Big Ears

Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel (Columbia 1966)

American duo have got a groovy thing goin'





Sounds of Silence Tracklist:

Side One
1. The Sound of Silence (3:08)
2. Leaves That Are Green (2:23)
3. Blessed (3:16)
4. Kathy's Song (3:21)
5. Somewhere They Can't Find Me (2:37)
6. Anji (2:17) Davey Graham

Side Two
7. Richard Cory (2:57)
8. A Most Peculiar Man (2:34)
9. April Come She Will (1:51)
10. We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' (2:00)
11. I Am a Rock (2:50)

Bonus Tracks Reissue 2001
12. Blues Run The Game (2:55) Jackson C. Frank
13. Barbriallen (4:06) Traditional
14. Rose of Aberdeen (2:02) Traditional
15. Roving Gambler (3:03) Traditional

All compositions are credited to Paul Simon, except where stated


Sounds of Silence Lineup:

Paul Simon: Lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel: Lead vocals
Fred Carter, Jr.: Guitar
Larry Knechtel: Keyboards
Joe South: Guitar
Hal Blaine: Drums

Produced by Bob Johnston


Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel (following Wednesday Morning, 3AM, 1964), produced by Bob Johnston and released on Columbia in 1966. The duo went on to record many famous songs, culminating in the best-selling Bridge Over Troubled Water album for the same label in 1970.

The Sound of Silence (the song, singular) has a characteristically sparse arrangement, but a big sound (pun intended), making its presence seem like that of Born to Run on Springsteen's breakthrough album. In other words it is unlike anything else on the album, but it fits and is the strongest track, casting a shadow over the subsequent tracks. The following track, Leaves That Are Green is gentle by contrast. Blessed is more stirring and reminds me of the Everly Brothers and The Byrds, which leads me to wonder if it was inspired by The Searchers. Paul Simon spent time in England, from April 1964, when he stayed with Martin Carthy, and his reference to the down-and-outs of London is the first of many relating to the experience, "I got no place to go . . . I've walked around Soho for the last night or so." Certainly, Simon 'borrowed' ideas from English folk musicians, including Scarborough Fair from Carthy. Kathy's Song is an example, about a girl he met in Essex, with its dropped 't' from 'when you start your day' to the reference to 'England, where my heart lies'. Whatever its sources, Kathy's Song is a delicate and beautiful Paul Simon-led track. Somewhere They Can't Find Me is a busier upbeat arrangent with brass and full harmonies. Side One closer is English folk guitarist Davy Graham's most well known acoustic instrumental, Anji.

Richard Cory is a song about a wealthy man who owns a factory, but, like his workers, he is not happy, although this is for different reasons. Richard Cory is followed by the similarly themed, A Most Peculiar Man, about the sort of person who never speaks to anyone and is therefore ignored himself. Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine play on the album and this track has all their hallmarks of twanging guitar and echo-y drums repectively. April Come She will is another gentle traditional-sounding folk song, this time led by Art Garfunkel. We've Got a Groovy Thing is reminiscent of The Beatles, although I don't recall ever hearing them employing the word 'groovy'. I Am a Rock closes side two of the vinyl on a big sounding chorus, "I am a rock, I am an i - i - island."

The 2001 CD has four bonuses, all folk songs, starting with Blues Run the Game, which, despite its English reference, is by American musician Jackson C. Frank, "Catch a boat to England, baby, maybe to Spain". Frank was also a friend of Simon and died in tragic circumstances. Barbriallen is a traditional lullaby-sounding ballad of unrequited love. Rose of Aberden and Roving Gambler are more traditional folk songs. The latter has a very familiar melody, but name dropping various US States along with a country, Spain, presumably because it rhymes with game! One of the singers laughs, reflecting the pleasure they had from working together.

Occasionally, one or other of the duo leads a song, but mostly the singing is dominated by their close harmonies and Simon's guitar. Ostensibly a folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel's arrangements are diverse and often threaten, if not deliver, rising choruses, while the sound can be as big as any rock 'n' roll band. Everything is wonderful and points to the glorious achievements to come with the Scarborough Fair-dominated Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends and the towering Bridge Over Troubled Water. I had not heard this album from start to finish for at least thirty years, so it came as a breath of fresh air. I lost count of how many times I played it, I think about eight or nine, and I enjoyed every song.

