Favourite Joe Walsh Songs

[WS82Classics]

In the same vein as the 'Favourite Glenn Songs' thread, I put together this thread to gauge everyone's favourite Joe Walsh songs across the entire panorama of his career--Solo/Barnstorm songs, James Gang songs, and Eagles songs.

My own personal top 10:

1. Turn to Stone("So What?" version)
2. Help Me Through the Night
3. Tend My Garden(James Gang)
4. Walk Away(James Gang)
5. In the City(Eagles)
6. Rocky Mountain Way
7. Life's Been Good("Eagles Live" version)
8. All Night Long
9. Rivers of the Hidden Funk
10. Space Age Whiz Kids

[WalshGirl]

Here's my top ten, but I confess I have another ten (or more) favorites that I like equally well. So this list is also a reflection of my current mood.

1. Indian Summer
2. Collage
3. Life of Illusion
4. Pretty Maids All in a Row (Hell Freezes Over version)
5. All of a Sudden
6. Rivers of the Hidden Funk
7. In the City
8. Tend My Garden
9. Dreams
10. Meadows

[sodascouts]

This is from a few years ago, but it's just solo: https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2877

Narrowing my 15 down to 10, and including Eagles and James Gang songs makes it harder, though! Unlike Glenn, I won't separate out the various groups since he has so few Eagles songs. Here we go:

1. Pretty Maids All in a Row
2. Help Me Thru the Night
3. Turn to Stone
4. Walk Away
5. Funk #49
6. In the City
7. Rocky Mountain Way
8. Welcome to the Club
9. Life of Illusion
10. Meadows
Honorable Mentions to The Bomber and Rosewood Bitters

[Delilah]

I hate to admit this but I'm really not familiar with Joe's solo/non-Eagles work outside of the hits. :blush: (I plan to rectify this soon!) But I will say the 1976 Houston performance of "Turn to Stone" absolutely rocks!

[Midnight Visitor]

Hard to narrow his output to only 10 songs!

Turn to Stone
County Fair
Collage
The Bomber
Midnight Visitor
At the Station
Country Fever
Birdcall Morning
Falling Down
Funk 49

If I never heard RMW or LBGTMSF again, it would be fine by me.

[sodascouts]

I feel the same way about LBG, but I still enjoy RMW. I see your point, though! Regarding your list, I thought about "Collage" and "Falling Down" because I love their lyrics; if it had been a longer list they would have made it.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Wow - Life's Been Good has always been and always will be my favorite Joe song. To me, it's one of the best pure rock and roll song ever. It's very hard to narrow my list down to 10 songs, but here goes (in no particular order) ...

1.) Walk Away
2.) Funk #49
3.) Rocky Mountain Way
4.) Life's Been Good
5.) Help Me Thru the Night
6.) Turn to Stone
7.) A Life of Illusion
8.) All Night Long
9.) Pretty Maids All in a Row
10.) One Day At a Time (Analog Man version)

[WalshGirl]

Falling Down was originally on my list--it's just so hard to do a top 10. I also debated adding At The Station, Over and Over, Here We Go, and I'll Tell the World About You.

Walsh is an excellent lyricist when he focuses on it.

I do love RMW, Turn to Stone, Funk 49, etc. It's just that I've heard these songs so many times, it's nice to go into the deeper cuts.

About Collage, I've always felt its lyrics were outstanding. So beautiful and an interesting lyrical structure--not complicated, but interesting. And the musical structure is also interesting--bluesy with a little classical influence in the middle. It's hard to believe this song was on Walsh's (James Gang) first album. I also love The Ashes, The Rain and I.

[sodascouts]

"Rivers of the Hidden Funk" was another one I almost put. It's interesting to see people's picks!

Most of Joe's best work was when he was young. There was a fire, a hunger back then, a need to prove himself and be taken seriously as an artist... he's never lost that fire, but some of the intensity might have faded a bit, especially after he decided to go the more humorous route with several of his songs after the success of "Life's Been Good." He still puts out excellent work, though. JMHO.

[Midnight Visitor]

I too love Rivers of Hidden Funk. RMW & LBG are just waaaaayyyyy to over played for me. In some ways they've become Joe Walsh and that's a pity. Especially because LBG is practically a comedy song.

The lyrics for Collage was written by Joe's friend Patrick Cullie. I imagine that's why those lyrics are so much different than Joe's other songs. Patrick also co-wrote Meadows. The song Collage has been covered many times, including this version by The Three Degrees in 1970.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsxhEYn2FQU

The Breeders did a version for The Mod Squad movie in 1999.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjNpxoGPqKM

[WalshGirl]

The lyrics for Collage was written by Joe's friend Patrick Cullie. I imagine that's why those lyrics are so much different than Joe's other songs. Patrick also co-wrote Meadows.

Thank you for that information.:) I did know Cullie co-wrote the song, but did not know he was the sole lyricist. I definitely need to look up Patrick Cullie as both songs are very fine!

And thanks for posting those other versions of Collage. :) Gotta say I like Joe's version the best, however. It's more brooding and moody, which better represent the lyrics.

Here's a link to Joe's version--just as a contrast to the other two, for those who may not be familiar with the original Collage. The actual song starts at 1:00. The first song is Stone Rap, which is Joe fooling around, and IMHO did not belong on the album. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdnXjqy1Y3o

That said, Joe's earlier albums--especially Barnstorm through There Goes the Neighborhood--represent some of his best lyrics, IMHO.


Most of Joe's best work was when he was young. There was a fire, a hunger back then, a need to prove himself and be taken seriously as an artist... he's never lost that fire, but some of the intensity might have faded a bit, especially after he decided to go the more humorous route with several of his songs after the success of "Life's Been Good." He still puts out excellent work, though. JMHO.

I agree.:) Joe's work in the 1980s is uneven, and he seemed to rely on his humor more--perhaps to help carry the weight. Some of his antics towards the end--early-to-mid 1990s--are just very sad.

Another factor behind his uneven performance, I believe, was the Eagles' break up. Joe took it very hard, which he's admitted in many articles. Joe loved the Eagles, and he loved being in the Eagles. He also loved his solo career--but it was secondary to his work with the Eagles. The Eagles came first. I think Joe felt adrift after the Eagles disbanded, and this may've fueled his personal demons--thereby exacerbating his substance dependancy. Just speculation, of course. And I am hesitant to offer, as Joe would say, "jumping conclusions," for people are complex and often don't understand their own motivations. But this narrative is consistent with everything I've read about him. And it further explains Joe's lowered intensity in the 1982-1993/4 period (pre-reunion).