Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Introduction
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acoustic guitar, composer
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strings
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composer
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composer
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- A2 Take a Look Around
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composer
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- A3 Funk #48
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vocals, composer
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tambourine
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composer
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composer
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- A4 Bluebird
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piano, composer
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strings
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organ
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string arrangements
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- A5 Lost Woman
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composer
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composer
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composer
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composer
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composer
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- B1 Stone Rap
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composer
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composer
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composer
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composer
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- B2 Collage
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strings
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maracas
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composer
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Patrick Culliecomposer
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string arrangements
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- B3 I Don't Have the Time
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composer
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composer
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composer
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- B4 a. Wrapcity in English
- feat. The Dunn Chorus (vocals)
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strings
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composer
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string arrangements
- b. Fred
- B5 Stop
- feat. The Dunn Chorus (vocals)
- with Jerry "Rags" Ragavoy (piano)
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composer
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composer
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
14 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Yer' Album [p] 33 rpm
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Yer' Album 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Yer' Album 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Yer' Album 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Yer' Album 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Yer' Album 33 rpm
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Yer' Album Remastered
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Yer' Album CD Sized Album Replica, Gatefold, Numbered Edition, Remastered, SHM
27 Reviews
‘Take A Look Around’ opens this album, and for me it was a prophetic song, as I was stepping on a plane bound for Vietnam.
The album is very strong and confident, mixing what was left from the music of the psychedelic era and what was about to follow. On a side note, James Gang was rejected by the Apple Recording Company, a letter sent to them saying that Apple didn’t feel the music of James Gang was up to snuff and James Gang would probably go nowhere. I can only wonder if any of the Beatles were involved in that decision. Happily James Gang found a label willing to nurture and support them as they found their footing to become one of the greatest bands in the world.
It’s a very funky jam of an album, and quite original for the day. I’ve often wondered were people find the inspiration to bring out something so new, solid and original. James Gang manages to make their guitars talk back and forth to each other. There are some nice smooth vocal harmonizing as well ... these carry over and laying right on top of the guitars. The drumming laces it all up tight, balancing that CHUNK CHUNK of the bass. Great record, great production, state of the art for the day ... the only thing it leaves you wanting is for more.
The album is very strong and confident, mixing what was left from the music of the psychedelic era and what was about to follow. On a side note, James Gang was rejected by the Apple Recording Company, a letter sent to them saying that Apple didn’t feel the music of James Gang was up to snuff and James Gang would probably go nowhere. I can only wonder if any of the Beatles were involved in that decision. Happily James Gang found a label willing to nurture and support them as they found their footing to become one of the greatest bands in the world.
It’s a very funky jam of an album, and quite original for the day. I’ve often wondered were people find the inspiration to bring out something so new, solid and original. James Gang manages to make their guitars talk back and forth to each other. There are some nice smooth vocal harmonizing as well ... these carry over and laying right on top of the guitars. The drumming laces it all up tight, balancing that CHUNK CHUNK of the bass. Great record, great production, state of the art for the day ... the only thing it leaves you wanting is for more.
Published
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Great debut! Joe Walsh was simply an amazing guitarist, taking what could be rote covers & freshening them up considerably (Bluebird, Lost Women, Stop). Plus, some great originals & sterling production by Bill Szymczyk make this a must own! But the best was yet to come...
Published
This milk crate classic of 60s hard rock definitely deserves a dusting off. The heavy distortion, psychedelic solos, and groovy jams are a total time capsule. It's not the most groundbreaking release, buy boy does it represent the spirit of '69. Do I revisit this album super often? No, but whether I feel like dancing, head-banging, or just cleaning my house with something groovy in the background, it always hits the spot when I turn it on.
Published
BLS-6034 Vinyl LP (1969)
Explosive debut! Can't say anything bad about this one folks. The band is tight, the atmosphere is fun, the guitars are typically awesome (it's Joe Walsh after all), the bass is monstrous and the drums are thundering...the recipe for a great album! Even the cover songs are top notch. There are two songs here that I just can't get enough of, and I feel I need to put it out there (to the 3 people who see this review). That being said, the interplay of "Stop" and the excellent use of strings on "Collage" are wickedly good.
Published
When the James Gang were in existence I'm not sure anyone took them seriously, much less the band members themselves, and as it turned out, it became a vehicle for minor guitar gods like Joe Walsh, Tommy Bolin, and Domenic Troiano to use as a stepping stone to bigger gigs, while JG just kind of floundered around without much direction. But, in the beginning, it was created by drummer Jim Fox somewhere in Ohio, and after some years of slugging around through a few lineups, Walsh, Fox, and a guy named Tom Kriss came together and recorded this debut record.
