June 7, 2012 12:00PM ET

Joe Walsh: Still Slinging Riffs and Takin’ It Easy

On his solo LP, the part-time Eagle turns in laid-back Cali rock and makes the most of sobriety

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Your last solo album came in 1992. What took you so long to make another?
The Eagles got back to work and went around the world a couple of times, and I also got sober. I had to rebuild Joe from the bottom up and learn to do everything without vodka.

How was it working sober?
It’s not a party. It’s work. I get more done in the daytime. My lyrics aren’t abstract, and I’m not hiding behind my humor. I’m letting people know who the real Joe is. now that I know. It’s a little scary.

It’s called Analog Man. Did you record it analog?
No. we recorded it digitally. I’m not saying I’m an old fart who came out of the woods and is saying analog is better. It’s not a judgment. I do know this technology ate the record business, and it ate intellectual property, and I hope it doesn’t eat me.

I assume “Funk 50” is a takeoff on “Funk #49,” by your old band the James Gang.
Last year ESPN called me up and said, “We want a song that sounds like ‘Funk #49,’ but not that exact song.”

Is it more fulfilling to work solo than in the Eagles?
Being a part of a band is fulfilling, and Don [Henley] and Glenn [Frey] come up with great stuff to play to. But it’s nice to be able to get my brains onto a CD. I think I’m back, it’s not going to be another 20 years until the next one.