting and lively listen, this album does show shreds of creative genius throughout, even if it could have been better recorded and mixed. Not to worry, this is still perfectly listenable and the songs are original, deep and different. This is straightforward Rock Music for those of you who like 1970s sounds and accomplished performances, with some decent and impressionistic lyrics thrown into it. A sweet acoustic guitar section is in the middle, followed by a super sweet piano solo. It builds up nicely to a magical entry into the second half of the song. The drumming, in particular, is very impressive on this track. This eventually enters into a Hard Rock styled outro with punchy guitars, melodic piano and sturdy drumming. This is yet another good listening experience that is worth your time and ears. Nice job, Joe Walsh and friends.

7. Dreams begins with a lead-in to a piano section. This doesn’t sound as good as it could be, however. It does sound rather dreary throughout, but it has some redeeming sounds when the verses kick in. Once the singing emerges, we have a good song on our hands, flaws and all. Joe Walsh sings in a super sweet and clear voice that has some awesome and amazing appeal throughout. The music and melodicism do sound inspiring and fresh, for the most part, in today’s postmodern world. Singing about one’s lover of fancy, this song does sound uplifting. Notably, this is not the greatest album ever, but it is a good listen so far that showcases Joe Walsh’s musical gifts to the world. The second half has a mixture of keyboards, piano and solidly smooth vocals to hear. This could have been trimmed a little lengthwise, but all the same, this is a solidly outstanding effort on its own. Joe Walsh uses his creative gifts and makes some solidly sweet Hard Rock styled tunes. This is a slow, gentle listen, but it lacks detail and consistency in some areas. Still, this is a good song that is inspired. It fades out nicely at the end of the track. A very good listen.

8. Days Gone By is nearly six minutes long. It launches straight into it, with piano, flute, bass guitar and drums. Joe Walsh sings nicely on this tune, and it sounds like a big improvement on some of the other tunes on this album. Nonetheless, this adventurous story lyric piece set to music is genuinely good to listen to. This music is very much a product of the 1970s, and although it sounds decent today, it is a little dated, per se. Not to worry, it is good for the listening experience that it is. All in all, this is another good song that sounds ideal for those of you out there who need a good binge on Classic Rock. This could, again, be edited for the album’s sake. Despite that, this is a very chilled out tune that one could roll something to and smoke whilst listening to this song. The music and performances are solidly very, very good. This is a new type of music from 1973 that used an original and different way of approaching Classic Rock. The flute is quite prominent in the second half of this song, and this adds some interest and flavour to the whole mix. This does go on a bit further than needed, but it’s good enough for listening to it anyway. Some nice instrumental soloing is present at the end of this tune. Some massive flanger sounds emerge onto the song itself, which is rather trippy, if you listen to it. The song fades out gradually here.

9. (Day Dream) Prayer is the final track on this album. Again, it is a straightforward piano ballad that sounds very much like easy listening. Soon enough, drums enter and singing emerges. This tune is less than two minutes long, yet it is a good effort. The music is of a better era and place where music was properly performed, as opposed to the “celebrity with a laptop” in today’s postmodern music world. This finishes with some Opera backing vocals and a gentle fade out.

To be fair, this is a good record, but not a classic album. It does show, however, that Joe Walsh was becoming an established and decent musician. This album would be better served with some more polished production, shortening of some of the songs and a better mix. Otherwise, this is good for what it is. Should you listen to this album? If you are an Eagles fan, then yes, definitely. However, fans of better quality music and/or EDM will wish to look elsewhere.

Flawed but promising.

7/10