CLEAN 1970 Orig JAMES GANG RIDES AGAIN Hard BOLERO

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ORIGINAL 1970 FIRST PRESSING WITH "BOLERO"               

                                 The JAMES GANG

            RIDES AGAIN

\                                                            USA - ABC RECORDS - S 711

1970 very first pressing of the second James Gang album featuring "FUNK 49", but the reason to grab it up is this first pressing contains the segment titled "BOLERO" which was deleted off the pressing, for whatever reason, soon after released in '70, finding an original with 'Bolero' is very hard...

When you think about it, the James Gang was pretty much doomed from the beginning. They came of age when a pair of other power trios—the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream—had already run their course and who’d featured a pair of undeniable guitar legends. So what was the James Gang thinking releasing Yer Album, a debut record of bluesy rocker jams?

Thankfully, the band reconvened for album number two with producer Bill Szymczyk and, essentially, reinterpreted Yer Album with all the best parts kept in and all the freshman aloofness. Not sure if he was totally responsible for the structure that surrounds Rides Again (Szmczyk also produced the debut) but knowing that he cut some of the song lengths in half and added a bunch of arrangements that would totally fool the average listener into thinking the band was nothing more than three regular dudes from Ohio: Joe Walsh on vocals and guitar, bassist Dale Peters, and Jim Fox on drums.

“Take A Look Around,” Walsh’s composition from the first album turns into a pot grower’s anthem “Tend My Garden” for the second. “Funk #48” retains the same beat on Rides Again’s “Funk #49,” but Walsh trims a second off the riff and it makes all the difference in its potency.

Side one mirror’s Yer Album lumbering rust-belt stomp, but it does it with the utmost efficiency. There’s a lifetime of riffs to practice and the tone of Walsh’s Gibson is something to envy. You may have heard the opener “Funk #49” on classic rock stations and perhaps side one’s closer “The Bomber,” but to bookend the two in their proper place on side one is one hell of a first half.

Side 2 is all Walsh, who’s shown noticeable improvement as a lyricist in the year since the James Gang’s debut. They keep the second half a relatively acoustic affair, effortlessly going between elements of American folk, country-rock, and ending the side with the beautiful English folk tinge of “Ashes, The Rain And I.”

For all of the potential of trying to add too many musical elements and too much opportunity for self-absorbed performances, Szymczyk leaves everything at a concise half-hour total. Rides Again lends itself as an album that’s perfect for repeated listens while being just out of classic rock notoriety that it’s shamefully overlooked in many best-of lists that focus on that decade’s most worthy inductees.

1. "Funk #49"  – 3:54
2. "Asshtonpark" – 2:01
3. "Woman"  – 4:37
4. "The Bomber: Closet Queen" / "Boléro" / "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" – 7:04
5. "Tend My Garden"  – 5:45
6. "Garden Gate"  – 1:36
7. "There I Go Again"  – 2:51
8. "Thanks" (Walsh) – 2:21
9. "Ashes, the Rain and I"  – 5:00

On this initial pressing of "Rides Again", a 90-second electric rendition of Boléro is interpolated into the song "The Bomber." However, the songs writer Maurice Ravel's estate (which still owns copyright on the work) objected, and as a result the track was edited and that section was removed from the song on pressings of the album after 1970.

CONDITION: The gatefold cover is solid, no seam splits, no bends, no writing ...the white cover is hard to find this clean...VG++ collectible

The vinyl is very clean VG++ to "EX" (excellent) with a nice shiny gloss over both sides...plays excellent. 

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record