Joe Walsh To Release First Solo Album in 20 Years

It’s official. Joe Walsh’s first solo album in 20 years will be called Analog Man. That’s not as clever as The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get -- one of the all time great album titles. But it does actually mean something. It’s the veteran rock star’s reflection on that fact that he started making music on reel-to-reel cassettes and vinyl LPs, but now records on computers and sells his songs as MP3 downloads.

"I know in the past, I’ve had screwy album titles, but I decided to call it 'Analog Man,'" Walsh said in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. "Because, you know, my generation of musicians, we grew up analog, and now it’s a digital world. We had to learn it, you know? Everything’s totally different. There's no record companies -- who knew that would happen? They were so powerful when I was young!"

Walsh is currently on a fall theater tour, playing selections from the album, which is scheduled to be released next February (Unfortunately, he’s not coming to Chicago).

Why has it taken so long for Walsh to release a new album? Well, first he had to give up the party lifestyle he celebrated in his signature song, "Life’s Been Good." That happened in 1994. Then, the Eagles reunited for their "Hell Freezes Over" tour and a new album, Long Road Out of Eden. When Glenn Frey and Don Henley call, Walsh drops whatever he’s doing.

"The Eagles were pretty darn busy for the last 10 years," Walsh told The Oklahoman. "We worked the better part of every year. And so, downtime I would work on music at my home a little bit, but when the phone rang I had to drop everything and go. You know, we played all over the world, and so I never got any momentum on my album. I just would write three or four days at a time."

(Walsh, who lives in Austin, Tex., will be performing tonight in Oklahoma City.)

The album was produced by another classic rocker, Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra and the Traveling Wilburys. And after Walsh is finished promoting it? He’ll head out on the road again with The Eagles. Classic rockers never die. They just go on more lucrative tours.

Editor's Note: Ward Room is just having a bit of fun. We know there's more than one Joe Walsh.
 

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