Originally written June 2012, revised October 2012

__________________

Trollheart

Welcome to the music journals, Big Ears. Cool title too! Interesting choice for a first review, but I certainly liked what you wrote. Your writing shows a real knowledge of the subject, which is always important. Looking forward to further reviews, now that you've got your feet wet, as it were!

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Big Ears

Thank you Trollheart. I am surprised to see the journal has been accepted so quickly. That's MB's customer service for you! Could a moderator please change the spelling of the heading for me, as it is incorrect and should be 'Rabbiting'?

Big Ears

Hearing Earring: A Biography of Golden Earring




Golden Earring was formed as The Tornados by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, with guitarist Hans van Herwerden and drummer Fred van der Hilst, in the Hague, the Netherlands, in 1961. When the Tornados discovered their name was already being used by Billy Fury's band, the name The Golden Earrings (in the plural) was adopted. With Frans Krassenburg on vocals, Jaap Eggermont replacing Van der Hilst on drums and Van Herweden jettisoned, their debut single 'Please Go' was also the first hit, reaching number eight in the Netherlands' chart in 1965. An album, Just Earrings, produced by manager Fred Haayen, was released in the same year (Peter de Ronde also plays rhythm guitar). Haayen arranged for the next single, 'That Day', to be recorded at the Pye Records studios in London, a decision which paid off, as it reached number two in the Dutch charts in 1966. 'That Day' was only kept from the number one spot by The Beatles' 'Michelle'. Augmented by session piano player, Cees Schrama, the Golden Earrings recorded the Winter Harvest album, which was released in January 1967.

Original singer Frans Krassenburg was replaced by Barry Hay in 1967 and a year later, the band finally achieved their first number one hit in the Netherlands with the typically Euro-titled, 'Dong Dong Diki Digi Dong'. The same line-up of Hay, Kooymans, Gerritsen and Eggermont recorded the Miracle Mirror, which was released in 1968. On the Double, in 1969, was the last album to feature Eggermont, with Sieb Warner replacing him on drums for Eight Miles High in the same year (released under the name The Golden Earring - singular). Eggermont switched mainly to production work and later became known for the 'Stars on 45' dance medley records of the early 1980s. DJ Neil Kempfer-Stocker began playing the band on US East Coast FM radio and they embarked on two North American tours in 1969, however the Perception Records label in New York failed to capitalise on the Golden Earring album, aka Wall of Dolls, with the Back Home single, in 1970. Golden Earring is the first album credited to 'Golden Earring' and introduces drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk. This 'classic' line-up would remain intact for more than 40 years.

During this period with Barry Hay, Golden Earring evolved into a hard rock band. They enjoyed brief international superstardom in 1973-74 when the shortened version of 'Radar Love', from the Gold-certified album Moontan, became a hit single in both Europe and the USA. For a while, Cesar Zuiderwijk was a minor celebrity for jumping over over his drum-kit at the end of TV performances of 'Radar Love'. Between 1969 and 1984, Golden Earring completed 13 US tours. They performed as the opening act for such luminaries as Santana, King Crimson, The Doobie Brothers, Rush and .38 Special. When 'Radar Love' was a hit, they even had Kiss and Aerosmith as their opening acts. Being signed to Track Records, a UK label, the band hired the quadraphonic sound system used by The Who. Indeed, because of their successful transition from makers of hit singles in the early sixties to full rock band in the seventies, they were compared to The Who.

Eelco Gelling joined Golden Earring, as a second guitarist alongside Kooymans (replacing occasional keyboardist, Robert Jan Stips of Supersister), in 1973, and first appeared on Contraband (1976) which was released in the US as Mad Love. Gelling's haunting slide work is highlighted on a number of tracks, particularly on the single Bombay. The group released its first live album, Golden Earring Live, in 1977, on which Kooymans's and Gellng's dual guitars breath new life into extended versions of the classics, including 'Radar Love'. An edited version of the latter returned Earring to the UK singles charts in 1977. Gelling also played on the group's Grab It For A second album of 1978. During a tour of the United States, he left the band, following differences over improvisation, and after his favourite guitar (a Gibson Les Paul Custom) was stolen from a cab in New York. Returning to the Netherlands, he played in several bands including his own Eelco Gelling Band.

