After 35 years, Joe Walsh and the James Gang saddle up for another ride.
As much as the James Gang was a rock ‘n’ roll oddity, the Cleveland trio also served an important role in the evolution of American music.
The guitar-driven group was one of America’s answers to Cream, with era-defining early-’70s hits such as “Funk #49” and “Walk Away” to its credit. The band had no problem holding onto that reputation in the early days – especially with guitarist Joe Walsh matching Eric Clapton blistering solo for blistering solo.
With Walsh, Clapton and their contemporary Jimi Hendrix, it was the era of the guitar god. And life was good.
“I was joyous and carefree,” Walsh said recently from Los Angeles, where the James Gang was preparing for yet another ride, a reunion tour that will bring the band to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a show tonight.
“I didn’t have a lot of the responsibilities that you get later on in life, and there was a great artistic community,” he said. “But more importantly, it was totally supported. There were places to play, lots of people came and you didn’t have to be that good.”
But Walsh lasted only three records with the James Gang before starting his solo career and later joining Don Henley and Glenn Frey in the Eagles in 1976. After his departure, the Gang started to unravel, fighting turnover and a creative drought until the band eventually called it quits.
And while the band’s legacy – 10-plus records in seven years – is spotty, it’s impressive, legendary, even, when you key in on the group’s golden years. Its period of influence was in 1970-71, when it produced the albums “Rides Again” and “Thirds.”
Walsh attributes some of his success to the mind-set of the musicians and fans of his generation.
“The creative juices were really flowing back then, and it seems like it was everywhere,” said Walsh. “Music was a bigger part of our generation than what I see today. It was more of an art form back then, and these days it’s more corporate-related or an industry. It’s so commercial, and radio isn’t the same.
“I’m so glad to be a part of my generation because right out of high school, here come The Beatles – and we rode along with them, and it was such a creative period. That set me up to still be here today, much to my amazement.”
Talking about his current rehearsals with Jimmy Fox and Dale Peters, Walsh said they weren’t going very well. “We’ve never played anything twice in a row the same. And it’s been a long time, really, since we’ve played professionally.” But the fire of this band has always been its unpredictable nature – and that’s what drew Walsh back into the fold after all these years.
“With the success and all, you play this stuff for people, and there’s a specific part at a specific time, and it fits into what the other guys are playing exactly – and I’m talking about my day gig with the Eagles,” Walsh said. “We’re very structured, and we’re proud of that.
“But there’s another side of that, a real rock ‘n’ roll roots side, and it’s freeform and improvised, and I rediscovered that with jamming with the (James Gang) guys. I used to just turn up and go in any direction I wanted, because I was the only melodic thing, and improvise and make stuff up in the spur of the moment. I know how to do it pretty good, but I usually don’t have to. Usually I’m onstage with a couple other guitar players, and I have to stay out of the way. But with the James Gang, at the first note of the show, I’m off and running.”
The band hasn’t written any new material since reuniting – a decision brought on by a the group’s appearance on “The Drew Carey Show.” But they’re running tape during each of their 17 performances on this reunion tour, because “if there is new James Gang material, our live shows will be the beginnings of it.
“Some bands go to rehearsal studios with legal pads, but we’ve always done that onstage in front of people. That’s why there’s a lot of energy in them. We’ve never done a studio album, so to speak. That’s one of the things people like about us live.”
The James Gang always has written via improvisation, Walsh said. For example, 1969’s “Yer’ Album” included the dirge “Funk #48,” and while playing the song live over the following year, “Funk #49” was born, an entirely different baby. Even more representative of the band’s writing style is the evolution of “The Bomber.”
When the James Gang was a cover band, one of its favorites was Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher,” during the middle of which the members would improvise. Eventually they had minutes of material in the middle that was all original and unique to their own developing sound, which was rawer and more visceral than that of Steppenwolf’s. Eventually they dropped the cover and built on what they had written together.
“We would go places in front of people we could never get in a rehearsal space,” Walsh said. “Which is why we need to not rehearse anymore. We need to get in front of people. I play better when there are girls around. Right now I got a bunch of roadies staring at me, and that’s not too inspiring.”
Walsh, who was born in Kansas and will turn 60 next year, said he feels invigorated by this outing. He looks forward to the familiarity of it all, but the unfamiliarity is what has him so jazzed about riding again with the ol’ Gang.
“We’re going to go out and do what we used to do, and that will feature me as the grandfather guitar legend, a dinosaur from pre-heavy metal,” he said with a laugh. “That’s the way I feel sometimes. I’m very humble when people compliment my guitar playing, cause I’m just a dumb guy from Ohio who had a helluva ride.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
| James Gang
GUITAR ROCK|Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison; 7:30 tonight, with JD and the Straight Shot|$35-$70|ticketmaster.com or 303-830-8397
