Rating: 9/10

Track Amount: 8

Running Time: 35 minutes and 21 seconds

Genre: Classic Rock

Personnel: Joe Walsh (vocals, guitars, synthesisers), Jay Ferguson (keyboards), Joe Vitale (synthesisers, drums, percussion, flute and backing vocals), Joey Murcia (guitars), Willie Weeks (bass guitar), Don Felder (guitars, pedal steel guitars), Bill Szymczyk (tambourine and backing vocals), Jody Boyer (backing vocals), Glenn Frey (backing vocals), Don Henley (backing vocals), Timothy B. Schmit (backing vocals)

Producer: Joe Walsh & Bill Szymczyk

Recording Location: Bayshore Studios (Coconut Grove, Florida, USA)

Record Label: Asylum Records

Art Direction: Jimmy Watchtel

Best Tracks: Over and Over, Indian Summer, Life’s Been Good

Quick Verdict: The logical sequel musically to the Eagles Hotel California album

Joe Walsh, for those of you who don’t know, is a legendary guitarist who primarily found fame as a member of the Eagles, the band famous for their song and album, Hotel California (1976), which was a phenomenal success and sold very well internationally. In addition to all that, though, Joe Walsh has had a moderately successful solo career, most notably as a guitarist extraordinaire. He has been recognised as an underrated and valuable musician. Most notably, this album is not only seen as one of Joe Walsh’s best, but it also features the other four members of the Eagles that he briefly worked with, amongst some other guest stars such as Jay Ferguson (formerly of Spirit), Jo Jo Gunne, Joe Vitale and Willie Weeks. Let’s go back to 1978 and take a listen to this album, and we shall hope that it is very good indeed.

1. Over and Over begins with some neat and interesting drumming, followed by some neat watery-sounding guitar work, and launches into a sweet and dynamic tune that has some cool sounds and playing throughout. This music certainly has a genuinely pleasant musical appeal to it all. Joe Walsh sings beautifully and well on this song, equally matched by the pleasantly listenable guitar work at hand. This song is extremely mellow-sounding and pretty throughout, which is really quite nice to hear. This sounds very 1970s and superb in its very own way. The guitar playing and musicianship here is truly world-class. An absolutely pleasant and enjoyable tune. There is a neat slide guitar solo in the second half, which sounds absolutely hard, rocking and wonderful throughout. This is a fine and enjoyable tune to listen to, which mixes Pop, Rock and Country into a fluid listening experience. A really awesome song to listen to, this sounds fantastic. A great start to the album at hand. Joe Walsh rocks, and he sounds super great on this song. Solid music. Fantastic from beginning to end.

2. Second Hand Store begins with some neat acoustic guitar strumming away, more interesting electric guitar and piano playing. This sounds really sublime and fantastic. A really cool-sounding tune at hand, this sounds super nice. This song has some very professional sounds and percussion throughout, with a sort of Country Rock edge about it all. This is also representative of a fantastic musicality and professional sound that is unique to Joe Walsh’s music as such. This already sounds like a genuine classic album that simply works well. Joe Walsh has a way of creating fantastic music material that is important and essential listening, and that is superb. It ends early, only to have a Strawberry Fields Forever-style resumption of the outro at hand. Brilliant.

3. Indian Summer begins with some neat 12-string acoustic guitars that are multitracked, alongside some nice electric guitars and launches into a sweet and unique tune at hand that sounds seriously cool. This also has some absolutely fantastic singing on it, which is the highlight of this song at hand. The electric guitars are seriously great on this song, and they sound distinctly unique and fresh. All in all, another really solid and wonderful piece of music that isn’t a million miles away from the likes of Hotel California (1976) itself. A blissful and incredible sounding piece of music that has a definite magic to it all. Joe Walsh and friends really could create an awesome album here. It ends after three minutes of glorious music.

4. At The Station is a strange-sounding piece of music from the start, but quickly launches into a fantastic and upbeat song with racing hi-hats and guitar riffs galore. This sounds really fantastically divine and is a real winner of a song. Joe Walsh sings triumphantly and clearly on this song, and the music and sounds are seriously good. If anything, this music is absolutely underrated to this very day. An upbeat, awesome and tuneful song that definitely needs to be heard more often by listeners today. The singing, guitars, drums and production all mesh into an absolutely fantastic song that is really awesome and relaxing to listen to. If anything, this album sounds like a logical sequel to the Eagles sublime Hotel California (1976) album, except that it is Joe Walsh at the centrepiece of this album, not the Eagles. This has a neat music section in the second half with some great organ, guitars and solid drumming to listen to. All in all, an essential listen for Classic Rock fans. Again, this fades out early. Some silence occurs, followed by a fade-in of glorious music at hand. Seriously cool for what this is. Nice song. It fades out again at the end.

