Rides Again in Bloomington, MN

With their second album
Rides Again
,
the James Gang
came into their own. Under the direction of guitarist
Joe Walsh
, the group -- now featuring bassist
Dale Peters
-- began incorporating keyboards into their
hard rock
, which helped open up their musical horizons. For much of the first side of
, the group tear through a bunch of
boogie
numbers, most notably the heavy groove of
"Funk #49."
On the second side,
departs from their trademark sound, adding keyboard flourishes and elements of
country-rock
to their
.
Walsh
's songwriting had improved, giving the band solid support for their stylistic experiments. What ties the two sides of the record together is the strength of the band's musicianship, which burns brightly and powerfully on the hardest rockers, as well as on the sensitive
ballads
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine