Joe Walsh - But Seriously Folks

But Seriously Folks, released back in '78 was Joe's first solo album in a few years, and although I didn't know it at the time it was a pretty typical Joe Walsh record.

... that says nothing and makes no sense.

Bear with me, I'm going to see what I can do with that and hopefully redeem myself. I have a pretty good idea what I meant.

I'm just waiting for my coffee to kick in.

Joe Walsh had been building his solo career after leaving The James Gang (I still remember going to the drive in theatre with my uncle Lloyd and my cousins where we saw Zachariah (if you know, you know) and The Holy Grail in a double feature. I'd see both movies more than once, and of those two I'd see one way more times than I should admit). While his first solo record Barnstorm did okay, it was his next two albums, The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get and So What that would go gold. Joe was setting to be a pretty significant solo artist. 

Then he joined the Eagles and put his solo career on hold for a few years. When he emerged with "Life's Been Good" I was blown away. When Eagles released (what I thought was) their last album in the fall of 1980, their slick hardly live, double live album, it was the Joe Walsh tracks I was drawn to. I wish they'd included "In the City" instead of "All Night Long" but to be fair, the latter was a pretty recent hit at the time, so it made sense.

That double live album was a big deal for me. It was my first Eagles album, and by association my first Joe Walsh record. In relatively short order I'd make up for lost time and picked up There Goes the Neighborhood and But Seriously Folks and from there I'd grab everything as it came out and gradually filled in everything but the James Gang albums (it'll happen one day).

It was with There Goes the Neighborhood I realized that there was so much more to Joe Walsh than the persona he'd cultivated would have you believe. The songs on But Seriously Folks were typical Joe Walsh: introspective rock with an acoustic organic feel that would often blend genres to make something that sounded unique. Of course there was often humour and a wry wink and a nod. On "Life's Been Good" it was all there ... in spades. 

One thing that is often overlooked is Joe's voice. For a guy who often seemed to be the lesser voice while in the Eagles, had an ability to infuse emotion into his singing that would elevate the entire song. It was uncanny at times. A song like "Tomorrow" for example really shouldn't be as good as it is. It's a pretty generic middle of the road song that should have been on an Eagles album as Henley, Frey and Schmit provide the harmonies. It was good, but here it stands out.

The sequencing of the album is really well done. I have always loved the second side, with the interlaced instrumentals, "Inner Tube" and "Theme from Boat Weirdos" these serve as an interlude, a sort of musical cleanser that sets the stage for "Life's Been Good" and the stylistic change doesn't feel like something odd or out of place, everything else led to this moment and when the guitar riff announces the start of the song you know you're in for something special. In many ways it's a bookend to "Rocky Mountain Way" with the extended musical break. The song never feels long, and the subject matter in lesser hand would have felt heavy handed and arrogant. Here is just feels ... fun.

The album featured many of Joe's usual suspects, from Joe Vitale, and Jay Ferguson, to the guys from the Eagles. It was produced by longtime collaborator Bill Syzmcyk. It was mastered at Sterling Sound, by Ted Jensen - it's a great sounding record.

I know for a lot of people this is the definitive Joe Walsh album, and I really can't argue with that assessment. For me, it was his derided 1983 release that got me in the feels. It was the perfect combination of youth and timing that just pushed all of my buttons. Objectively I know it's not his best work, but to me it's without question his greatest album.

But Seriously Folks (I had to work that in, otherwise I'd have been disappointed with myself) this is without a doubt a fantastic album. I've had the CD so long that I'd forgotten that on the record, at least the pressing(s) I have, you never get to hear Joe say, “Uh oh! Here comes a flock of wah-wahs!” which makes me kind of sad.