The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Joe Walsh and Barnstorm | ||||
Released | June 18, 1973 | |||
Recorded | Late 1972–Early 1973 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 35:44 | |||
Label | ABC-Dunhill | |||
Producer | ||||
Joe Walsh and Barnstorm chronology | ||||
|
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is the second album by Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music), although the album's front cover (right) credits only Walsh. It proved to be his commercial breakthrough, largely on the strength of the Top 40 hit single, "Rocky Mountain Way", which helped propel the album into the Top 10.
On this album, Walsh shares the vocals and songwriting with the other three members of Barnstorm, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale, bassist Kenny Passarelli, and the new member, keyboardist Rocke Grace. As a result, a variety of styles are explored on this album. There are elements of blues, jazz, folk, pop, and even Caribbean music.
After the success of this album, Barnstorm disbanded, and Walsh continued as a solo artist.
Contents |
The cover of the album features a British Sopwith Snipe fighter.
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Writing for Allmusic, critic Ben Davies wrote of the album "Walsh's ability to swing wildly from one end of the rock scale to the other is unparalleled and makes for an album to suit many tastes... [it] features some of the most remembered Joe Walsh tracks, but it's not just these that make the album a success. Each of the nine tracks is a song to be proud of. This is a superb album by anyone's standards."[1]
All songs by Joe Walsh, except where noted.
This LP had a STEREO release as well as a QUADRAPHONIC release. The surround sound information on the QUAD LP can be extracted by today's audio-video receivers using the DOLBY PRO LOGIC setting.
Album – Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1973 | Pop Albums | 6 |
Singles – Billboard (North America)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | "Rocky Mountain Way" | Pop Singles | 23 |
1974 | "Meadows" | Pop Singles | 89 |
|