“Always frustrating”: The song that makes Joe Walsh uneasy playing with Eagles
While the Eagles were a supergroup of sorts, with the collaboration of such immense creative talents leading to their status as one of the world’s most successful rock bands, some members struggled to leave their previous musical identities behind. This was especially true for Joe Walsh, who was already a legend in his own right before joining the Los Angeles band.
By the time he joined the Eagles in 1975, Walsh had already built a formidable reputation as one of rock’s most inventive guitarists. His work with the James Gang had showcased a gritty, riff-driven style that contrasted sharply with the smoother country-rock sound the Eagles had cultivated during their early years.
Hiring Walsh will always be one of the Eagles’ most consequential masterstrokes. He provided fitting hard rock fire to counterbalance the soft rock cool of fellow axeman JD Felder, vastly improving this department in the band. One of the group’s leaders, Don Henley, was so amazed by Walsh’s impact on the Eagles that he would later remark that their iconic dovetailing performances – as typified by their 1976 masterpiece Hotel California – bring to mind the partnership of Duane Allman and Eric Clapton in Derek and the Dominos.
Henley once said: “Sure, he introduced some harder guitar playing even though he didn’t put it on this album in the way of songwriting, but I think he and Felder played some killer guitar for us all. To me, it’s like Duane Allman and Eric Clapton together.”
It was no real surprise to the outside world that Walsh helped the Eagles refine their sound and cement their place in rock lore, and it’s significant that his first record with them was Hotel California. The album would ultimately mark a turning point for the band, signalling their shift toward a heavier and more expansive sound. Walsh’s presence added a sharper edge to the Eagles’ music, helping them bridge the gap between laid-back California rock and the arena-ready style that defined much of the late 1970s.
Before joining in 1975, he had risen as one of the era’s most influential hard rock guitarists and had already been on madcap tours with The Who and Elton John in his previous bands, The James Gang and Barnstorm. It was with the former outfit that he burst onto the scene, with their funky hard rock formula highly popular.
The James Gang scored two big hits, ‘Funk #49’ and ‘Walk Away’. The former, from 1970, is their signature hit, characterised by Walsh’s choppy, attitude-laden riff and the syncopated groove. Yet, although Walsh would leave the band in 1972 and seek to push on, eventually forming Barnstorm, essentially a solo conduit, he could not escape the spectre of the lighthearted ‘Funk #49’ years later.
Despite the track being one of Walsh’s quintessential cuts, it would come back with a vengeance when he was playing in the Eagles and be a stark reminder of how far he had come creatively. In a 2018 interview, he even revealed that it would make him feel “uneasy” on stage when they would be in the middle of an Eagles staple such as ‘Desperado’ and people in the audience would call for ‘Funk #49’.
The guitarist recalled: “Yeah. It’s always frustrating to play ‘Desperado’ and have somebody in the back yelling, ‘Hey, Joe, Funk 49, man!’ It makes me feel uneasy. But I love audiences. They should have a good time. If they’re gonna come and hear you play, you should bust your ass to make sure they have a good time. Sometimes it bothers me, like the whole firecracker syndrome.”
Walsh explained that the lyrics are one of his main issues with the 1970 hit. The words just aren’t intellectual, he revealed, as at the time, he was more interested in crafting compelling sonic textures, with the words just an afterthought to fill in the gaps. Reflecting the extent of his development, it was not the same state of play on Hotel California.