Golden Earring enjoyed a short period of US stardom but were unable to secure further chart success until 1982's Twilight Zone. An accompanying music video, directed by Dick Maas, was one of the first rock videos played on the recently launched MTV and helped the song become a top ten single. 'When the Lady Smiles' was an international hit in 1984, reaching number 3 in Canada and becoming the band's fifth number one hit in their native country, but it received a disappointing reaction in the United States. The reason for this lack of success was attributed to the promotional video being banned from MTV, due to nudity and a scene portraying the rape of a nun. An edited version of the video was shown, but to little avail. While touring the US, the band played at the Great Arena of Six Flags Great Adventure on 11th May 1984, when a fire at the Haunted Castle began on the opposite side of the theme park, killing eight teenagers. Following this tour, Golden Earring returned their focus towards Europe, where they continued to attract large audiences.

In 1991, Golden Earring released the excellent Bloody Buccaneers album and scored another hit in the Netherlands with 'Going to the Run', about a motorcycling friend of the band who who was killed in a road crash. A 'run' is motorcycle jargon for a group of motorcyclists riding to a particular destination. Until recently, Golden Earring were performing over 200 concerts a year, mainly in their home country and occasionally in Belgium, Germany and the UK. These performances have been released on several live albums: the aforementioned Live, recorded at London's Rainbow Theater in 1977; 2nd Live, 1981; Something Heavy Going Down, 1984 (also released on DVD as Live from the Twilight Zone); and Last Blast of the Century, a live recording of their last concert of the 20th century (available on both CD and DVD). Furthermore, there are the band's acoustic live albums including: The Naked Truth (1992), Naked II (1997) and Naked III (2005). Their latest live album, Live from Ahoy 2006, is a DVD with bonus CD.

Golden Earring have not toured outside Europe since 1984. However, the Millbrook USA album was recorded at Frank Carillo's studio in New York. They performed two gigs in the UK, for the first time in 30 years, with one concert on 14th March 2009 at The Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and another on 13th March at Ipswich Regent Theatre. Golden Earring celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011 and have been performing almost continuously since their formation in 1961. From 1970 onwards, they have had the same core of four musicians, occasionally augmented with keyboardist, Robert Jan Stips of Supersister, and of course for a while, Eelco Gelling, making them one of the longest surviving unchanged lineups. Barry Hay relocated to the Dutch Antilles island of Curaçao in the Caribbean.

On 10th October 2011, at the Historical Museum of The Hague, PostNL presented the first postage stamp with music, issued in honour of Golden Earring's 50th anniversary. When the stamp is held up to a smartphone with a special app, Golden Earring’s 'Radar Love' plays. This stamp is the first in a series of music stamps with real sound, highlighting the most successful pop albums released in the Netherlands. PostNL was the first post office in the world to initiate this concept. Band member and co-founder Rinus Gerritsen accepted the first sheetlet from PostNL. The 50th anniversary was also celebrated at the museum, with a special temporary exhibition on the band, called 'Golden Earring - Back Home', featuring their music, background and influences.

Originally written in March 2012

Unknown Soldier

Great review there Big Ears and I've always been a fan of Simon & Garfunkel too. I think Sounds of Silence is a good album, but their crowning glory from that era for me has to be Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (or Rhyme as I always call it).

What type of stuff are you going to be putting into this journal? Is it going to be random or have some kind of theme?

__________________
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Burning Down

Changed! Seems like a promising journal.

Guybrush

I like how you are obviously familiar with the history of both Art and Paul as well as their album and its influences like Martin Carthy and Davy Graham. Great stuff

__________________
Something Completely Different

Big Ears

^ Thank you everybody, for the positive comments. There is no theme to my journal, US, everything is random. I like seventies heavy and progressive rock, which is reflected in my biographies, but my reviews will cover these, along with other eras and genres. I had not considered a theme, but I am probably not prolific enough to sub-divide my writing into themes. Not all forums allow more than one journal, so I suppose that is why themes did not occur to me.

