Customer Reviews

But Seriously Folks

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With BUT SERIOUSLY FOLKS, Joe Walsh took a break from the Eagles and released a great solo album. The album's closer, "Life's Been Good", was a Number 12 hit, but the best song here is "At The Station", which is about being at a crossroads in your life. I highly recommend this album to anyone who loved HOTEL CALIFORNIA or any of the James Gang releases.

When he released "But Seriously, Folks..." in 1978, Joe Walsh was in the middle of his first tenure with the Eagles. (The group would split after their 1980 tour to support "The Long Run," and resume in 1994 with "Hell Freezes Over.") Although it looked like Walsh's solo efforts would be on hold indefinitely with him joining the Eagles, this album came as a pleasant surprise to many, and shows a wide diversity in his musical influences.

There are hints here of everything from reggae to country to pop to full-blown rock, and it all flows extremely well. "Life's Been Good" is undoubtedly the best known track on this album, and would become a top 10 single and a concert favorite. Walsh's signature slide guitar is present on this album, in the excellent solo on the reggae-tinged "Over And Over," and peppered throughout the nostalgic "Indian Summer," while "Second Hand Store" has a bit of a country feel to it, complete with pedal steel guitar courtesy of Don Felder. A bit of Eagles presence is heard in the harmonies of the laid-back "Tomorrow," with background vocals provided by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit. "At The Station" features the great double guitar work of Walsh and Felder. The sequence of "Inner Tube" and "Theme From Boat Weirdos" is beautifully done, and is widely considered to be the best of Walsh's instrumental work. The album's closer is the full version of the famous "Life's Been Good," Walsh's hilarious satire on rock stardom and "the silly lifestyle someone in my position leads," as he once put it so well.

Produced by Bill Szymczyk, this album features the core of Walsh's touring band from the 1976 live album "You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind," including longtime collaborator Joe Vitale, Jay Ferguson (Spirit), and the great Willie Weeks, as well as the noted appearances by Henley, Frey, Schmit, and Felder. "But Seriously, Folks..." is one of those rare albums that not only doesn't have a bad track on it, but also has a stellar list of supporting musicians behind those songs. This one is truly a classic.

...this one would. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this album contains only one good track ("Life's Been Could"). I listen to this CD every morning on the way to work and never get tired of it. "Second Hand Store" is an amazing piece of pop music writing. It's got a great hook and theme. "Indian Summer" foreshadows other Walsh numbers like "Where I Grew Up" and "School Days." It is embued with a wonderful nostalgic theme and boasts a catchy hook and clever lyrics. This CD is greater than the sum of its parts. There's not a stinker here. Originally I bought this only for the memorable classic "Life's Been Good," but was pleased as punch to get hooked on the other tracks at the first listen. This is a highly underrated CD and one of my top ten all-time favorites. Buy it!

...this one would. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this album contains only one good track ("Life's Been Could"). I listen to this CD every morning on the way to work and never get tired of it. "Second Hand Store" is an amazing piece of pop music writing. It's got a great hook and theme. "Indian Summer" foreshadows other Walsh numbers like "Where I Grew Up" and "School Days." It is embued with a wonderful nostalgic theme and boasts a catchy hook and clever lyrics. This CD is greater than the sum of its parts. There's not a stinker here. Originally I bought this only for the memorable classic "Life's Been Good," but was pleased as punch to get hooked on the other tracks at the first listen. This is a highly underrated CD and one of my top ten all-time favorites. Buy it!

But Seriously Folks is a great Album, not necessarily for its lack of resemblance to previous Joe Walsh works but for its quality in terms of the Country Rock genre. People talked of the Joe Walsh influence on Hotel California, this album illustrates the Eagles influence on Joe Walsh. Most typical is the outstanding harmonies on Second Hand Store and Tomorrow, (my fave`s along with Indian Summer)This album apart from Life`s Been Good is a poignant well crafted musical triumph and in my opinion a vastly underrated album. If you like Eagles circa Hotel California, or Walsh tunes like Help me through the night, get this album. Tomorrow, Indian Summer could have been Eagles Tunes. Sadly the jokey theme of Lifes Been Good permeates his later work far too frequently. Even a great riff as on Ordinary Average guy is ruined by an ordinary average lyric.

I love this CD. I basically got this CD for "Life's Been Good" and funnily enough I quickly got bored with "Life's Been Good". In my opinion the rest of the album is superior anyway with "Inner Tube" being the exception. Not that it's a bad song, but the rest is just so good, not a stinker among them. The songs are a more of a mellower Eagles type rock but all high quality and catchy. Very strong album by Joe and the album that really got me hooked on Walsh's solo work. Kudos Joe! One of my all-time favorite CDs.

This CD is just one more example of Joe Walsh's ability to come up with one great song on an album of filler. "Life's Been Good" with its distinctive melody and tongue in cheek (?) portrayal of the rock and roll life is a true rock classic. It would be nice to find at least on more good song, but the rest of the CD is just a couple of weak instrumentals and some instantly forgettable So-Cal rock.

This CD is just one more example of Joe Walsh's ability to come up with one great song on an album of filler. "Life's Been Good" with its distinctive melody and tongue in cheek (?) portrayal of the rock and roll life is a true rock classic. It would be nice to find at least on more good song, but the rest of the CD is forgettable with a couple of weak instrumentals and some instantly forgettable So-Cal rock.

If you need a reason to buy this CD, the album version of "Life's Been Good" is reason enough. It is entirely possible that you have wasted valuable years of your life listening only to the 3-minute "radio edit" that does not begin to do this rock materpiece justice.

This would be a great album without "Life's Been Good" however. Given the edgly rock feel of "Life," it is surprising that the rest of the album is so mellow. Walsh's fake theme song "Theme from Boat Weirdo" and "Tomorrow" are suprisingly sensative and creative cuts that would seem at odds with "Life" except for the fact that it is the uneveness of this album that makes it so endearing.

If you only own one Joe Walsh album, this should be it. If you're gonna splurge on two, check out the sadly overlooked "Songs for a Dying Planet."

How ya doin?

This was one of the first LPs I bought when I went up to college in the late 70s, and I wore it out very quickly. Within a few months it was unplayable. Elektra/Asylum must have been using flimsy vinyl, because several friends reported the same problem.

So it's great to have this album on CD, and in remastered format as well. This was Walsh's first solo album after 'Hotel California', and though there's a smattering of Eagles, their influence is not as pervasive as some had feared it might be. Actually there's as much of a reggae beat as there is any country rock feel to the album.

Although key sidesman Vitale was included, the band was less Barnstorm and more a stripped-down version of the band that had gone on tour and recorded 'You Can't Argue With a Sick Mind'. Walsh didn't need Vitale's composition strengths as much as on previous albums, but borrows the chorus and riff from 'Falling Down' on Vitale's classic 'Roller Coaster Weekend' LP to create 'At the Station'. Otherwise Walsh writes more of the music on this than on any previous album.

Overall, a good album, and a fine 'bad hair day' cover. Why do so many rock stars want to be filmed at the bottom of swimming pools?!