Look What I Did! - The Joe Walsh Anthology

iTunes Review

The career-spanning double-disc collection Look What I Did! might at first seem excessive but there is more to Joe Walsh’s career than the average listener tends to notice. While it is true that the James Gang perfected the art of exhaust-fume rock with immortal songs like “Funk #49,” “Walk Away” and “The Bomber,” and Walsh helped to define '70s rock with his early solo albums (often recorded with members of his band Barnstorm), he also crafted sensitive, layered productions like “Help Me Thru the Night." The second disc does a good job of highlighting the lesser-known side of Walsh’s career. While his music had long had much in common with the studio confections of Todd Rundgren, songs like “I.L.B.T.’s,” “Space Age Whiz Kids” and “Shut Up” brought him even closer to the territory of Devo and David Bowie. Though the hard-rock devotees might be scared away, it’s all part of what makes Walsh great. “Theme From the Island Weirdos” even sounds like a bit like Brian Eno. At his heart, though, Walsh is a goofy, good-hearted rocker, as evidenced by the live rendition of the autobiographical “Ordinary Average Guy” that closes the collection.