Big Ears

Golden Earring Discography





1965 Just Earrings
Singles: Please Go / Chunk of Steel (1965)
Lonely Everyday / Not to Find (1965)

1966 Winter-Harvest
Singles: That Day / The Words I Need (1966)
You Leave Me / Waiting for You (1966)
Things Go Better / Rum and Coca Cola (1966)
Daddy Buy Me a Girl / What You Gonna Tell (1966)
Don't Run Too Far / Wings (1966)

1967 Miracle Mirror
Singles: In My House / Smoking Cigarettes (1967)
Sound of the Screaming Day / She Won't Come to Me (1967)
Together We Live Together We Love / I Wonder (1967)

1968 On the Double (double album)
1968 Greatest Hits (Polydor)
Singles: The Truth About Arthur / Gipsy Rhapsody (1968)
I've Just Lost Somebody / The Truth About Arthur (1968)
Dong-dong-di-ki-di-gi-dong / Wake Up - Breakfast! (1968)
Just a Little Bit of Peace in My Heart / Remember My Friend (1968)

1969 Eight Miles High
Singles: Where Will I Be / It's Alright, But I Admit Could Be Better (1969)
It's Alright, But I Admit Could Be Better / Song of a Devil's Servant (1969)
Another 45 Miles / I Can't Get a Hold on Her (1969)

1970 Golden Earring (aka Wall of Dolls)
1970 The Best of Golden Earring (US)
Singles: Eight Miles High / One High Road (1970)
Back Home / This Is the Time of the Year (1970)

1971 Seven Tears
Singles: Holy Holy Life / Jessica (1971)
She Flies on Strange Wings, Part 1 & 2 (1971)

1972 Together
Singles: Buddy Joe / Avalanche of Love (1972)
Stand by Me / All Day Watcher (1972)

1973 Hearing Earring (compilation)
1973 Moontan
Singles: Radar Love / The Song Is Over (1973)

1974 Singles: Instant Poetry / From Heaven From Hell (1974)
Candy's Going Bad / She Flies on Strange Wings (1974)

1975 Switch
Singles: Tons of Time / Love Is a Rodeo (1975)
Ce Soir / Lucky Number (1975)
The Switch / The Lonesome D.J. (1975)

1976 To the Hilt
1976 Contraband (titled Mad Love with different cover art and alternate track listing in the USA)
Singles: Sleepwalkin' / Babylon (1976)
To the Hilt / Violins (1976)
Bombay / Faded Jeans (1976)

1977 Live (double album)
1977 Story (compilation)
Singles: Radar Love (live) / Just Like Vince Taylor (live) (1977)

1978 Grab It for a Second
Singles: Movin' Down Life / Can't Talk Now (1978)

1979 No Promises...No Debts
Singles: Weekend Love / It's Only a Matter of Time (1979)
I Do Rock 'n Roll / Sellin' Out (1979)

1980 Prisoner of the Night (1980)
Singles: Long Blond Animal / Triple Treat (1980)
No For an Answer / Annie (1980)

1981 2nd Live (double album)
1981 Greatest Hits, Vol. 3
Singles: Slow Down / Heartbeat (1981)

1982 Cut (1982)
Singles: Twilight Zone / King Dark (1982)
The Devil Made Me Do It / WShadow Avenue (1982)

1984 N.E.W.S. (1984)
1984 Something Heavy Going Down (live)
Singles: When the Lady Smiles / WOrwell's Year (1984)
Clear Night Moonlight / Fist in Glove (1984)
N.E.W.S. / It's All Over (1984)
Something Heavy Going Down / I'll Make It All Up to You (1984)

1986 The Hole (1986)
Singles: Quiet Eyes / Gimme a Break (1986)
Why Do I / Gimme a Break (rock version) (1986)
Why Do I / Love In Motion (1986)
They Dance / Love in Motion (1986)

1988 The Very Best, Vol. 1
1988 The Very Best, Vol. 2
Singles: My Killer, My Shadow / My Killer, My Shadow (alternative version) (1988)

1989 Keeper of the Flame
1989 The Continuing Story of Radar Love (compilation)
Singles: Turn the World Around / You Gun My Love (1989)
Distant Love / Nighthawks (1989)

1991 Bloody Buccaneers
Singles: Going to the Run / Time Warp (1991)
Temporary Madness / One Shot Away From Paradise (1991)
'Pouring My Heart Out Again / Planet Blue (1991)

1992 The Naked Truth (live acoustic album)
1992 Radar Love (compilation)
Singles: Making Love to Yourself / In a Bad Mood (1992)
Another 45 Miles (Live) (1992)
Radar Love / Bloody Buccaneers (1992)
I Can't Sleep Without You (1992)

