The James Gang - Bang

With guitarist Domenic Troiano out of the picture, the post-Joe Walsh James Gang was able to take their career off life support temporarily by adding guitarist Tommy Bolin beginning with this 1973 release. Having just dissolved his short-lived fusion band Energy, Bolin's creative playing injects a little Miles and Mahavishnu into the usually rocking Gang, most noticeably on "From Another Time." Staccato guitar lines and congas begin the song, an old-style James Gang boogie fills the middle, and then a sound effect explosion abruptly brings it all to a jarring, nonsensical close. It's all of the album's problems in a nutshell since the knotty and the normal are at odds throughout, although there are many moments to remember. Even if Bolin's wistful "Alexis" doesn't fit with the other tracks it's a highlight, as is the opening rocker "Standing in the Rain" where conmen ("Your note said you went to Charleston/But I know you went to New Mexico) and cretins ("You left behind a dead father/A sick mother and 4 younger kids") are forced to face up to love. Bang feels less like a band album and more like talented studio musicians on the loose, but die-hard fans of either the Gang or the late Bolin will enjoy it, if only in fits and starts. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Name Credits Dale Peters Percussion, Vocals (Background), Bass, Fuzz Bass, Guitar (Bass) David Larkham Design, Art Direction Ed Caraeff Photography, Art Direction Jim Fox Vocals, Piano, Drums, Percussion, ?, Organ, Keyboards Jimmie Haskell String Arrangements Kenneth Hamann Remixing, Engineer Roy Kenner Vocals (Background), Vocals, Percussion The James Gang Producer Tom Dowd Remixing Tommy Bolin Vocals, Vocals (Background), Synthesizer, Moog Synthesizer, Guitar