James Gang's Debt to The Who

westen44 · July 26, 2022, 04:35:29 AM

Joe Walsh's gratitude toward Pete Townshend appears to be genuine. By coincidence I also recently completed my James Gang CD collection. Also, by coincidence I ran across another unrelated Joe Walsh article today. Walsh had been attempting to learn the guitar to "And Your Bird Can Sing." Ringo walked in and told him one guitar couldn't do it. That George and Paul had both played guitar on that song.

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/james-gang-james-gang-rides-again-album/

uwe · July 26, 2022, 06:35:04 AM

So how do you like Newborn? Between the Walsh and the Bolin era, that album fell under the radar, yet is one of their strongest.

uwe · July 26, 2022, 08:10:09 AM

There is a parallel between James Gang and The Who: both bands were instrumental three-pieces (in case of The Who with an additional singer) with songwriters/musical directors (in the case of the Gang: Walsh, with The Who: Towshend) who eventually outgrew that confining (they at least thought) concept and needed a larger line-up to transport their music.

It's what Sting once said why he gave up The Police: "Playing in a trio, for all the freedom and creativity, means painting with essentially the same three primary colors all the time."

And both the Gang's Live In Concert and The Who's Live At Leeds sound to my ears like the presentation of live music that would have benefitted from a few more players.

When Joe Walsh joined the Eagles, I wondered how someone who had been the sole guitarist in his own band would now settle in with a group with another (very good) lead guitarist (Felder) needing his space and an additional rhythm guitarist (Frey) to boot. "It can only be the money." I thought. I only realized later that Joe Walsh actually enjoys playing in a larger line-up where not all the focus is on him. He's totally fine at Eagles gigs to just strum along with an acoustic guitar.

westen44 · July 26, 2022, 01:57:47 PM

Quote from: uwe on July 26, 2022, 06:35:04 AM
So how do you like Newborn? Between the Walsh and the Bolin era, that album fell under the radar, yet is one of their strongest.

I like Newborn. Watch It is also one of my favorite songs. I disagree with critics who called it run-of-the-mill, etc. It stands out as a unique James Gang album.

westen44 · July 26, 2022, 02:01:20 PM

Joe Walsh may give off the impression that he is more of an attention-seeker than he really is. Just in that article you get the impression that there were humble aspects to his personality. Blending in with the Eagles may have been a more natural thing than people might think.

uwe · July 26, 2022, 03:39:27 PM

From what I've heard, both Dale Peters and Jim Fox - even as young men - were very set in their ways and adamant about the trio format and the affiliated dos and don'ts. It was not that Joe Walsh went flying out on his ego, he just felt constrained and wanted to explore other directions. Troiano and Bolin wasn't too happy with the two either.

westen44 · July 26, 2022, 03:43:00 PM

Quote from: uwe on July 26, 2022, 03:39:27 PM
From what I've heard, both Dale Peters and Jim Fox - even as young men - were very set in their ways and adamant about the trio format and the affiliated dos and don'ts. It was not that Joe Walsh went flying out on his ego, he just felt constrained and wanted to explore other directions. Troiano and Bolin wasn't too happy with the two either.

I had heard about Bolin not being happy with them, but not Troiano.

uwe · July 26, 2022, 05:38:28 PM

Tommy had his own demons, he wasn't happy with Purple either and people in the Tommy Bolin Band were unhappy with him because they could all see where it was going.

Troiano wasn't really a rock player (and never claimed to be), he was a white RnB and jazzy funk guitarist, just listen to his solo album he released during his tenure with the Gang:

And the music he played post-Gang with likewise Gang-alumni Roy Kenner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Z0gGOAJKQ&list=RDEMrxfMUjx6CS596sMjIqOayQ&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvA0_F6-zg&list=RDEMrxfMUjx6CS596sMjIqOayQ&index=2

Peters and Fox wanted him to be more "rock", he did not oblige - enter Tommy Bolin (who wasn't that much of a true rock player either, but live more flamboyant than the laid-back Troiano).

Maybe Peters and Fox should have simply asked a young Ted Nugent whether he could have been their lead guitarist?

