You Bought It - You Name It

iTunes Review

Joe Walsh’s second album of the ‘80s is in part a reiteration of his generation’s classic-rock values against a new rising tide of anemic, synthesizer-driven pop. “I Can Play That Rock & Roll,” “Told You So” and “Shadows” are basic, bulky hard-rock songs. But there is another side to the album that seems to be directly inspired by new wave. Walsh has always been a cracked songsmith at heart, with a love for eclectic sonics that goes beyond the tastes of most of his peers. That personality comes out in “The Worry Song,” “Here We Are Now” and “Love Letters,” all of which employ unusual instrumentation and quirky rhythms to articulate a surprisingly sophisticated pop sound — especially for a guy still invested in the juvenilia of “I.L.B.T.’s,” which became a hit even though it is a much weirder song than any of Joe’s classic-rock followers probably realize. Walsh's adventurousness peaks on “Space Age Whiz Kids,” a robotic shuffle that could be read as the old man’s tribute to the emerging hip-hop subculture.