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The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get

 
Album Review: The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get
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Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get

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  • Artist: Joe Walsh
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1973
  • Total Time: 35:39
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get, Walsh's second solo studio album, continues the heavy and light rock mix of tracks found on his previous release Barnstorm. Indeed, the opening two tracks bear this out. The first, perhaps Joe Walsh's most recognized track, "Rocky Mountain Way", comes replete with overly distorted guitars and the obligatory solo. The next song, "Bookends", is a tuneful ode to happy memories. Walsh's ability to swing wildly from one end of the rock scale to the other is unparalleled and makes for an album to suit many tastes. Joe Vitale (drums, flute, backing vocals, keyboards, and synthesisers – a talented man) and Kenny Passarelli (bass and backing vocals) are once again employed, and once again prove themselves adept at handling Walsh's various styles. The album sees an addition to the backing band in the form of Rocke Grace on keyboards and vocals. The legendary Bill Szymczyk works along with Walsh to handle the production, and takes care of the mixing. Szymczyk's work on this area is as always astounding. The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get features some of the most remembered Joe Walsh tracks, but it's not just these that made the album the success it was. Each of the nine tracks is a song to be proud of. This is a superb album by anyone's standards. ~ Ben Davies, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Rocky Mountain Way (Lyrics) Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale, Kenny Passarelli, Rocke Grace Joe Walsh (5:15)
Book Ends Joe Vitale Joe Walsh (2:47)
Wolf (Lyrics) Joe Walsh Joe Walsh (3:10)
Midnight Moodies Rocke Grace Joe Walsh (3:38)
Happy Ways (Lyrics) Kenny Passarelli Joe Walsh (2:41)
Meadows (Lyrics) Joe Walsh Joe Walsh (4:43)
Dreams (Lyrics) Joe Walsh Joe Walsh (5:40)
Days Gone By Joe Vitale Joe Walsh (5:58)
(Day Dream) Prayer Joe Walsh Joe Walsh (1:55)

Credits

Joe Walsh (Producer), Joe Walsh (Main Performer), Clydie King (Vocals), Joe Vitale (Flute), Joe Vitale (Drums), Joe Vitale (Keyboards), Kenny Passarelli (Bass), Kenny Passarelli (Vocals), Bob Jenkins (Photography), Al Blazek (Engineer), Venetta Fields (Vocals), Rocke Grace (Keyboards), Rocke Grace (Vocals), Joe Lala (Percussion), Mike "Clay" Stone (Engineer), Bill Szymczyk (Producer), Bill Szymczyk (Engineer), Bill Szymczyk (Mixing), Jimmy Wachtel (Design), Ronnie Alpert (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get
Studio album by Joe Walsh and Barnstorm
Released June 18, 1973
Recorded Late 1972–Early 1973
Genre Rock
Length 35:44
Label ABC-Dunhill
Producer Joe Walsh,
Bill Szymczyk
Professional reviews
Joe Walsh and Barnstorm chronology
Barnstorm
(1972)		 The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get
(1973)		 So What
(1975)

The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is the second album by Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music), although the album's front cover (right) credits only Walsh. It proved to be his commercial breakthrough, largely on the strength of the Top 40 hit single, "Rocky Mountain Way", which helped propel the album into the Top 10.

On this album, Walsh shares the vocals and songwriting with the other three members of Barnstorm, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale, bassist Kenny Passarelli, and the new member, keyboardist Rocke Grace . As a result, a variety of styles are explored on this album. There are elements of blues, jazz, folk, pop, and even Caribbean music.

After the success of this album, Barnstorm disbanded, and Walsh continued as a solo artist.

Contents

Track listing

All songs by Joe Walsh, except where noted.

  1. "Rocky Mountain Way" (Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh) – 5:15
  2. "Book Ends" (Vitale) – 2:45
  3. "Wolf" – 3:09
  4. "Midnight Moodies" (Grace) – 3:39
  5. "Happy Ways" (Passarelli, Zoloth) – 2:40
  6. "Meadows" – 4:36
  7. "Dreams" – 5:50
  8. "Days Gone By" (Vitale) – 5:54
  9. "(Day Dream) Prayer" – 1:56

Personnel

Production

  • Producers: Joe Walsh, Bill Szymczyk
  • Engineers: Ronnie Alpert, Al Blazek, Mike "Clay" Stone, Bill Szymczyk
  • Mixing: Bill Szymczyk
  • Design: Jimmy Wachtel
  • Photography: Bob Jenkins

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1973 Pop Albums 6

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1973 "Rocky Mountain Way" Pop Singles 23
1974 "Meadows" Pop Singles 89
v • d • e
Joe Walsh
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Songs
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get".  Read more