STOP: Yer' Album

I spent years, mostly in college, looking for music outside of classic rock. Why on earth would I do something like that? Well, I was so pro-classic that when I started djing at my college rock station, I wanted to do an 'artist feature' program, focusing on classic rock greats. I went over the idea with a friendly record store clerk (now owner) and he asked me why, if there are already four or five stations within the FM spectrum playing classic rock, we would need another one?

Good point! Such a good point that I dropped the idea and, when two people did put together a show that was more-or-less that, I scoffed.

But, after years of exploration, I fully understand that there is NOTHING like classic rock. Nothing hits home quite as solid as a good blues-boogie-rock album. The feelings associated with it cover everything from fishing, drinking, and wearing Carhartts to first crushes, tailspin depression, and personal revelation.

I finally got my hands on this not-so-rare yet not-so-available James Gang album, their first. I'm so into it, I was singing the last song, "Stop," on the way to work. Sorry fellow pedestrians! I'm feeling it. It's got that mid-tempo jive feeling that has about as broad an appeal as I could imagine. 1969 was the year, a landmark year for rock never to be repeated. If you're in need of some blues-rock (oh, by the way, it's seriously funky), then I recommend this.

Click here for a little russian blog that has a whole thing on Joe Walsh, the principal member of James Gang.

And, if you're drawing a blank on the James Gang, they had a song called "Funk #49" that you've probably heard. It was an instrumental that typifies "hard rock." It was the song that the 'cool kids' were listening to in the Simpsons when Homer wanted to hang out with them (flashback scene, Hullabalooza episode).