James Gang Rides Again

Last updated
James Gang Rides Again
James Gang - James Gang Rides Again.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 1970
RecordedNovember 1969
Studio Record Plant (New York City)
Genre
Length35:09
Label ABC
Producer Bill Szymczyk
James Gang chronology
Yer' Album
(1969)
James Gang Rides Again
(1970)
Thirds
(1971)

James Gang Rides Again (alternatively known as simply Rides Again) [1] is the second studio album by American rock band James Gang. The album was released on the label ABC Records. It is the James Gang's first album to feature bassist Dale Peters.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [3]

Writing for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album "With their second album Rides Again, the James Gang came into their own... Walsh's songwriting had improved, giving the band solid support for their stylistic experiments. What ties the two sides of the record together is the strength of the band's musicianship, which burns brightly and powerfully on the hardest rockers, as well as on the sensitive ballads." [2] Music critic John Swenson named it "one of the most important rock records of the Seventies." [4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Joe Walsh, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Funk #49"Fox, Peters, Walsh3:54
2."Asshtonpark"Fox, Peters, Walsh2:01
3."Woman"Fox, Peters, Walsh4:37
4."The Bomber: Closet Queen"/ "Boléro"/ "Cast Your Fate to the Wind"Fox, Peters, Walsh, Maurice Ravel, Vince Guaraldi 7:04
5."Tend My Garden" 5:45
6."Garden Gate" 1:36
7."There I Go Again" 2:51
8."Thanks" 2:21
9."Ashes the Rain and I"Peters, Walsh5:00
Total length:35:09

On the initial pressings of James Gang Rides Again, a 1:25 electric rendition of Maurice Ravel's "Boléro" is interpolated into the song "The Bomber." Ravel's estate threatened suit against both the James Gang and ABC Records for its unauthorized use. [5] As a result, the track was edited, and the "Boléro" section was removed on most subsequent pressings of the album. The edited song's running time on such pressings is 5:39. Some late 1970s LP pressings included "Boléro" by mistake, and the most recent CD re-issue of Rides Again contains the full version of "The Bomber," with the "Boléro" section restored.

Personnel

James Gang
Additional
Production

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References

  1. "Rides Again by James Gang". iTunes. 31 December 1969. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "James Gang Rides Again > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 27, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  4. Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 189.
  5. Refer to Both Sides Now's ABC Records discography Web site (http://bsnpubs.com/abc/abc700.html).