Three years after Walsh's last solo album, two years after the last Eagles album of the 70's, and one year after the Eagles went their separate ways, Walsh essentially picked up where he left off with this irreverently titled affair. By now, we are at an uneasy crossroads (as were a lot of musicians from the 60's and 70's) - how to keep one's career going in the materialistic 80's, when values like artistry and musicianship were quickly out the window in favor of gross commercialism? Walsh's answer was to cultivate an alliance between his guitar playing and skewed sense of humor. However, on this particular album, the alliance is a shaky one. His choice of producer is odd: George "Chocolate" Perry, who was more versed in R&B and disco than anything else, and got his start with Miami's TK Records. Then there is the material itself, which is alright, except for one thing - Walsh's guitar playing is quite subdued compared to the albums preceding this one. Generally, it resembles the Long Run version of the Eagles, but with even more emphasis on funk and R&B, and of course, shades of traditional Walsh humor. I say shades because, sometimes Walsh contradicts himself, with some straight out depressing material - "Bones", which digs at 80's-style crass commercialism, "You Never Know", which many been have construed as snipes at his Eagles' band mates, and "Rivers (of the Hidden Funk)", which is technically sound, but emotionally lacking. The most memorable track, "Made Your Mind Up", gets by on a sunny piano riff, pretty vocal harmonies, and strangely resembles a Jackson Browne tune. Even when he sounds positive about things on well, "Things", one gets the feeling that it's a bit of a mask, and something's bothering him. And when he tries to be funny, well, there is "Down on the Farm", which feels forced. Hell, even the cover feels like a joke that missed its' mark. The strange thing about this is, unlike past albums, all of this makes for a rather flat listening experience. It appears that, like a lot of people, the dawn of the 80's appeared to leave Joe Walsh uninspired, at least compared to his 70's output.