And what about Yer' Album? Honestly, it's a bunch of bass-heavy grooves, some interesting but overlong covers, a few artsy-fartsy piano-orchestral pieces, some studio cut-in interludes, maybe two or three actual songs, and there is the James Gang's debut album. Tailor-made for guitar/gear-head bud smokers. But, if you want my honest opinion, the real excitement starts on the next album.
And what about Yer' Album? Honestly, it's a bunch of bass-heavy grooves, some interesting but overlong covers, a few artsy-fartsy piano-orchestral pieces, some studio cut-in interludes, maybe two or three actual songs, and there is the James Gang's debut album. Tailor-made for guitar/gear-head bud smokers. But, if you want my honest opinion, the real excitement starts on the next album.
My track thoughts are below:
"Tuning Part One"- 2
"Take a Look Around" - 4
"Funk #48" - 3
"Bluebird" - 3
"Lost Woman" - 3
"Stone Rap" - 2
"Collage" - 3
"I Don't Have the Time" - 3
"Wrapcity in English" - 3
"Fred" - 3
"Stop" - 2
Aggregate - 2.82 (3)
"Tuning Part One"- 2
"Take a Look Around" - 4
"Funk #48" - 3
"Bluebird" - 3
"Lost Woman" - 3
"Stone Rap" - 2
"Collage" - 3
"I Don't Have the Time" - 3
"Wrapcity in English" - 3
"Fred" - 3
"Stop" - 2
Aggregate - 2.82 (3)
Published
collage men
Named for Jesse James’ infamous 19th century posse, Cleveland’s James Gang endured strange twists of fate that brought ex-Measles guitar sultan Joe Walsh to the fold, and an even stranger one that morphed this them into a power trio. Holed up in a studio with blues Svengali Bill Szymczyk in 1968, the band emerged with “Yer Album”, a platter that feels like a triptych for navigating the late 60s rock ‘n roll landscape.With 3 covers and 3 songs over the 6-minute mark, it’s fair to say the band hadn’t quite figured out their trajectory at the time of the debut. But hardwired as they were for combustible jams, the Gang tear through these songs with a sort of unhurried breeziness, heavy doses of funk, acid rock, R&B and some jazz swirling about in the mix not unlike contemporaries Grand Funk and Chicago (despite rumors to the contrary, not all of the best bands from the late 60s were English). Just don’t expect to pigeonhole them into an easy genre slot. Like many works from this golden age - psychedelia and naivete giving way to hard blues and unrest - this record is all over the place.
If there were any struggles making “Yer Album”, you’d never know it from the free-flowing performances, between-song banter and miscellaneous goofing that bridges these eleven songs (technically eight if you discount intros and segues). Led by percussive overlord Jim Fox, Walsh and bassist Tom Kriss rush headlong into deep-groove covers like the Yardbirds “Lost Woman” and a breezy 12-minute piano-laced workout of Shuman / Ragovoy’s “Stop”, Walsh’s stuttering bends and sexy tube-amp tones adding hooks and colors all over the place . Originals? There were a handful, and all memorable. Icy orchestration washes against Walsh’s robust vocals in “Collage” (which would have been a better name for the album), while the cascading organ and haunting blues licks of “Take a Look Around” set up the album’s signature cut, the whimsically riffy nugget, “Funk #48”.
The only album to feature this particular lineup, “Yer Album” may not be James Gang’s strongest, but it's a party train of a record - once it leaves the station, it’s fun to the last stop.
Published
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The debut album from James Gang is perhaps best remembered for being the platter that brought guitarist Joe Walsh and his instantly recognizable voice to the attention of Hard Rock audiences.
Maybe not as focused as the band's future releases due to the diversity of musical styles included, with the performances occasionally a tad "loose" and some short, silly, and irritating "studio" bits breaking up the flow, Yer' Album does contain a slew of enjoyable material nonetheless, such as the songs "Take a Look Around," "Lost Woman," "Collage," and the rollicking "Funk #48."
Although it's not my favorite overall collection of tracks from James Gang (I actually prefer the albums during the "Tommy Bolin era" half a decade later), this release is still considered a Hard Rock classic by many, and rightfully so.
Maybe not as focused as the band's future releases due to the diversity of musical styles included, with the performances occasionally a tad "loose" and some short, silly, and irritating "studio" bits breaking up the flow, Yer' Album does contain a slew of enjoyable material nonetheless, such as the songs "Take a Look Around," "Lost Woman," "Collage," and the rollicking "Funk #48."
Although it's not my favorite overall collection of tracks from James Gang (I actually prefer the albums during the "Tommy Bolin era" half a decade later), this release is still considered a Hard Rock classic by many, and rightfully so.
Published
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