One notable facet, coincidence more likely, of the rock music scene in 1972, was how many artists who had come to prominence in a group (or duo) in the 1960s were now striking out on their own.
It was a year that brought an exemplary album from Paul Simon, his first since splitting with Art Garfunkel, while Peter Frampton, fresh out of Humble Pie began his career in its own right with ‘Wind of Change.’ 1972 also brought a solo LP from Who ideas man Pete Townshend and elsewhere Stephen Stills continued forging a path away from the CSNY mothership with his outstanding double-set ‘Manassas‘.
Indeed, the influence of Townshend and Stills was evident on ‘BARNSTORM‘ (October 1972) – the first recordings made by Joe Walsh since his departure from the James Gang in 1971.
24-year-old Walsh (born Wichita 20/11/1947) chose to plough his own furrow on becoming frustrated at the limitations of fronting a power trio, the James Gang having made three studio albums, each of variable quality – ‘Yer Album‘ (1969), ‘James Gang Rides Again‘ (1970) and ‘Thirds‘ (1971) – since their formation in 1968.
Across these records, the best of which found guitar-wiz Walsh to the fore on engaging rhythmic rock cuts such as ‘Funk 49‘ and ‘Walkaway‘, songs that were in contrast with the second side of ‘Rides Again‘, (effectively a series of Walsh solo performances), that revealed his ambitions to present melodic material closer to acoustic balladry than tough-rocking bombast.
This change in emphasis was not without merit and although Townshend quickly declared himself an avid admirer of Walsh, (the James Gang frequently an opening act for The Who during 1969 and 1970), by 1971 the three instrument format had become too restrictive for the man at the centre of things – Walsh departing to explore creation of a sound that would incorporate a layer of keyboards, increased harmony vocals and altogether more subtle arrangements.
Leaving production in the hands of James Gang control panel operative Bill Szymczyk – he as producer and Walsh (guitar/keyboards) both in time gravitating toward the Eagles – his ambitions are quickly realised on an assured and accomplished rock record that affirms Walsh was right to pursue a more refined approach to presenting his music.
In the process he receives sterling support from Joe Vitale (drums/keyboards) and Kenny Passarelli (bass), the pair making their first contributions in what would prove a lengthy association with Walsh, both of whom would be in the cast of musicians dubbed ‘Barnstorm‘ who would support him on stage in the years ahead.
Playing a variety of guitars and keyboards himself, the three core musicians are joined by Paul Harris (piano) and Al Perkins (pedal steel) on ‘Midnight Visitor‘, this duo members of Stephen Stills’ ‘Manassas‘ troupe of players, the work of Stills and Walsh at this stage not without its similarities – although with the pulsating synthesiser effects on ‘Mother Says‘ it is clear the innovations Townshend brought to bear on ‘Who’s Next‘ the previous year have also been noted.
Despite the obvious overtones of others, it is Walsh through his imaginative playing and commendable writing who shapes the album. In fact ‘Barnstorm‘ stands unique in his solo catalogue for being the only Joe Walsh LP that maintains a serious intent from start to finish, the broad humour often permeating through later releases not yet the feature, sometimes distraction, it would become.
Indeed, ‘Here We Go‘ with its delicate acoustic guitar progressions appears a somewhat subdued opening cut, but in the greater scheme of things effectively serves purpose in setting the tone for what follows – particularly when tasteful electric guitar and chatty synthesiser enter the scene.
With the title Walsh heralds the start of the record and in the lyric watches a new dawn arrive, (‘I see the sun rise/Here comes the day/Where sunrise comes from/I am not knowing‘), but as the track unfolds it is hard to be certain whether he is referring to a personal relationship or society in general on reaching the conclusion, ‘I feel us falling/Back where we came/It all astounds me/Is it a sad thing, bad thing/I don’t know.’
Even if the meaning is difficult to pin down, Walsh has wasted no time in creating the texture he is keen to establish, the impressive guitar work blended with good effect to the keyboard elements decorataing the piece.
He uses a similar structure on ‘Midnight Visitor‘ opening the song with his acoustic guitar before being joined by supporting instruments, which in this case include those played by Harris and Perkins. The words depict the visitation of a rider on horseback destined for territory farther away (‘And he only had a moment/To warm his frozen hands/And though he needed food and rest/He told us of his land‘), the story taking a mystical turn when he departs amid the description, ‘And I thought I caught a glimpse of sun in his eye/And wheatfield in his smile’.
For the brief, yet touching childhood reminiscences of ‘One and One‘, the track done and dusted in less than a minute and a half, Walsh looks back fondly at his younger days:
‘Moma’s in the kitchen/Cooking up a storm/I ain’t tasted nothing better/Daddy’s in the bedroom/Keeping us all warm/Pretty soon we’ll get up for school.’
The final thirty seconds are given over to an exquisite electric guitar solo, Walsh resisting a trend of the times in not showing off and overplaying, less being more of great service to the song.
