Yer' Album

• Artist: The James Gang
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1969
• Total Time: 49:40
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

The James Gang's debut LP, Yer' Album, was very much a first record and very much a record of its time. The heavy rock scene of the period was given to extensive jamming, and four tracks ran more than six minutes each. The group had written some material, but they were still something of a cover band, and the disc included their extended workouts on Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird" and the Yardbirds' "Lost Woman," the latter a nine-minute version complete with lengthy guitar, bass, and drum solos. But in addition to the blues rock there were also touches of pop and progressive rock, mostly from Walsh who displayed a nascent sense of melody, not to mention some of the taste for being a cutup that he would display in his solo career. Walsh's "Take a Look Around" must have made an impression on Pete Townshend during the period before the album's release when the James Gang was opening for the Who since Townshend borrowed it for the music he was writing for the abortive Lifehouse follow-up to Tommy. If "Wrapcity (i.e., Rhapsody) in English," a minute-long piano and strings interlude, seems incongruous in retrospect, recall that this was an eclectic era. But the otherwise promising "Fred," which followed, broke down into a pedestrian jazz routine, suggesting that the band was trying to cram too many influences onto one record and sometimes into one song. Nevertheless, they were talented improvisers, as the open-ended album closer, Jerry Ragavoy and Mort Shuman's "Stop," made clear. After ten minutes, Szymczyk faded the track out, but Walsh was still going strong. Yer' Album contained much to suggest that the James Gang, in particular its guitarist, had a great future, even if it was more an album of performances than compositions. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Introduction	Bert de Coteaux, Bill Szymczyk, Jim Fox	The James Gang	(:40)
Take a Look Around	Joe Walsh	The James Gang	(6:18)
Funk #48	Joe Walsh, Jim Fox, Tom Kriss	The James Gang	(2:46)
Bluebird	Stephen Stills	The James Gang	(6:02)
Lost Woman	James P. McCarty, Jim McCarty, Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith	The James Gang	(9:06)
Stone Rap	Bill Szymczyk, Jim Fox, Joe Walsh, Tom Kriss	The James Gang	(1:00)
Collage	Patrick Cullie, Joe Walsh	The James Gang	(4:02)
I Don't Have the Time	Jim Fox, Joe Walsh	The James Gang	(2:49)
Wrapcity in English [Instrumental]	Joe Walsh	Joe Walsh, The James Gang	(:57)
Fred	Joe Walsh, Tom Paxton	The James Gang	(4:09)
Stop	Mort Shuman, Jerry Ragovoy, Roger Waters	The James Gang	(12:04)

Credits

Lee Hulko (Mastering), Tom Kriss (Bass), Ted Jensen (Digital Remastering), Bill Szymczyk (Photography), Vartan (Reissue Art Director), Ladimer Jeric (Artwork), Joe Walsh (Group Member), Jim Fox (Vocals), Minoru Harada (Product Manager), Joe Walsh (Vocals), Tom Kriss (Group Member), Bill Szymczyk (Reissue Producer), Jim Fox (Drums), Byron Goto (Collage), Bert de Coteaux (String Arrangements), Henry Epstein (Cover Design), Bert "Super Charts" DeCoteaux (String Arrangements), Kenneth Hamann (Choir, Chorus), Bill Szymczyk (Producer), Bill Szymczyk (Maracas), The James Gang (Arranger), Michael Diehl (Assembly), Joe Walsh (Guitar), Ladimer Jeric (Cover Art), Joe Walsh (Keyboards), Bill Szymczyk (Digital Remastering), Tom Kriss (Vibe Master), Michael Diehl (Reissue Package), Bill Szymczyk (Arranger), Hideki Masubuchi (Liner Notes), Joe Walsh (Liner Notes), Tom Kriss (Vibraphone), Bill Szymczyk (Tambourine), Andy McKaie (Coordination), Tom Kriss (Flute), Kenneth Hamann (Assistant Engineer), Jim Fox (Keyboards), Joe Walsh (Piano), Bill Szymczyk (Choir, Chorus), Bill Szymczyk (Engineer), Bill Szymczyk (Sounds), Denis Minervini (Assistant Engineer), Bill Szymczyk (Organ), Kenneth Hamann (Assistant), Jim Fox (Organ), Beth Stempel (Coordination), Tom Kriss (Choir, Chorus)

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