Songs for a Dying Planet
| Songs for a Dying Planet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1992 | |||
| Recorded | During February–May 1992 | |||
| Studio | Reflection Sound Studio, Charlotte, North Carolina and Kiva West Studio, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:38 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Joe Walsh chronology | ||||
| ||||
Songs for a Dying Planet is the tenth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Walsh. It was released in mid 1992, on the label Epic. Keen to re-establish himself after his ill-received 1991 album, Ordinary Average Guy, Walsh enlisted his former producer Bill Szymczyk. At the end of the track "Certain Situations," you can hear a Morse code message that says "Register and vote for me."[1]
The album was received negatively by the majority of music critics and it was also a commercial disappointment, missing the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic, which called an end to Walsh's solo career for 20 years before he released another solo album in 2012 called Analog Man. The song "Vote for Me" however was a minor success, peaking at number 10 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | F [3] |
Reviewing for AllMusic, critic Vincent Jeffries wrote that the album "fulfills [those] expectations to a degree, but the songwriter's weakened comedic instincts and extreme sincerity make Songs for a Dying Planet a difficult recommendation."[2]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Joe Walsh except where otherwise indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shut Up" | 3:19 | |
| 2. | "Fairbanks Alaska" | 3:27 | |
| 3. | "Coyote Love" | Joe Vitale, Walsh | 4:43 |
| 4. | "I Know" | 1:45 | |
| 5. | "Certain Situations" | 4:34 | |
| 6. | "Vote for Me" | Vitale, Walsh | 4:21 |
| 7. | "Theme from Baroque Weirdos" | Bill Szymczyk, Vitale | 1:33 |
| 8. | "The Friend Song" | 3:33 | |
| 9. | "It's All Right" | 3:25 | |
| 10. | "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 3:59 |
| 11. | "Decades" | 12:02 | |
| 12. | "Song for a Dying Planet" | 2:00 |
Personnel
- Joe Walsh – lead vocals, guitars, trombone, keyboards, percussion
- Joe Vitale – drums, keyboards, percussion, flute, backing vocals
- Dale Peters – bass guitar
- Rick Rosas – bass guitar
- Jim Brock – percussion
- Jimi Jamison – backing vocals
Production
- Producers: Bill Szymczyk and Joe Vitale
- Executive producer: Scott Maclellan
- Engineers and mixing: Bill Szymczyk and Mark Williams
- Assistant engineers: Tracey Schroeder and Mark Herman
- Mastering: Ted Jensen
- Art direction/design: Dawn Patrol
- Artwork: "Three Men in a Boat" by Assheton Gorton
- Management: David Spero
Charts
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Vote for Me" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 10 |
See also
References
- ^ http://www.joewalshonline.com/funfacts.htm
- ^ a b Jeffries, Vincent. "Songs for a Dying Planet > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311799,00.html