5. Tomorrow begins with some dual-tracked acoustic guitars strumming away, followed by some neat electric guitars playing away. All in all, a seriously pretty and great tune emerges throughout, which sounds extremely cool and chilled. Joe Walsh has a way of creating songs and sounds that seriously matter and sound absolutely cool overall. This music is incredibly upbeat, pleasant and magical overall. No doubt that this is definitely a classic album to listen to. A keyboard solo is present, with chiming guitars and sensationally good musicianship at hand. This sounds absolutely monumentally good, and the music and professional playing sound really cool and interesting. This is some of the best and most underrated music from the late 1970s, when music was dominated by the prevailing Punk and Disco of the day. Brilliant.

6. Inner Tube is a short piece with some watery guitar playing. This is a one and a half minute long instrumental that is a neat addition to this album. Piano enters, which sounds really sweet and moving overall. The music here is a bit melancholy, but nonetheless a very good listen. It segues into the next song at hand.

7. Theme From Boat Weirdos begins with watery guitar parts that sound chiming and beautiful. Some other unique instrumentation enters, and this lush tune gets into action. It is an instrumental with many pretty and fantastic layers of sound. Joe Walsh plays a very nice and mean guitar part on this song, and this tune sounds really fantastic, detailed and lively. The mixture of guitars, drums, flute and keyboards is a real winner to listen to. All in all, a seriously lovely and dramatic listening experience that sounds absolutely wonderfully great to listen to. This sounds really fine and pretty listening at hand, and still sounds as surprisingly fresh today as it did back in 1978. The flute and other strange instrumentation here is also a very nice musical touch to listen to. All in all, a great-sounding song at hand. This is certainly wonderful and unique music that sounds extremely cool to listen to. The sounds and performances throughout are world-class. Take that, Disco and Punk. Joe Walsh and his friends made a great album here, which is consistent and interesting throughout. An excellent instrumental to hear.

8. Life’s Been Good is the final song from this album, and a Joe Walsh fan favourite. It begins with some snappy drumming by itself, launching into an instantly recognisable guitar riff section at hand. It sounds absolutely driven and magical, and is a real winner of a listen. The guitars are front and centre on this album, with some interesting acoustic guitars playing descending guitar melodies at hand. Joe Walsh sings about living the high life as such. This is certainly interesting and sonically wonderful music about being rich, famous and loaded as such, back in the day. An absolutely pleasant and monumental tune that is a must-hear for both Eagles and Joe Walsh fans. A wonderful and absolutely awesome tune about living the high life and enjoying everything along the way. There are some interesting keyboard melodies in the breakdown, followed by pianos that sound really cool, alongside guitar playing that is fresh, pretty and unique to listen to. This music is definitely listenable and enjoyable overall, and the guitar soloing is absolutely fantastic to listen to and to enjoy. A seriously top-notch and cool listen, which is designed to be enjoyed. Soon enough, the electric guitar riffs from the intro return, and this song sounds enjoyable and lively. Hopefully, life has been good to you as well. The second half of this song continues in its amazing glory throughout. This is professional and upbeat glory that is an absolutely magical and wonderful listen that deserves to be heard by any Classic Rock fan, no matter what music makes you love and long for Rock and Roll. After the singing concludes, there is a pretty and iconic instrumental section of music that sounds absolutely wonderful to hear. Joe Walsh deserves full credit for making a great album here. The extended outro has some glorious guitar playing, and it is an absolute winner to hear. It ends early, yet again. It ends with some random chatter and tape edited, really bizarre laughter. The album ends there.

This is one of the most underrated albums in the history of Rock Music. Joe Walsh proves his worth as a guitarist and musician extraordinaire. This album also sounds very much like the real sequel to the Eagles Hotel California (1976) album that was never made, but which Joe Walsh performed on. An amazing listen of mammoth proportions. Should you listen to this album? Without a doubt, you should, particularly if you dig some nicely played guitar and fantastic sounds throughout. However, if you like other music, you should probably look elsewhere. Even so, this album is hard to beat.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.