''So What'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

. It was released in late 1974 on ABC-Dunhill Records. It contains hard rock songs such as "Welcome To The Club" and a remake of the Barnstorm track, " Turn To Stone". It also contains more introspective material such as "Help Me Through the Night" and "Song For Emma". On a few tracks,

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

, and

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (March 8, 1946 – July 26, 2023) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and founding member of both Eagles and Poco. Throughout his professional musical career, both as group member and session musician, his main r ...

of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

contributed backing vocals. Over a year and a half later, Walsh would be drafted into the Eagles to replace founding member

Bernie Leadon Bernard Matthew Leadon III ( ; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of thr ...

, playing on their best-selling studio album ''

Hotel California "Hotel California" is a song by American rock band the Eagles, released as the second single of their album of the same name on February 22, 1977. The song was written by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics), featuring H ...

'' (1976).

Production and recording

Two months before the release of the album, Walsh was asked about the album, and he said "I know this album's going to be an important one for me, but it's not easy to just crank them out anymore, I've got, what, six or seven albums out. I don't want the next album to sound like a bunch of outtakes from '' Smoker''. I want it to be the difference between ''

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

'' and '' Sgt. Pepper''. I've held back he album's releaseuntil that development was there, even though the record company's been screaming for it. I want it to be a big, big step… in thoughts, vocals, playing and maturity." Don Henley wrote the lyrics for "Falling Down" with Henley providing backing vocals on "Falling Down" and "Time Out". The album features three of the four members of Eagles; Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner providing backing vocals for "Turn to Stone" and "Help Me Through The Night". This would be the first time that the band members would appear on an album with the future Eagle. "Song for Emma" was written as a memorial for Walsh's almost-three-year-old daughter who had been killed in a car crash on April 1, 1974, four weeks shy of her third birthday. The accident was caused by a driver who failed to stop at a stop sign, hitting the Porsche driven by his then-wife Stefany with Emma in the car. Later,

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

wrote " Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?" for Walsh after visiting Emma's grave with him. Producer Bill Szymczyk had the following written on the run out groove of the vinyl "THAT'S NO BANANY, THATS MY NOZE" on the first pressings of the vinyl.

Critical reception

Writing retrospectively for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Ben Davies wrote of the album "A number of classic Walsh tracks are featured, including a more polished version of "Turn to Stone," originally featured on his debut album, Barnstorm, in a somewhat more riotous style... Most of the nine tracks feature solos of unquestionable quality in his usual rock style. The classic rock genre that the man so well defined with his earlier albums is present here throughout, and it is pulled off with the usual unparalleled Joe Walsh ability." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said "Time Out" has "the perfect combination of alsh'stasty, extended guitar licks and his vital vocal/lyric capabilities."

Release history

The album was re-issued by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in 1979 as "Joe Walsh" and minus "All Night Laundry Mat Blues". It appeared in 2011 in Japan in a limited edition miniature replica sleeve in the SHM-CD format. Audio Fidelity released the album on the

Super Audio CD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the compact disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple a ...

format in 2015.

Track listing

Original release

Cassette tape DSC-50171

Personnel

Musicians

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, background vocals (2),

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(1–2; 4–8),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

(1),

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(2; 4; 8–9),

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

(2; 4),

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

(3),

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan R. Pearlman, Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the ...

(3),

Church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

(6),

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(8–9) *

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar an ...

(9) *Jody Boyer – background vocals (2) *

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist widely known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1981), and " ...

– guitar (5), vocals (5) *

– background vocals (6–7) *Guille Garcia –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

(6) *Bryan Garofalo – bass, background vocals (2) *Ron Grinel –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2; 4) *

– background vocals (2; 4; 6–7) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fo ...

– drums (9) *

– background vocals (6–7) *

Kenny Passarelli Kenny Passarelli (born October 28, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. Passarelli was a founding member of the Joe Walsh-led band Barnstorm, co-writing the hit "Rocky Mountain Way". He later served as a contract player for a number of other ...

– bass (1) *

JD Souther John David Souther (November 2, 1945 – September 17, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was "a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters". Souther wrote and ...

– background vocals (4) *Leonard Southwick –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

(5) *Tom Stephenson –

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(1; 6; 8) * Joe Vitale – drums (1; 6–8)

Production

*Producers:

, John Stronach,

Bill Szymczyk William Frank Szymczyk (; born February 13, 1943) is an American music producer and recording engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the ...

*Engineers: Al Blazk, John Stronach, Bill Szymczyk *Mixing: John Stronach, Bill Szymczyk *Mastering: Rick Collins *Design:

Jimmy Wachtel Jimmy Wachtel is an American photographer, art director and designer based in Los Angeles. He has designed album covers for big artists such as Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Stanley, Jo Jo Gunne, John Cougar, and Buckingham Nicks ...

*Photography: Joe Walsh, Lorrie Sullivan *Artwork: Jimmy Wachtel

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1974 albums Joe Walsh albums Albums produced by Bill Szymczyk Albums produced by Joe Walsh Dunhill Records albums Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel