James Gang Rides Again
James Gang Rides Again is the second album by American band James Gang, released in 1970 (see 1970 in music). This was the first album after bassist Dale Peters replaced Tom Kriss.
Reception
| Professional ratings |
| Review scores |
| Source |
Rating |
| Allmusic |
[1] |
Writing for Allmusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album "With their second album Rides Again, the James Gang came into their own... Walsh's songwriting had improved, giving the band solid support for their stylistic experiments. What ties the two sides of the record together is the strength of the band's musicianship, which burns brightly and powerfully on the hardest rockers, as well as on the sensitive ballads."[1]
Track listing
- "Funk #49" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 3:54
- "Asshton Park" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 2:01
- "Woman" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 4:37
- "The Bomber: Closet Queen" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) / "Boléro" (Maurice Ravel)* / "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" (Vince Guaraldi) – 7:04
- "Tend My Garden" (Walsh) – 5:45
- "Garden Gate" (Walsh) – 1:36
- "There I Go Again" (Walsh) – 2:51
- "Thanks" (Walsh) – 2:21
- "Ashes, the Rain and I" (Peters, Walsh) – 5:00
- On the initial pressings of James Gang Rides Again, a 1:25 electric rendition of Ravel's "Boléro" is interpolated into the song "The Bomber." However, Ravel's estate (which still owns copyright on the work) objected, and threatened suit against both the James Gang and ABC Records for its unauthorized use.[2] As a result, the track was edited, and the "Boléro" section was removed on subsequent pressings of the album until the late 1970s. The edited song's running time on such pressings is 5:39. CD re-issues of Rides Again contain the full version of "The Bomber," with the "Boléro" section restored.
Personnel
- Joe Walsh – guitars, keyboards, piano, percussion, vocals.
- Dale Peters – bass guitars, guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals.
- Jim Fox – drums, percussion, keyboards, organ, piano, vocals.
- Rusty Young – pedal steel guitar on "There I Go Again".
Production
- Producer: Bill Szymczyk
- Engineer: Bill Szymczyk
- Remastering: Bill Szymczyk and Ted Jensen
- Liner notes: Dale Peters, Jim Fox and Joe Walsh
- Photography: Tom Wright
Cultural Significance
James Gang Rides Again's lead track "Funk #49" has become a standard of the "classic rock" period, and has been used in various media, including:
The song has been available for download for the game Rock Band since December 30, 2008.
References