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Ordinary Average Guy

Joe Walsh - Ordinary Average Guy Audio CD

A fair review of the Joe Walsh "Ordinary Average Guy" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Joe Walsh reviews here, or go back to the Joe Walsh tabs.

Band: Joe Walsh
Title: Ordinary Average Guy
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-04-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Two Sides to Every Story 2: Ordinary Average Guy 3: Gamma Goochee 4: All of a Sudden - Jimi Jamison, Joe Walsh 5: Alphabetical Order 6: Look at Us Now - Jimi Jamison, Joe Walsh 7: I'm Actin' Different 8: Up All Night 9: You Might Need Somebody 10: Where I Grew up (Prelude to School Days) 11: School Days

Joe Walsh - Ordinary Average Album
"Average Guy" was a bit of a comeback for Walsh. I have a lot of Joe's 70's and 80's albums on vinyl, but not a lot on CD. After having significant success as both a solo artist and as a member of The Eagles and James Gang, Walsh's star had fallen in the late 80's to the point where his albums rarely received any airplay and his sales fell flat. So it was a bit of a surprise when this one came out and suddenly the title track was all over AOR radio. Unfortunately the album itself is one of Joe's weakest in my opinion. This is one of those rare albums where I think the single is actually the best song on the album. The song "Ordinary Average Guy" pretty much features everything his fans love about him and deserved to be the hit that it was. The opening track "Two Sides To Every Story" is another winner, but after these two things slide down hill pretty quick. "Gamma Goochee" and "Alphabetical Order" are downright terrible. I guess he was going for a laugh on these, but it does not work. Really of the rest of the tracks the only ones I like are "All Of A Sudden" and "Where I Grew Up". I'll give this album a weak 3 stars, but Walsh has done much better.

Uneven, but has some solid Joe sprinkled throughout..

Joe wrote some solid songs with some depth this time out. All I can say is that compared to "Got any Gum" or "Songs for a dying planet", "Ordinary Average Joe" is a home run.
I just wish Walsh would let go and REALLY play that guitar.
But this release still pales next to his earlier output from 73-81.
I wish Joe would go back and REALLY listen to what he did back in the day.

Highlights: Title track, which is a decent spin off of "Life's been good" with all it's visualized charm, All of a sudden, I'm actin different, Up all night, You might need somebody, and Where I grew up/school days. Joe Vitale adds another nice tough to a Joe Walsh release. I enjoy his vocals and his drumming.

I don't have a problem telling another individual to purchase this release. I've had some good times playing this one loud. I enjoy the production values too. It will bring along with it some quality listening/moments. It's not the "best Joe", it's more like "just Joe". .

The "funny "eagle(s) member does it on this one
And man Joe Walsh has an extra quality touch on every thing he put`s his mark on too. I`ve seen Joe Walsh live on Eagles Hell Freezez over tour back in 1996 in Norway. This CD is not any exception. Track 1 Two sides to every story starts with a harmonica and a big heeey shout from Walsh and there you go. The rythm is cool, and the laidback quality "growl" singing from Walsh is great. Track 2 Ordinary average guy, is one of the realy funny one, on this CD. It`s a great homage to us average guys out there. It has a reagge rythm and also a certain "coolnees" which makes this something else to listen to. Track 3 The Gamma Goochee, is a minor let down. It`s like a children rhyme song. It`s fun in a way, and has a funky back beat, but sometimes it can be overkilled in a way. Track 4 All of a sudden is anyway a great ballad, where the creative use of fuzzy guitar sound, and an open airy sound picture lift`s this one up to a just great song. Track 5 Alphabetical order is a messy not to interesting song to lend you ear to. Forgetable. Track 6 Look at us now, with it`s jungle rythm drums, is studio extragavanza music, which realy has the force to bring out quality in every musical/vocal department. Track 7. I`m actin different, is an ordinary song which glimmers quality here and there. Average. Track 8 Up all night is anyway a winner, where Joe Walsh change his voice in a sentimental great way. A certain touch of synth quality plays lifts this one above average. Track 9 You might need somebody is even better with it`s airy soundpicture. This is a very quality pop song, which shines from begin�ng to the end. Track 10 Where i grew up, is a sentimental prelude to track 11 School days. These are two songs bound together where the last one changes gear into a more light heavy metal mood song. All in all Joe Walsh "the funny" eagles "does it " most of the time on this one.

A Worthy Album
As with most Joe Walsh albums, it had its moments, but in the end it somehow fell flat. When this album came out in 1991, I didn't think much of it. Through the years it was largely lost amid my CD collection.

Well, it's amazing what time can do to your perspective. I just loaded the CD into my iPod, and gave each of the tunes a spin as I was doing so. Not only has this album aged well, most of the songs on the album were immediately recognizable to me. That's quite a feat for an album that I initially considered a disappointment, and it probably says more about the album than any review could.

If you like Joe Walsh (and by that I mean that you like the artist, and not just the big hits), then you will like this album. I cherry pick favorite songs from weak albums when I put certain artists on my iPod. This album was loaded onto my iPod in its entirety.

It's solid but not a masterpiece
It's got a good mix of different types of "Joe" songs. Honestly, I think this is a pretty good CD. He goes from the strong opener "two sides to every story" with his typical sound, all the way to "where i grew up/school days" which shows deep emotion and looking back toward his childhood. I think the best cut on the CD is "All of a Sudden" which I do believe found air time on the radio. This album also highlights the title track "Ordinary Average Guy" which is about exactly what the title states, being ordinary, average, and a guy. Check out the lyrics, you'll have a laugh with some of them. You should check this CD out if you have nothing better to do, it will be worth your while.

You can see a complete list of all Joe Walsh discography, or go back to the Joe Walsh tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.