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Thread: The Fuggin' Eagles - GAH week 5 - 12.5.22

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    Default The Fuggin' Eagles - GAH week 5 - 12.5.22

    Going to start early into this controversial choice.

    Anecdote:

    Last night I was wandering the aisles of King Soopers, my local supermarket.

    Lost in the supermarket.

    I was humming an Eagles song. I might even have been singing it. It was piped in. It was a Glenn Frey vocal song.

    Another young dude heard me and said "Glenn Frey is the truth man." He was kinda bro-stonerish but nice. He was adamant about the musicianship and value of Frey and Felder, and even Henley.

    Which everyone is, on some level, begrudgingly or not. Henley.

    Then you have Walsh.

    I told supermarket stoner bro that Randy M. actually wrote Hotel Cali, the song. He didn't know that.

    So, we get an extended week to see if the Eagles are any better or worse than we remember.

    The objective greatness factors would permit this as a choice.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. Founding members Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.

    Their debut album, Eagles (1972), spawned two top-20 singles in the US and Canada: "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman". The next year's follow-up album, Desperado, peaked at only number 41 in the US, although the song "Desperado" became a popular track. In 1974, guitarist Don Felder joined, and On the Border produced the top-40 hit "Already Gone" and the Eagles' first number-one song in the US and Canada, "Best of My Love", which made the top 15 in Australia, their first hit overseas. In 1975, the album One of These Nights became their first number-one album in the US and a top-10 album in many countries. It included the US number-one hit "One of These Nights", which was their first top-10 hit outside of North America, and US top-five songs "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Also in 1975, guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh replaced Leadon.

    Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976) is the best-selling album in the United States, with 38 million sold, and primed the public for the late 1976 release of Hotel California, which would sell more than 26*million copies in the US (ranking 3rd all-time for US sales), and more than 32*million copies worldwide.
    Massive overplay and saturation, but that shouldn't count against them.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hawgdriver View Post
    Massive overplay and saturation, but that shouldn't count against them.
    By my measurement, that is an important point in their favor!

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    They have to make the list. I think the case is obvious. <3

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    Hawg seems uninspired by The Eagles this week.

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    Quote Originally Posted by aberdien View Post
    Hawg seems uninspired by The Eagles this week.
    I've been able to dig into some of the stuff I haven't heard as much, but it turns out I've heard their entire discog already and if anything, I find them less compelling than before.

    It's curious that a band has *3* years of albums, each with one to three hit songs, from 1972-1975, and releases a "Greatest Hits (1971-1975)." (why 1971? their first album was 72)

    Irving Azoff, the manager of the Eagles, said: "We decided it was time to put out the first greatest-hits because we had enough hits."[3] According to Don Felder, however, none of the band members had any say in the decision to release the compilation album,[4] which they complained was "nothing more than a ploy by the record company to sell product without having to pay additional production costs".[5] Don Henley was unhappy that songs like "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado" were lifted out of the context of the original album in a way that he thought was detrimental to the nature, quality, and meaning of the music. He said: "All the record company was worried about were their quarterly reports. They didn't give a shit whether the greatest hits album was good or not, they just wanted product."[5] Despite being unhappy with the album's release, the band nevertheless reasoned that it gave them more time to work on the Hotel California album,[6] which was released later in 1976.
    William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the songs in the compilation are melodic, immediately engaging, and lyrically consistent, so, "unlike the albums from which they come, these songs make up a collection consistent in mood and identity, which may help explain why Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) works so much better than the band's previous discs and practically makes them redundant. No wonder it was such a big hit out of the box".
    In hindsight it's tempting to give the record label credit for a marketing hype ploy like this prior to their best album, Hotel California. However, I would guess the label did not know at the time of the decision to release a greatest hits album, how well HC would turn out. It makes me give them a side-eye, but I wonder if it wasn't particularly responsible for some of HC's massive commercial success.

    ***

    Why the Eagles are the greatest American band.

