Review Summary: They say "The higher you get, the better you play." Lucky for Joe Walsh, he's always high.
With the album’s title Joe Walsh is riffing on a popular phrase of the time that "The higher you get, the better you play."
Lucky for Joe Walsh, he's always high. And “The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get” is a prime example of that.
A psychedelic effort from Walsh and company, “Rocky Mountain Way” is the joltingly radical rocker intro on your trip down Walsh’s rabbit hole. An ode to the Colorado mountain range, it begins with a simple blues riff, slamming into high gear when the charging buffalo herd of the piano-led rhythm section and Walsh slide guitar makes the song the classic that it is.
In the first lyric, Walsh brags about spending the last year “Rocky Mountain Way, couldn’t get much higher.” As the song heads towards its climax of a trippy yet funky talk-box solo, it’s clear that what’s he saying is very true.
The next two songs reinforce this psychedelic notion, first with the airy “Book Ends” in which frequent Walsh collaborator Joe Vitale takes us down a dreamy tunnel of memories, followed by the haunting “Wolf,” which ensconces us in a spooky twilight zone of rock n’ roll.
By “Midnight Moodies,” we’re fully enveloped in Walsh’s sonic trip. A jazzy instrumental driven by a whimsical flute solo, we feel as though we’re being led through a forest by a half-goat, half-man that may have once recorded a Steely Dan B-Side.
"Happy Ways" stumbles into sunshine pop territory with hints of Caribbean influences, capping off with a joyous "la-la-la" refrain bolstered by Walsh's slide guitar.
From there, we take a frolic through the “Meadows,” the part of the trip where one rambles on and muses that life is like a “circle that stands unbroken.” Drifting from verse to chorus with upbeat phase-y guitars, I’m convinced this is the song the lotus-eaters from the Odyssey had blaring on repeat.
As you come down from the trip, you are comforted with the closing tracks: the introspective “Dreams,” a late night barfly jam with sprinkled with organ and synthesizer, “Days Gone By,” a reflection that invites us to look back on where we’ve been, and finally “Day Dream (Prayer),” a seeming ode to The Beach Boys that caps off the album with some beautiful harmonies and a little bit of that signature Joe Walsh coarseness.
With “The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get,” Walsh acts as a guide on a psychedelic Rock N’ Roll excursion. And as a listener, you should take his hand; it’s one trip certainly worth taking.
