This is the debut solo effort from ex-
Spirit/
Jo Jo Gunne vocalist and occasional keyboard player
Jay Ferguson. When left to his own devices,
Ferguson steps away from the somewhat formulaic hard-rocking boogie of
Jo Jo Gunne, developing a more concurrent 1970s California-bred sunshine pop and pre-disco vibe. Who better to corral
All Alone in the End Zone (1975) than
Jo Jo Gunne's former producer,
Bill Szymczyk, who gathered some of the mid-'70s most sought-after session performers -- including
Joe Walsh (guitar/backing vocals),
Joe Vitale (drums),
George "Chocolate" Perry (bass), and
Joey Murcia (guitar). As an ensemble they give the material a lift as well as provide an added bite to
Ferguson's originals and the effort's sole cover of
Traffic's "Medicated Goo." Both the opener, "Snakes on the Run," and the title track, "All Alone in the End Zone," are personal and seemingly liberating musical statements. The former is an uptempo four-on-the-floor groover that deals with the hassles and runaround inherent in "the biz," while the latter is a midtempo point-of-view rocker that directly refers back to
Ferguson's earlier band(s) throughout the song -- most notably in the opening lines "Uncle Jack he said get on back" as well as "But I jumped the
Gunne/Tried to run, run, run." "To the Island" contains definite projections of
Ferguson's major hit "Thunder Island," from the prominent acoustic guitar to the tricky syncopation that propels the verses into a tropically flavored shuffle. As he did with
the James Gang, Barnstorm, and ultimately
the Eagles,
Walsh's trademark slide and extended guitar phrasings go a long way in enhancing the strength of the rockers as well as the ballad "Everybody Goes from Here." Although
All Alone in the End Zone did not spawn a hit single, it did establish
Jay Ferguson away from the name recognition of his previous associations, priming him for the follow-up smash
Thunder Island (1978). ~ Lindsay Planer