    Don Henley is a great vocalist. It's no accident that the Eagles greatest success is related to the songs Henley takes lead. This is not entirely true, because Take It Easy and Already Gone and others are Frey. They are the Texas/California version of John and Paul.

    About 17 timely, catchy hits. Most are Henley/Frey, but a number of their big hits were written by others. Take It Easy began as a Jackson Browne song until Browne relented and allowed Frey to use it. Peaceful Easy Feeling and Already Gone were written by Jack Tempchin. Hotel California was written by Randy Meisner (who was a founding member of the band, but left immediately after Hotel CA), although he is not given any songwriting credit for it (?). The credit for the song Hotel CA can also be shared with Felder and Walsh.

    Hotel California
    New Kid in Town
    Life in the Fast Lane
    Take It Easy
    Witchy Woman
    Peaceful Easy Feeling
    One of These Nights
    Lyin' Eyes
    Take it to the Limit
    Tequila Sunrise
    Desperado
    The Long Run
    I Can't Tell You Why
    In the City
    Heartache Tonight
    Already Gone
    The Best of My Love
    THOSE HARMONIES!

    Did I mention that Hotel California is a fantastic album? It is. Nearly every song is a gem. The worst song, Victim of Love, is aite. The B-side is incredible, I've spent more time listening to that side than the A-side. Imagine you make this album, and you don't win the Grammy award for Album of the Year! That award went to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

    They don't have many unlistenable songs, if any. Part of this deep dive is to hit all the deep cuts, so I'll share my thoughts.

    EAGLES (1972)
    Robert Christgau felt that the band wrote good songs, but he was unsure about the authenticity of their country roots so what they produced was "suave and synthetic-brilliant, but false".
    Allmusic's William Ruhlmann, in his retrospective review, sums up the album as balanced in terms of songwriting, but noting that the three hit singles were sung by Frey and Henley, who would later go on to dominate the band.[23] Rolling Stone listed it as number 368 on their 2012 edition of the 500 greatest albums of all time list with the comment that the album "created a new template for laid-back L.A. country-rock style".[3] It rose to number 207 in the 2020 edition of the list.[4] It was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[24]
    Take It Easy - this song stands up so hard! Kudos to Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey! They crushed it. As a first song, this is almost the perfect north star for the band. Country rock, catchy, absolutely killer harmonies, makes you wanna dance a lil bit. Great songwriting! The back end from the part when it becomes just vocals "c'mon baby, don't say maybe, I gotta know if your sweet love is going to saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave me" with the tight af snare hit after that back into the groove...that's legit. Just a hell of a song. Banger.

    Witchy Woman - prior to the Felder era (One of These Nights, 1975-), this was the biggest chart success as a single, peaking at 9, (over Take It Easy at 12!). Interestingly, Henley seems to sing most of the highest success singles. This song is exceptional, it creates a unique vibe and makes me wanna get in bed with a bad bitch.

    Chug All Night - decent rocker, perhaps a bit too honky tonk

    Most of Us Are Sad - Randy M sings this Frey song. It's a bit of a dirge without much dynamic action. Pretty song with haunting harmonies. Randy has a nice voice. Not a needle-mover.

    Nighingale - Henley sings this Browne-written song. It has a nice little funky section during the chorus, but it's kinda ordinary otherwise. It's already apparent that these dudes, all of them, can sing the **** out of some song.

    Train Leaves Here This Morning - Leadon sings this Leadon/Gene Clark song. This is a pretty good song actually. It's closer to the country side of things but has a sorta ethereal sad quality to it that is appealing.

    Take the Devil - Meisner sings his own song. I like it. It's missing the goodies that make a song great, but damn...this roster is stacked.

    Earlybird - Leadon sings a Leadon/Meisner song. Weird af intro, I love it. Almost prog. Then some banjo pickin. This is def of its era. Good song if you don't mind banjo pickin and bird chirpin sounds.

