Rides Again

The James Gang became the James Gang with 1970’s Rides Again, an album that heralded the hard-rock era with a hot blast of rust-belt shock and awe. The back cover image is a perfect visual representation of the music within — decked out in shaggy hair and black leather, Joe Walsh, Jim Fox and Dale Peters glare at the camera while sitting on Harley Davidsons in the middle of a mud- and snow-strewn road. This is defiant Ohio rock ‘n’ roll, with nicotine in its throat and grease beneath its fingernails. “Funk #49” is one of rock’s immortal songs — agitation and celebration all mixed together in a single heaving expression of bare-chested glory. “Woman” is equally barbaric, but it is the medley entitled “The Bomber” that is the most glorious expression of Walsh’s pyrotechnic guitar. The often-overlooked second side of the album is almost entirely acoustic, and highlights Walsh’s arranging skills, and his endearingly screechy vocals. “There I Go Again” and “Thanks” epitomize the good-time '70s feeling, while “Tend My Garden” and “Ashes the Rain and I” anticipate Walsh’s multifaceted solo ventures.