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 in mid-1970 on the label ABC Records. It is the James Gang's first album to feature bassist Dale Peters.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [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. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Funk #49" | Fox, Peters, Walsh | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Asshtonpark" | Fox, Peters, Walsh | 2:01 |
| 3. | "Woman" | Fox, Peters, Walsh | 4:37 |
| 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, Walsh | 5:00 |
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
- Joe Walsh – guitars, vocals, keyboards, piano, percussion, liner notes
- Dale Peters – bass guitars, vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion
- Jim Fox – drums, vocals, percussion, keyboards, organ, piano
- Additional
- Rusty Young – pedal steel guitar ("There I Go Again")
- Production
- Bill Szymczyk – production, engineer, remastering
- Mike D. Stone - engineer
- Ted Jensen – remastering
- Dale Peters – liner notes
- Jim Fox – liner notes
- Tom Wright – photography
References
- ^ "Rides Again by James Gang". iTunes. 31 December 1969. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "James Gang Rides Again > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 189.
- ^ Refer to Both Sides Now's ABC Records discography Web site (http://bsnpubs.com/abc/abc700.html).