    Peaceful Easy Feeling - Frey sings a Tempchin song. This is about as Eagles as it gets. Downtempo or midtempo rambler. Lots of open space in the song. Then come the layers of harmony.

    Tryin' - Meisner sings another Meisner. Not feelin this one.

    Overall: I have no desire to play this record from start to finish at this point in my life. The Eagles announce themselves as the Beach Boys of country.

    Desperado - 1973

    This is closer to an album I might listen to from A to Z. It's got a soul somewhere between the bluegrass vibe and the strings of Desperado.

    Doolin-Dalton. Badass song. "Lay down your law books now they're no damn good." Has a nice sneaky little funk breakbeat.

    Twenty-One. Leadon with another banjo song. Maybe as close to bluegrass as the band gets. Not a bad song actually, but not everyone's favorite genre.

    Out of Control. More of a Saturday night jukebox rocker. Has a nice little hook but the vocals aren't very interesting--they are actually a bit buried in the mix. I'm guessing at this point some of the tension between Henley/Frey and Leadon is starting to show.

    Tequila Sunrise. Great song. They play to their strengths: vocal arrangement and harmony alongside lyrics that promote this abstract notion of California country.

    Desperado. Possibly their masterpiece. To arrange this song for strings on their second album is a bold direction. This song has such an excellent dramatic arc. They write some great lyrics on this one.
    According to Henley, "Desperado" was based on a song he started in 1968, written in the style of old songs by Stephen Foster.[3] The song was originally about a friend named Leo and with the opening line "Leo, my God, why don't you come to your senses..."[4] In 1972, after they had recorded their first album, Eagles, in London, Glenn Frey and Henley decided that they should write songs together, and within a day or two after returning from London they wrote "Desperado".[4] They also wrote "Tequila Sunrise" in the first week of their collaboration.[5]

    In their first songwriting session at Henley's home in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, Henley played Frey the unfinished version of the song, and said: "When I play it and sing it, I think of Ray Charles and Stephen Foster. It's really a Southern Gothic thing, but we can easily make it more Western."[4] According to Henley, Frey "leapt right on it – filled in the blanks and brought structure", and the song became "Desperado". Henley added: "And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership ... that's when we became a team."[4]
    Certain Kind of Fool - Another Meisner song. This one doesn't get enough love, it's pretty damned good. Meisner finally gets some dynamic pop in a song, which is probably part of the Meisner/Frey/Henley songwriting credits.

    Doolin' Dalton Instrumental - Pure bluegrass fury. Good music tbh.

    Outlaw Man. Frey sings a song written by a dude named David Blue. This is about as on-theme as a song could be for the album. I'm not crazy about it, but it's aite.

    Saturday Night. Ooo. Now some mandolin. Tasty. The whole band has songwriting credit. Henley and Meisner sing it. It's laid back. But damn, this is one of the few songs that I heard before but now, it really stands up. Great song. It's the same formula as Tequila Sunrise.

    Bitter Creek. Another Leadon song. It's got some rattlesnake noises in there, but if you can get over that, it's not that bad. I think this might be my favorite Leadon song actually.

    DD/D reprise. Interesting way to cap off the album, but it provides a sense of closure. I think they nailed this album.

    Overall: Eagles are, for me, a band with hits. They are not a band with great albums except for one. This album is as close as they get to being a sort of band with a distinctive identity. The first album was sorta all over the map but all under the roof of a country rock Beach Boys vibe. This album introduces the introspective outlaw ethos that is their best version of themselves. Also, the worst: they are a rootsy bluegrass band with gothic country stylings.

    On The Border (1974)

    Already Gone - Great energy and tight musicianship. Love this song. Punk country.

    You Never Cry Like a Lover - Henley shows serious growth as a vocalist. However, the song itself isn't good. It's also a bit at odds with the songs before and after it.

    Midnight Flyer - Bluegrass! Meisner sings a Paul Craft song. It's a fun peppy song. Forgettable, but ok.

