Day After Day #307: Walk Away

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Walk Away (1971)

It's easy to hate on the Eagles because, you know, they're the Eagles. They encapsulate everything that's lame about corporate rock. But the one guy in the Eagles I'll never hate is Joe Walsh, because he's a great guitarist and he doesn't seem to be as much of an a-hole as Don Henley and the rest. 

Before he joined the Eagles in 1975, Walsh was a student at Kent State University before playing with several Ohio bands. The James Gang were formed in Cleveland in 1966 by drummer Jim Fox, guitarist Ronnie Silverman, bassist Tom Kriss and keyboardist Phil Giallombardo. The group went through a few lead guitarists before bringing in Glenn Schwartz. But in December 1967, Schwartz, who was found to be AWOL from the Army and was splitting up with his wife, decided to move to California. A few days later, Walsh came to try out for the open position and got the job. 

After a few more lineup changes, the band was down to the trio of Walsh, Fox and Kriss. They eventually signed a deal with ABC's Bluesway Records subsidiary in January 1969 and a few months later, released their debut, Yer Album. It didn't make much of a splash. Kriss left the band and was replaced by Dale Peters. The band's second album, 1970's James Gang Rides Again, featured the hit "Funk #49," which is a great showcase for Walsh's excellent guitar work. The song reached #59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The James Gang's third album, Thirds, came out in April 1971, and the single "Walk Away" was a minor hit, reaching #51 on the Hot 100. But the Walsh-penned song is a killer, filled with chunky funk riffage, tons of distortion and hot-shit solos throughout, especially in the outro. Lyrically, the song's about a couple's shaky relationship.

"Taking my time/Choosin' my line/Trying to decide what to do/Looks like my stop/Don't wanna get off/Got myself hung up on you/Seems to me/You don't want to talk about it/Seems to me/You just turn your pretty head and walk away."

"Walk Away" was Walsh's peak in the James Gang, a guitar tour de force.

"Places I've known/Things that I'm growin'/Don't taste the same without you/I got myself in/The worst mess I've been/And I find myself startin' to doubt you/Seems to me/Talk all night here comes the mornin'/Seems to me/You just forget what we said and greet the day."

Thirds went to #27 on the Billboard 200 and the album went gold. But after the tour and a live album release, Walsh decided to move to Colorado and start a new band called Barnstorm. Peters and Fox carried on as the James Gang, adding lead vocalist Roy Kenner and guitarist Domenic Triano, both from the Canadian band Bush. They made two albums, after which Troiano left to join the Guess Who and was replaced by Tommy Bolin. After joining the band, Bolin made two albums before joining Deep Purple in 1975. The James Gang made two more records with different lineups before breaking up in 1977.

Barnstorm released two albums credited as Walsh solo albums, with the second one, 1973's The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get, hitting #6 on the Billboard album chart thanks to lead single "Rocky Mountain Way," which got to #23 on the singles chart. In 1975, Walsh was invited to replace Bernie Leadon in the Eagles, in time to record the Hotel California album. The album blew up and the Eagles become one of the biggest bands in rock. 

In between Eagles albums, Walsh continued releasing solo albums, scoring hits with "Life's Been Good" and "A Life of Illusion." His song "In the City" was on the soundtrack to The Warriors in 1979 and was later re-recorded for the Eagles album The Long Run. The band split up after that album, reuniting in 1994 for the Hell Freezes Over tour, for which they became the first band to charge $100 for concert tickets. In 1998, Walsh and the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Walsh reunited with the classic James Gang lineup of Peters and Fox in 1991 for three songs during a Walsh concert, and then played a rally for President Bill Clinton in 1996. They've also played a number of times since then, including a tour in 2006. The last times they played together were at the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows and a veterans benefit in 2022.