Customer Reviews

There Goes the Neighborhood

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are some great hooks on this under-appreciated opus and some fine guitar riffs, as well. "Rivers (of the Hidden Funk)" is probably the best cut, but "A Life of Illusion" and "Things" are also right up there. This album was originally released in 1981 on Elektra and, as a rule, they don't put out junk. You can rip this one and combine its tracks with the ones you like from SMOKER, and you'll have a good listening experience that might make the commute to and from work a tad joyful, if that's possible.

No, this album is not 'Hotel California.' But it was the first Joe Walsh album I bought, on the advice of my older, cooler friends who turned me on to the Eagles and Van Halen (back in the day). If the only song you've ever heard from JW is 'Life's Been Good,' you'll probably think this is early 80s junk. But if you dug the 'Waffle Stomp' era Joe Walsh, you'll love it.

Incredibly catchy tunes and irresistable guitar work, I had to listen to this one many, many times and soon the songs just stuck to me. 'Things' is a very fun song as well as 'Down on the farm'.
Rivers of Hidden Funk is very, well, funky

This is a great album... not at the level of his previous works maybe, but still great music. My fave track is "Life Of Illusion".

What a brainless review of Mr. MUSICFAN from Boston Mass.
Joe Walsh recorded more albums without the Eagles than with them. He's an established name already even before the Eagles, so who cares who's the brains behind that band, right?? :-S I love the Eagles but that's not the point here.
Surely it was not Joe Walsh's band and I don't think he was interested either in being a main character in it. He just participated, period. Gave the band some great songs. Just listen to "Pretty Maids All In A Row" & "In The City", but that's it. It was never the focus of his career.
Again, he already was enjoying of a sucessful solo career. So that shows your ingnorance man ;-)

Received cd very quick! It was in perfect condition! Loved the music, brought me back to gentler times! Would recommend this work to anyone.

My favorite Joe Walsh album. Some things you never know but theres no bones about it, I've made my mind up and there's no Illusion Down on the Farm that this Thing sounds great!

One of the greatest songwriters in rock and roll.
This album is short but the songs are great.

Classic Joe - no collection is complete without this one. The incredible talent in guitar and lyrics are as relevent now as they were when written - just as joe learned to fly as an eagle. I believe life of illusion and you never know. we all have things.

I give this album 4 stars because of Life of Illusion and Down on the Farm. These are two great songs. Life of illusion is a serious song with excellent guitar work. Down on the farm is a comical song that also has some cool guitar in it. Mabey this album isn't his best or anywhere near it, but there are at least two good songs on it.

If you want to know whether or not peering into Walsh's later-day output would be worth your while, this album is the wisest place to start. After the (first) dissolution of the Eagles, Walsh returned to his solo career, but in a different, lighter, more pop-influenced direction.

Admittedly, it's lightweight stuff, especially compared to his James Gang/Barnstorm era output, though a comparison could be drawn between this album and the eclectic pop of The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get. This release essentially marked the transition from blues-based hard rock with a wry sense of humor to a general sort of silliness with an accompanying lightness to the music. The exception hre is "Life of Illusion", a 10-year old demo he finally fleshed out; the grainy sound, mostly-acoustic guitars (save for a nice slide solo in the middle) and drunken mariachi trumpets (courtesy of Kenny Passarelli) give the song a sound like "the Beatles meet Santo and Johnny," as one critic put it.

The rest of the album is an amiable blend of generally upbeat of pop-rock, with good-natured humor like the wordplay throughout "Things" and the silly hoedown-rock of "Down on the Farm". The more serious tracks, like "Made Your Mind Up", "Rivers", and "You Never Know" are not unlike some of his older, harder-edged tunes, if they were toned down a bit and given a shine rather than layers of heavy distorted guitars. It suits them fairly well, making for a surprisingly nimble balance between his roots and the current environment. Unfortunately, even if you like this album, his output goes downhill hereafter; some of it's not bad, but he hasn't been as good since.

Overall, the four stars are because I've got a soft spot for this album, as it's the first Joe Walsh album--and the album that got me into the guy--when I was rustling through my parents' collection of old vinyls. Subtract a star and a half if lightweight goofiness and pop-rock isn't your thing, but on its own terms, it's a pretty good album and it shows Walsh making the transition to the '80s rather well; a shame he couldn't keep it up.