We have time for one more album before bedtime. Seriously, HRH hasn’t been this quiet and engrossed in something that doesn’t beep, boop, ding or make random digital chirping noises in God knows how long. Books and records; it’s the magical formula of the evening. Moving on then with our musical program is the ‘But Seriously, Folks‘ album by Joe Walsh.
The album was released in mid 1978 on the label Asylum (first studio album in four years after releasing three in consecutive years from 1972-1974) and included the satirical song ‘Life’s Been Good‘. The original eight-minute album version of this track was edited down to 4½ minutes for single release and this became Walsh’s biggest solo hit, peaking at #12 on the Billboard chart. The album also features the other four members of the Eagles (prompting immediate Eagle comparisons) – which Walsh had only joined two years earlier – as well as singer-keyboardist Jay Ferguson, a former member of the groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne (who co-wrote one track on the album), drummer Joe Vitale from Walsh’s former band Barnstorm, and bassist Willie Weeks.
Walsh moves through the album with cunning and verve through the expected joys of country rockers like ‘Second Hand Store‘ and the surprising reggae rhythms of ‘Over and Over‘, from the incisive nostalgia of ‘Indian Summer‘ to the fully realized instrumental wit of ‘Theme From Boat Weirdos‘. And, of course, there’s ‘Life Been Good‘; the official party boy anthem. Along the way, it earned fame separate from the charts when Walsh ran for president in 1980 as a lark. He suggested, tongue firmly in cheek, that ‘The Star-Spangled Banner‘ be replaced by ‘Life’s Been Good‘. That didn’t happen obviously, but it certainly became Walsh’s personal good-time anthem – and a staple of his concerts, with and without the Eagles, even today.
And let’s not forget the cover depicting Walsh having dinner…at the bottom of a pool.
Classic.
Music in Motion 