Or someone like John Nitzinger ...

westen44 · July 26, 2022, 10:40:44 PM

Here is a tribute to Domenic Troiano.

westen44 · July 27, 2022, 06:04:38 AM

Troiano, of course, had a cool Italian look to him. Nowadays, when I listen to Italians playing rock, it's more likely to be something like this. This is Frozen Crown's new line-up.

uwe · July 27, 2022, 08:21:06 AM

Why do they all have to look like extras from Game of Thrones? The music is fine, but somewhat interchangeable, it's a style that has become popular. I'm happy when girls play guitar so well rather than just wiggling their butt in time.

This fashionable collective obsession with the medieval world (and earlier) or early middle-age inspired fantasy scenarios and all that Viking nonsense (I found the series incredibly dreary and stopped watching it) is beyond me. It was an age of intellectual darkness, hardly anyone could read or write, there were no dragons ever goddamit and all the druids and magicians were friggin' failures. Never did the West lag behind so much and was so sluggish in development as in this period. It was a huge setback compared to Classical Antiquity (Romans, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians) or other developed civilisations such as the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas.

Rant over (well, almost ...). Like all Germans, I like Italians. The saying goes that Germans love Italians, but don't really respect them, and that with the Italians it's the other way around! In the part of Germany where I live, Roman civilisation left (luckily) an indelible mark. I can't stand it if people celebrate the Teutoburg Forest Battle victory of Germanic tribes against the at this point overstretched Roman Empire in 9 AD, it's like commemorating Taliban or Isis victories today. All Hermann/Arminius did (no insult intended, Dave) was set Northern Germany's development back for a couple of hundred years. More taking craps in forests, less plumbing. More dancing around oaks, hop(p)ing for a good harvest, less sensible irrigation. Spare me.

westen44 · July 27, 2022, 10:39:39 AM

I didn't watch Game of Thrones, either. But I don't object to that genre. It's like a romanticized fantasy sci-fi genre as far as I know. I never spent more than a few minutes at a time watching any of it. But usually people either like that kind of thing or they don't. It reminds me a little of "The Outpost" which recently concluded on the CW. I liked it, but it wasn't widely popular. That kind of thing definitely doesn't appeal to a lot of people. I might have liked Game of Thrones, too, but the whole thing seemed a little out of my usual sphere of interest. The Outpost, something similar but still different, definitely appealed to me way more than Game of Thrones. But all of these things are just highly romanticized and fictional accounts of medieval times, obviously. I hope no one thinks life was ever really like that. That's also a fantasy world that Frozen Crown has created in their lyrics, obviously.

When I think of Italian female-fronted metal, I immediately think of Lacuna Coil. I've been listening to them for years. I'm sure that when a band such as Frozen Crown gets started, they have to be influenced at least a little by Lacuna Coil. Here is LC doing an R.E.M. cover--of all things.

What's really important, however, is that just moments ago I was finally able to order the James Gang's live CD. Now my collection really is complete.

uwe · July 27, 2022, 10:47:56 AM

"What's really important, however, is that just moments ago I was finally able to order the James Gang's live CD. Now my collection really is complete. "

My condolences. That is not always a good thing and - speaking from experience - the sense of closure is fleeting!

westen44 · July 27, 2022, 11:09:02 AM

Quote from: uwe on July 27, 2022, 10:47:56 AM
"What's really important, however, is that just moments ago I was finally able to order the James Gang's live CD. Now my collection really is complete. "

My condolences. That is not always a good thing and - speaking from experience - the sense of closure is fleeting!

Being obsessive about completing album collections probably isn't a good thing. That's true. I've been trying to cut down on it and have had some success, but not much. But that James Gang CD really has been one of the very hardest to find.

Dave W · July 28, 2022, 01:25:59 AM

Quote from: uwe on July 27, 2022, 08:21:06 AM
...

Rant over (well, almost ...). Like all Germans, I like Italians. The saying goes that Germans love Italians, but don't really respect them, and that with the Italians it's the other way around! In the part of Germany where I live, Roman civilisation left (luckily) an indelible mark. I can't stand it if people celebrate the Teutoburg Forest Battle victory of Germanic tribes against the at this point overstretched Roman Empire in 9 AD, it's like commemorating Taliban or Isis victories today. All Hermann/Arminius did (no insult intended, Dave) was set Northern Germany's development back for a couple of hundred years. More taking craps in forests, less plumbing. More dancing around oaks, hop(p)ing for a good harvest, less sensible irrigation. Spare me.

I take it that you won't be attending this year's Hermann Fest, then.

https://hermannmonument.com/