1993 Singles: Long Blond Animal (live - acoustic) / Twilight Zone (live - acoustic) / Jangalane (live-acoustic) / Don't Stop the Show (live - acoustic) (1993)
As Long as the Wind Blows (live - acoustic) / Please Go (live - acoustic) / Sound of the Screaming Day (live - acoustic) (1993)

1994 Face It (partially acoustic)
1994 Best of Golden Earring (Europe only)
Singles: Johnny Make Believe / Minute by Minute (1994)
Hold Me Now / Freedom Don't Last Forever / Livin' With Me (Ain't That Easy) (1994)

1995 Love Sweat (cover album)

1996 Singles: Gotta See Jane / Try a Little Tenderness (1996)
This Wheel's on Fire / My Little Red Book (1996)

1997 Naked II (live acoustic album)
Singles: Burning Stuntman / Bombay (1997)

1998 The Complete Naked Truth (compilation)
1998 70s & 80s, Vol. 35 (compilation)
Singles: The Devil Made Me Do It [unplugged] / Mood Indigo (1998)

1999 Paradise in Distress
Singles: Paradise in Distress / Are You Receiving Me? (1999)
Whisper in a Crowd / The Vanilla Queen (1999)

2000 Last Blast of the Century (live)
2000 Greatest Hits
2000 The Devil Made Us Do It: 35 Years (compilation)
Singles: Miles Away From Nowhere (2000)
Yes! We're on Fire / Yes! We're on Fire (orchestral version) (2000)

2002 Singles 1965-1967
2002 Bloody Buccaneers/Face It

2003 Millbrook U.S.A.
2003 3 Originals
Singles: Albino Moon (2003)
Colourblind (2003)

2005 Naked III, Live at the Panama (live acoustic album)
Singles: I've Just Lost Somebody (2005)
Angel (2005)

2006 Live In Ahoy
2009 Collected (triple CD)
2012 Tits 'n' Ass

Originally written in August 2012, updated October 2012

Big Ears

Analog Man by Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh is an analog man . . . or is he?





Analog Man Tracklist

1. Analog Man (Joe Walsh, Drew Hester, Gannin Arnold) 4:03
2. Wrecking Ball (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 3:45
3. Lucky That Way (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:14
4. Spanish Dancer 3:49
5. Band Played On (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:03
6. Family (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:21
7. One Day At A Time 3:18
8. Hi-Roller Baby (Tim Armstrong) 3:18
9. Funk 50 1:57
10. India 3:44

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
11. Fishbone 3:49
12. But I Try (Little Richard, Dale Peters, Jimmy Fox, Joe Walsh) 6:40 (Recording of James Gang & Little Richard from 1970)

All songs by Joe Walsh, except where indicated.


Analog Man Lineup

Joe Walsh: Guitars, vocals, bass guitar (track 10), drums (track 10), piano (track 6)
Jeff Lynne: Drums, bass, keyboard, guitars, backing vocals
Steve Jay: Percussion
Bruce Sugar: Percussion, programming
Ringo Starr: Drums (tracks 3 and 5)
Rick Rosas: Bass (track 3)
Kenny Passarelli: Bass (track 5)
Joe Vitale: Keyboards, sitar (track 5)
Jay Dee Maness & Greg Leizs: Pedal steel guitar (track 3)
Tommy Lee James: Backing vocals
Graham Nash & David Crosby: Vocals (track 6)
Richard Davis: Synthesizer, programming (track 6)
Tim Armstrong: Guitar (track 8)
Little Richard: Piano & vocals (track 12)
Dale Peters: Bass (track 12)
Jimmy Fox: Drums, background vocals (track 12)

Produced by Jeff Lynne and Joe Walsh


I was one of those who thought when Joe Walsh joined the Eagles, it was a waste of a strong solo artist that had triumphed with albums like Barnstorm (1972) and The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973). Walsh hit pay dirt, however, when the Eagles had a massive international hit with Hotel California (1976) and he became a long term member. Analog Man is Joe Walsh's first solo album since Songs for a Dying Planet (1992), which was released twenty years ago. Walsh's former sparring partners in the James Gang, Kenny Passerelli on bass and Joe Vitale on keyboards & sitar, are back for one track, Band Played On, while Ringo Starr (for whom he worked in the All Starr Band) plays drums on two tracks, Lucky That Way and the aforementioned BPO, and Graham Nash & David Crosby add harmony vocals to another, Family. The album is co-produced by Walsh and Jeff Lynne, both of whom play a variety of instruments.

