Godsmack | Angels Bark

It’s time for another Battle of the Bands and today I’m featuring Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way. Give a listen to the two contenders and vote which one you like best. I’ll post the results in 6 days!

Joe Walsh is an American singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Walsh has been a member of five successful rock bands: the Eagles, the James Gang, Barnstorm, The Party Boys, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. In the 1990s, he was also a member of the short-lived supergroup The Best. He has experienced success both as a solo artist and prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of other artists’ recordings. In 2011, Rolling Stone placed Walsh at the number 54 spot on its list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Rocky Mountain Way was released in 1973 from his album The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get. Walsh appeared in studio on The Howard Stern Show on June 12, 2012 and talked about how the lyrics to the song came to him in 1972 shortly after releasing his first solo effort, Barnstorm.

“I’m living in Colorado and I’m mowing the lawn. I look up and there’s the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and there’s snow on them in the summer. And it knocked me back because it was just beautiful. And I thought, well I have committed. I’m already in Colorado and it’s too late to regret the James Gang. The Rocky Mountain Way is better than the way I had. Because the music was better. I got the words, bam!”

Here’s Joe Walsh performing the song, Live from Daryl’s House with Daryl Hall (Live from Daryl’s House (simply known as Daryl’s House, and often abbreviated as LFDH) is an online series that was first created in the fall of 2007. The show features singer/songwriter Daryl Hall performing with his band and various guest artists at his home in Millerton, NY. The show provides a performance space that is an alternative to live concerts and studio sessions for popular artists. This allows the artists to “…have fun and [be] creatively spontaneous.”). (Source: Wikipedia)

Joe is NOT part of the battle so this video is for your enjoyment only. It is a great performance! (For more Joe Walsh, you might want to check out my A-Z Musical Tour of My Life post, featuring some great music and videos by Walsh and others).

Today’s battle pits Godsmack against Slaughter.

Godsmack – Godsmack is an American alternative metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released six studio albums, one EP (The Other Side), four DVDs, one compilation album (Good Times, Bad Times… Ten Years of Godsmack), and one live album (Live and Inspired). (Source: Wikipedia)

Godsmack covered Rocky Mountain Way on their Live and Inspired album in 2012.

Slaughter – Slaughter is an American hard rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album Stick It to Ya, which spawned several hit singles including “Up All Night”, “Spend My Life”, “Mad About You” and “Fly to the Angels”. The album reached double platinum status in the United States. The band remains a steady act in national tours, mainly in the Rock Never Stops Tour which features several bands of the same era. (Source: Wikipedia)

Slaughter covered Rocky Mountain Way on their 1997 album, Revolution.