James Gang Rides Again by James Gang

James Gang Rides Again, the Cleveland band's second album, rolled out on ABC in July 1970 with Bill Szymczyk producing and a new man on bass: Dale Peters, stepping in for Tom Kriss next to drummer Jim Fox and guitarist and singer Joe Walsh. That power-trio lineup is the whole story, three guys kicking up a racket bigger than the sum of its parts.

"Funk #49" is the calling card, a wiry, strutting riff with a drum groove you could build a house on, and classic rock stations still keep it in rotation. But the record doesn't just stomp: the hard-rock bluster sits beside softer folk-rock turns, proof the band could do pretty as well as loud. Walsh would bail late in 1971 for a solo career and, later, the Eagles, which makes this the sound of him at full, unguarded throttle.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.