So What

Bought the album when it was released in ‘74. Owned it until I parted with my albums and stereo system 25 years later. I rebuilt much of my collection in CD form, but had a hard time finding this one, and I missed it. Essential for JW fans, and a serious “should have” for everyone else. This is where his musical vision begins to gel and be realized. Great mix of ballads, rock, country and Joe humor.

Good cd and service no damage in delivery good job

Walsh was hitting a stride at this time in his career, coming off of a huge seller (The Smoker You Drink . . . ). Without trying to dissect it too much, So What had strong songs, the usual high-quality musicianship and great production. His remake of "Turn to Stone" is a clear improvement on the original. "Time Out," with its terse, anchoring riff, is as good a Walsh song as can be found, and "Help Me Through the Night" is a sublime and enduring example of his tender heart -- something that in future years would become increasingly obscured (no doubt aided by substance abuse) by wry lyrics and humor that could lean toward the cynical or immature (like in the title of his 1983 album You Bought It, You Name It and its regrettable track "I.L.B.T.'s") His humor pops through nicely in only occasional spots here, and that's all the more significant when you factor in that Walsh had recently lost his first daughter, Emma, in a car accident. She was 3 years old. This adds tremendous resonance to his superb, all-keyboard recreation of Maurice Ravel's "Pavanne for the Sleeping Beauty." His tribute to his daughter, "Song for Emma," is heartrendingly beautiful. There is a sense of weight and melancholy in much of this album, and if I had to guess, the throwaway cut "All Night Laundry Mat Blues," the shoulder-shrugging "Welcome to the Club" and even the somewhat glib album title itself seem like attempts to shield his grief. For inventiveness, I'd probably rate Barnstorm and The Smoker You Drink slightly higher, but this will always remain a classic and inspired album from Walsh.

My favorite Joe Walsh album however flawed it may be. You have to give Joe credit for having the balls to title an album "so what?" The album kicks off with Welcome to the Club, another slightly tongue-in-cheek everyman rocker with a killer riff that is Walsh's signature. Falling Down rambles along without going anywhere then segues into Pavanne, a short synthesizer interlude that lends nothing. Luckily the album rights itself with Time Out. Side one (for you vinyl freaks) ends with a fun little ditty All Night Laundry Mat Blues, a fun sing along that is mercifully short.Side two kicks off with a rework of Turn to Stone that appeared in Joe's first post-James Gang album, Barnstorm. This version is an improvement and remains the definitive version of a classic Walsh rocker that features a Rocky Mountain Way style riff. Joe brings in his buddies from the Eagles to help out in Help Me Make It Through The Night, a gorgeous ballad that ranks with Joe's best. County Fair has a good arrangement but lyrically it has nothing to offer. The album ends with Song to Emma, a nice ballad but with overdone strings and it doesn't even come close to Help Me Make It Through The Night.Despite it's flaws it's a good album with excellent highlights and few lows.

I was just tak'in a look see at what is still available from J.W. And felt compeled to write a little. this L.P. brings back such great memories partying in H.S. I got (the L.P.)it from Columbia house! It was the Months feature L.P. and I failed to tell them not to send it!!! imagine that. I wasn't even crazy about it when I first got it! I was young Freshman Yr., to young to (at first) understand the depth of feelings in this L.P. A Few years later I got it... and it STILL hits me with a solid Rock injection whenever I plug it in today! Its' plenty hard enough and yet is not afraid to have a soft side that I don't find cheesy at ALL! Emotionally/Musically/Soulfully I would put this on par with BAD Companies 1st L.P.) very different bands to be sure but energectically seem to be both in parody, I feel the exact same way about the B.C. L.P. today as well. Albeit J.Walsh can't sing as well (as B.Co.) it doesn't hold back the music or message.GET THIS L.P. if it is the ONLY ONE you ever get! Then after that I would recommend "The Smoker you drink the player you get" which came out the year before in 73' after that I would say get "But seriouly folks" I see that several other good ones are only available for the big bucks now so don't delay! Anything else I could say has been said and broken down more throughly in other's comments than I need to re-cover.

Reviewing the seller, not the album, which was great, but perhaps a notch under “The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get” for me. kt_booktigers was fantastic - prompt, good condition & intact. I would order from them again 👍

For JW lovers out there, this is a welcome addition to his MP3 catalog. I have had over the years, pretty much all the vinyl copies of Joe Walsh records but like you, let the old records go the way of that pile of VHS tapes. I looked for years for "So What" and "the smoker you drink" on CD but couldn't find it except on old cassette or 12 inch records. The "greatest hits" type compilations didn't have all the good stuff or too much of the really old "James Gang" stuff (slightly before my time). So the recent additions of these MP3 albums is GREAT. For the true audiophiles, there are those annoying digital breaks between the songs that flow from one to the next, but I don't care. I had a copy of "Dark Side of the Moon" on 8 track and the machine switched tracks halfway through the guitar solo on "Money". I put up with that...I can put up wiht a few digital breaks. So thank you, who ever you are out there that finally got us this. I am grateful.

Many will cite Joe's excellent earlier works (both solo & with the James Gang) as edgier and in fact better than So What but for me this album is the culmination of all of that and if it does seem a little less edgy it is because it is more refined - a brush wielded by an experienced and totally confident hand. In So What Joe reached the peak of his musical effectiveness - a distillation of all that had come before to which all his later works, both solo or with the Eagles, though often marvelous, would always be looking back and up to. A recommended album.

Most of us know that Joe walsh joined the Eagles and rocked em up. Did you also know that most of the eagles are on this album in a backing kinda way. So return the favour and Hotel california is born . anyway this'So what' album is a J W classic. I still love Welcome to the club, Turn to stone a special song that Joe keeps recording altering and this is still the Best version.!and the beautiful haunting interplay of drums and guitar on country fair. Shame there are no outakes to add as a bonus, never mind.The ideas this man has in his head will keep him going for decades!

I bought this CD as a gift for my brother, he's a huge Joe Walsh fan, and had this album on vinyl, but wanted a CD to play in the car. He was pleased with it

Wow, this is one great sounding disc. The Steve Hoffman mastering works a treat here. The best version of this classic that I have ever heard. Never thought I would say it, but it even beats my original vinyl for sound quality. Very powerful.

Good product, quick delivery