Customer Reviews
THE CONFESSOR, ONE OF JOE'S BEST !
The title track is the best song Joe Walsh has ever recorded as a solo artist and "Rosewood Bitters", "Slow Dancing", and "Dear John" are as good or better than anything he's done on his other solo albums. This album starts off a little slow, but picks up steam as it goes and the second half is very strong. "Good Man Down" and "15 Years" are also notable. Overall, the album has a more updated sound, but there is plenty of Joe's stellar guitar work throughout. His trademark sense of humor is here, as is his simple, unpretentious charm as a vocalist and lyricist. I only gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because "I Broke My Leg" and "Bubbles", although not bad, are lightweights. I still recommend this album, especially to Joe's fans.
The slide continues...
5 stars than 2)
For some reason, after "You Bought It. (I'd say it's more towards 2. . . You Name It," Joe Walsh and Bill Szymczyk didn't work together for a while. I believe that if he had retained Bill, this album could've been much better. For one thing, I think he (Bill) would have shoved the drum machine off the rooftop.
I cannot stress it enough: The production is dated and the drums are annoying. "I Broke My Leg," "15 Years," "The Confessor," and "Good Man Down" all could have been stronger songs if they'd had actual drums, and came across as solid rock songs rather than weak imitations. I understand that most labels in the '80s shied away from classic rock and jumped on the new-wave bandwagon at the time, but this album is evidence that sometimes it's better to stick to your guns.
It would be on par with "You Bought It. . . You Name It" if they had an actual drumset. On some tracks, like "Problems," it almost fits. But "Good Man Down" could've been a good-ol'-boy rocker if they had the solid sound of real drums, not this imitation electronic kit going "pfft pfft". I think Szymczyk would have also known not to imbue the shiny sound-of-the-day on the album--Joe Walsh sounds best when he's jamming, grooving, and having fun; the slick production makes the songs here sound awkward.
It beats what some of the other holdovers from the '70s were doing, but in comparison to even his earlier '80s albums, this simply isn't very good strong album. The lyrics aren't always there, such as in the schmaltzy "Dear John" or the vaguely bland "Bubbles". "I Broke My Leg" is okay, but could have been fleshed out more.
Most of this review is about ripping apart the poor album, so I'll post the good things it:
1. "The Confessor. " Other than wimpy synth drums, it's a strong song. Arguably, between this and "Rosewood Bitters", it might be the best track of the album. It's unusually serious and cryptic, but not pretentious. The video is funny-in-a-bad-way, though.
2. "Rosewood Bitters. " I haven't heard Michael Stanley's original, but this is a good '80s pop-rock song, and one of my favourite '80s tracks from Walsh. The synths are very '80s, but they actually fit here.
3. "Slow Dancing. " Joe Walsh does Ric Ocasek, and it almost works.
4. "Problems". It's "Things" revisited, but I liked "Things. "
Overall, if you liked "You Bought It. . . ", and you see this in the discount rack, pick it up: there's the chance you'll enjoy it, if only for "Rosewood Bitters" and "The Confessor" alone. This isn't a bad album, so to speak, but it sounds stiffer and simply less fun than his early stuff (and much of his post-"Gum" output).
Labeled mostly as "typical"
The Confessor finds Walsh in the middle of the eighties still rockin like it was the 70's. This album was slaughtered by critics upon its release, and has been catagorized as ordinary and typical 70's rock, but of course, these people are totally wrong. And really, whats wrong with this? His sound is updated slightly with more polished production, a bit more synth and keys, but at its core it's still Walsh, tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at stuff while laying down bloozy riffs and funky beats, which all your naysayers should know, that stuff NEVER goes out of style. The production on the title track really shines with every string rattle in Walsh's 12-string jumping out in the track giving a loose, slippery feel to the song before the knockout blow of crunching guitars and screaming vocals. Not really a signature style for Walsh, but effective nontheless. The rest of the album walks a tightrope of hangdog, laid back Walsh rockers, and pure pop structured songs, all delivered with a wink and a punch. The Confessor couldn't get any respect from the world when it was released at a time when funny looking Englishmen with bad haircuts and keyboards ruled the airwaves, nor does it get any respect today when focus-group picked talentless made-for-television bands are the flavor of the month. But for the afficianado of rock and roll listener its a worthy pickup if you haven't heard it. .
. You can see a complete list of all Joe Walsh discography, or go back to the Joe Walsh tabs
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