Had intended to post Kin Ping Meh today, a trio of albums from the semi-legendary German prog-metal band with the Chinese name (?) having some issues with the CD from the debut album, which was thier best and would make for a BAD post without it....once in a while, I have a perfectly good CD that will play in my stereos, but can't be read by my computer....thus I can't upload them. I think I have a copy of it on my IPod which I can rip to another CD, (What a tremendous amount of work I do for you slugs!) and if so we'll do that one tomorrow, so you throngs of Kin Ping Meh fans can hopefully breathe easy.So let's go with some hard-rockin' stuff not only from "my" era (1970's), but also from "my" home state (Ohio), the James Gang......oh shut up, you snobs have probably never even heard these, and they rock like you wouldn't beleive.....of course they were the playground of guitar virtuoso Joe Walsh, later of Barnstorm and the Eagles, and in this incantation also featured bassist Dale Peters and drummer Jim Fox.
The first album, "Yer Album", was released in 1969 and is a Walsh showcase, featuring a cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird" and of "Lost Woman", as well as Walsh originals "Take a Look Around" and "Funk #48". Not bad, but the second album, "Rides Again" features some outstanding stuff such as "Tend My Garden" and the hit "Funk #49".....they even do a so-serious-it's-unintentionally-hilarious epic with a portion of Ravel's Bolero, and....OK you get the idea I'm sure.No question they put weeks of thought into the title of their third album ("Thirds"), which was Walsh's last studio effort with the band and features the single "Walk Away" and "Yadig?".....I think it was becomming fairly apparent that the power-trio limiations were becoming stagnating to Walsh (although, winding up in the hardly super-creative Eagles might lend one to question this)....the last album with Walsh, is the live "Live In Concert" which features a numbingly long "Lost Woman" and for some odd reason no "Funk #49" which one would think would have been a concert staple for these gents.....
Anyway, Walsh left, and they continued for a few years to crank out a series of hard-rock albums that I have not included here, mainly because I don't have em, and THAT is mainly because they suck for the most part....well, "suck" might be a bit much, but as we look at their body of work in 2014, obviously Walsh WAS the James Gang.....one final tidbit.....one of the later album covers shows the four band members, whomever they happened to be at the time, seated,on a bed, with an attractive, groupie-type babe seated in the midst of them.....the album's title? "Bang" (GANG Bang, get it? get it?). Imagine the uproar, not completely unjustifiable, if someone were to try THAT nowadays......
Anyway hope to get the Kin Ping Meh up tomorrow, I guess you'll have a sleepless night wondering.....YER ALBUM-01 Introduction/02 Take a Look Around/03 Funk #48/04 Bluebird/05 Lost Woman/06 Stone Rap/07 Collage/08 I Don't Have the Time/09 Wrapcity In English/10 Fred/11 Stop
RIDES AGAIN-01 Funk #49/02 Asshton Park/03 Woman/04 The Bomber: Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the Wind/05 Tend My Garden/06 Garden Gate/07 There I Go Again/08 Thanks/09 Ashes, the Rain and I
THIRDS-01 Walk Away/02 Yadig?/03 Things I Could Be/04 Dreamin' in the Country/05 It's All the Same/06 Midnight Man/07 Again/08 White Man/Black Man/09 Live My Life AgainLIVE IN CONCERT-01 Stop/02 You're Gonna Need Me/03 Take a Look Around/04 Tend My Garden/05 Ashes, the Rain and I/06 Walk Away/07 Lost Woman
Links before ye know it....................