The closing piano refrain segues into ‘Giant Behemoth‘ an atmospheric instrumental composed by Vitale, the writer adding flute to the array of instruments used by Walsh and his Barnstorm boys – the final third of the track conjuring notions of travelling through space, the morse code inflections of the synthesiser sounding like inter-planatary communication.
With side one closer ‘Mother Says‘, at almost six and a half minutes the longest track on the album, Walsh again evokes his female parent, concerns for her son laid out initially over some churning Townshendesque electric guitar:
‘Mother says be careful/And don’t stay out too long/Don’t do things you shouldn’t/Miss me when I’m gone.’
Credited to Walsh, Vitale and Passarelli, the middle section is a rampant, almost grandiose affair of interlocking piano, synthesiser and electric guitar, Walsh eventually returning things to a Who-like workout in delivering the closing lines, ‘And mother says she’s ready/And if you have the time/She’ll help us all to get steady/Make us all feel better, make us all feel fine.’ Even then, however, he cannot resist one more doff of his cap to mentor Pete, the concluding synthesiser break bearing no little similarity to that of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’
Side two begins with the resplendent acoustic guitars that open ‘Birdcall Morning‘, Walsh adding some sharp electric guitar to a country rock number that finds the composer yearning for peace of mind:
‘Early birdcall morning/In a milkweed cloudy sky/Sets me free, without a warning/Wonder why/And if my eyes aren’t open/And if I’m too blind to see/Would you show me birdcall morning/Set me free.’
With keyboards omitted from the track, the Barnstormers play as an exuberant soft-rock aggregation – and a pretty formidable one at that – Szymczyk doing a sterling production job with the meshing acoustic and electric guitars. Small wonder then the Eagles would seek him out when they adjusted their sound from country to rock with ‘On The Border‘ in 1974.
Also built upon a platform of intertwining guitars ‘Home‘ has the rolling melodicism of a Rod Stewart solo offering of the period, Walsh laying out his frustration with a relationship that has reached a state of inertia, ‘You say it’s time to go/But you don’t want to leave/Fooling with the keys.’
Using a chess metaphor to express more exasperation, (‘Bishop takes a rook/It looks like the way back/Is moving the stone’), the guitar work and ensemble playing overall is first rate, ‘Home‘ further advancement from the compositions Walsh aired on side two of ‘The James Gang Rides Again‘ from two years before.
The one song sourced from outside the Barnstorm triangle is a cover of ‘I’ll Tell The World‘ previously a minor mid-60s hit for New York power-pop outfit The Magicians – composers/band members Allan Jacobs and Alan Gordon going on to write ‘Happy Together‘, a U.S. number one for The Turtles.
In the hands of Walsh and his cohorts it becomes an agreeable slice of early-70s L.A. rock, the soaring harmonies and ringing guitars indicative of what The Byrds had left behind and where the Eagles were heading.
In contrast ‘Turn to Stone‘ with its memorable hard rock hook sends the album deeper still into Who-territory, the pounding drums and busy bass along with Walsh stretching out on electric guitar, combine to make it a forceful rocker – the lyrics (credited to Walsh and Terry Trebandt) railing against the Nixon administration and the ongoing war in Vietnam:
‘Hey now, the well runs dry/Pages of your book on fire/Read the writing on the wall/Hoedown, it’s a showdown/Everywhere you look, we’re fighting/Hear the call.’
Later on Walsh, an effective rather than distinguished vocalist, refers to ‘a change in the wind‘ and ‘the signs don’t lie’ as between them the three players work up a significant head of steam, the guitarist proving himself worthy of all the praise Townshend, among others, had heaped upon him. Two years later Walsh would revisit the track for his ‘So What‘ album, rolling back the raw power for a more polished, streamlined version that predicts his late-1975 absorption into the Eagles.
With album closer ‘Coming Down‘ Walsh changes tack again, wrapping things up with a sombre, acoustic guitar ballad in the vein of Stills or James Taylor. The only accompaniment is provided by a mournful harmonica, the melody gently drifting away as an otherwise vibrant album finishes in lanquid, low-key fashion.
Despite containing any number of good songs – in terms of consistency it vies with ‘But Seriously Folks‘ (1978) as his most engrossing work – ‘Barnstorm‘ did not contain an obvious single, something reflected in a modest placing of 79 on the Billboard listings. Even a slew of positive reviews, Rolling Stone magazine fulsome with praise such as ‘spectacular, languorous progressions that never sacrifice its rock intentions‘, could not propel the album to a higher level of sales and chart position it deserved.
Nevertheless, it was a clear artistic triumph and validation of his decision to go solo. The critical acclaim for ‘Barnstorm‘ was soon to be complimented by the commercial success of his subsequent ’70s releases – life soon to be good for Joe Walsh.
JOE WALSH – BARNSTORM (Released October 27 1972):
Here We Go/Midnight Visitor/One and One/Giant Behemoth/Mother Says/Birdcall Morning/Home/I’ll Tell the World/Turn to Stone/Comin’ Down;
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