The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get
| The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get | ||||
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| Studio album by Joe Walsh | ||||
| Released | 18 June 1973 (U.S.) September 1973 (U.K.) |
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| Recorded | During late 1972 – Early 1973 | |||
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| Length | 35:44 | |||
| Label |
ABC-Dunhill (U.S. and U.K.) Probe Records (G.E. only) |
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| Producer | ||||
| Joe Walsh chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
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The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Walsh. The album was released in 1973, on the label ABC-Dunhill in the United States, and United Kingdom, and it was also released on Probe Records in Germany. It proved to be his commercial breakthrough, largely on the strength of the Top 40 hit single, "Rocky Mountain Way", which helped propel the album into the Top 10.
On this album, Walsh shares the vocals and songwriting with the other three members of Barnstorm, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale, bassist Kenny Passarelli, and new member, keyboardist Rocke Grace. As a result, a variety of styles are explored on this album. There are elements of blues, jazz, folk, pop, and even Caribbean music.
The title is a play on words "The higher you get the better you play!" After the success of this album, Barnstorm disbanded, and Walsh continued making albums as a solo artist.
The cover art for the album features a British Sopwith Snipe fighter that appears to be flying upside down (sky blue is at the bottom; brown ground is at the top).
Writing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Ben Davies wrote of the album "Walsh's ability to swing wildly from one end of the rock scale to the other is unparalleled and makes for an album to suit many tastes... [it] features some of the most remembered Joe Walsh tracks, but it's not just these that make the album a success. Each of the nine tracks is a song to be proud of. This is a superb album by anyone's standards."
On December 29, 2011 the original mix of the album was reissued in Japan in a miniature replica of the original album artwork. The album was remastered using Direct Stream Digital (DSD) to transfer the digital files. The release was a limited edition in the SHM-CD format. The reissue included a picture of the original vinyl label.
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Wikipedia