Opening track, Analog Man, reminds me of the single Life's Been Good from But Seriously Folks in 1978, with its personal and witty lyrics, "Some 10-year-old smart ass has to show me what to do . . . I access my email, read all my spam, I'm an analog man." Despite the slightly cynical nature of the lyrics, Walsh, in a recent interview, said the album was less about the difference between analogue and digital recordings (it was recorded digitally), and more concerned with the fact that a person can use their mobile phone, while driving, legally, in the US, and they are the one who drives into the back of his car. These people are in a digital world, which is not real.

Wrecking Ball, not to be confused with Springsteen's song of the same title, has a plodding Lynne production and is reminiscent of his work with Tom Petty and the Travelling Wilburys. Lucky That Way is more of Walsh's humorous biographical work, again close to Life's Been Good, in which he relates, with mock immodesty, "If anybody asks me - Joe how do you do it 'Cause you do it with such style and grace, I just shake my head and smile, Look 'em in the eyes and say, I'm just lucky that way... just lucky." A wistful number arrives in the form of Spanish Dancer, complete with castanets and talk box. Jeff Lynne rarely conceals his influences and Track 5, Band Played On, is very Beatles-like, not only with sitar and Ringo on drums, but in style. I am not sure what the song is about, but Joe Walsh keeps a straight face, while raising a laugh with, "We're all up **** creak without a paddle, Just trying to stay afloat."

Family is the track that I like least on the album. There is no doubting Walsh's sincerity in the ode to his family, but it just comes across as mawkish to the indifferent listener. With Walsh's former producer, Bill Szymczyk, in absentia, The Eagles not contributing and Barnstorm playing a minor role, a clue may be offered as to the reasons for the lack of familiar collaborators in One Day at a Time, when, as funny as ever, he admits, "All the friends I used to run with are gone, Lord, I hadn't planned on livin' this long."

When The Who* returned to the studio for the Endless Wire album, Pete Townshend reworked the Baba O'Riley intro for the Wire and Glass mini-opera. Likewise, the Meadows (or My Woman from Tokyo's) riff is recycled for One Day at a Time, which sounds the most like Jeff Lynne's Traveling Wilburys catalogue, to the extent that I can imagine Walsh as a member. Apparently, Lynne could see it too and nicknamed Walsh Lumpy Wilbury! Hi-Roller Baby is jaunty and reveals even more of Life's Been Short in a reggae motif. One of Barnstorm's most well known pieces, Funk 49, is continued in Funk 50, but with a dance-y feel. Walsh and Lynne remain firmly in club land with India, a full-on dance track, that paradoxically contains some of the best guitar work on the album. India ends abruptly and in so doing, closes the standard album.

The Deluxe Edition of the album has two bonus tracks. Fishbone is a darkly comic blues song, played straight as always, "My baby got a fish bone stuck down here where she swallows, can't talk louder than a whisper, usually she hollers." But I Try is an interesting collaboration between the James Gang and Little Richard from 1970, originally intended for the Thirds album. It rocks!

It would be difficult not to like Analog, with its atmosphere of self-mockery and contentment; and Joe Walsh's laconic sense of humour is irresistible. But, while the album has some toe-tappers, it has none of the riff-based tracks, like Turn to Stone or Rocky Mountain Way, which endeared Walsh to a heavy rock audience. Jeff Lynne's experimental days with The Move and early ELO seem long behind him, and I found myself wishing his chugging Wilburys' production would make way for some liberating heavy rock.

* Joe Walsh was inspired by Pete Townshend to use ARP synthesizer with Barnstorm. He also worked with Who bassist John Entwistle on the latter's solo album, Too Late the Hero (1981) and a shortlived supergroup, The Best (1990). However, John Entwistle had already passed away by the time Endless Wire was recorded. Walsh's original producer Bill Szymczyk produced Face Dances by The Who in 1981. So is it a coincidence that Joe Walsh mimicked a similar technique to that of The Who?

Originally written in July 2012, updated October 2012