    My Man - Leadon doing Leadon. Tribute to Gram Parsons (who had just OD'ed) who Leadon played with in the Flying Burrito Brothers. I take it back, this is Leadon's best offering as an Eagle.

    On The Border - Nice groove. First glimpse of how Henley would sound on radio for the next 15 or so years. Decent song. Doesn't pop though, and it feels like it should.

    James Dean - I actively dislike this song. I am not sure why.

    Ol' 55. The Eagles sing a Tom Waits song. I don't like it that much, but it's probably the third best song on the album. Too much pedal steel. I'm also not sure what's happening in the song. The lyrics are kinda muddy in the mix. I think the producers thought that since Rocket Man had some pedal steel, they should go ham on this one. (?)

    Is it True? Meisner song. Has some nice catchy bassline hooks. It's ok. Forgettable.

    Good Day in Hell. Another tribute song to dudes who got lost in the lifestyle. Decent song but forgettable.

    The Best of My Love. It's weird because it feels like this song is out of place on this album. I'm not sure why, but it feels that way. Great harmonies.

    Overall: My least favorite Eagles album to this point. Actively do not want to listen. I hoped that my revisit would show that I missed out, but I do not think so.

    One of These Nights (1975) (the sellout album)

    Wow. What a transformation. We get a disco funk song to start it.

    One of These Nights. It's a decent song...but again, it's the same formula. Vocal arrangement/harmony added to this fictional Cali country ethos. Eagles do disco. It's good. The intro is dope, you can imagine sand-scoured desert animal bones, then you get into coke-head late night depravity.

    Too Many Hands. This is old Eagles. It's also meh!

    Hollywood Waltz. It drags too much for me.

    Journey of the Sorcerer. Legit song. Sorta like bluegrass prog. Neat. Good job, Bernie. Also, my dude David Bromberg plays fiddle on it!

    Lyin' Eyes. This is bridge song for the band. You'd expect a song like this given their history, and this is as good a country-rock pop song as you could ask for. It's fantastic, and the chords are neat. The high points of the song are the vocal harmony explosions in the chorus. They know how to play to their strengths.

    Take It To The Limit. Randy Meisner's masterpiece. I love this song.

    Visions. Lol...they give Felder the mic and the songwriter's mantle. It's an ok effort but doesn't pop. Good guitar work, but nothing that would impress Ted Nugent.

    After the Thrill is Gone. Good song. If you are into slower songs.

    I Wish You Peace. Unremarkable song to me.

    Overall: Great album, their first #1. I like the hits, and some of the deep cuts like Journey of the Sorcerer are great. I don't have any interest in running this one from A to Z though.

    Hotel California (1976) - 5th album in about four years.

    All the songs are dandy except Victim of Love is pretty generic. I've overplayed this album by listening end to end many times.

    The Long Run (1979)

    The Long Run. Idk. Kinda hokey and vanilla somehow. Not super feeling it.

    I Can't Tell You Why. Classic. Turns out that this is Timothy Schmidt's (the bassist who filled in for Randy M) song idea that he brought to Frey/Henley. They vampired it and it became a killer track. Easily the best song on the album and one of their best ever.

    In The City. Great song. Great little hook and ear candy during the chorus. Also, some killer little bass work here and there.

    The Disco Strangler. Meh.

    King of Hollywood. Meh.

    Heartache Tonight. Reminds me of that song "Elvira" by Oak Ridge Boys (1981). Maybe the ORB lifted it from the Eagles. I swear Don Henley's favorite drum pattern is "1, 3, 4&" that gives you that boom...bah-boom feel in the kick. He uses it soooo much if you look back at everything. It's his thing. The song: It's ok. It was their most successful commercial song from this album, but I'm over it.

    Those Shoes - 'Cause I'm the high (high) plains (plains) drifter (drifter)'

    Teenage Jail - Meh.

    The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks - Meh.

    The Sad Cafe - Tasty EP sound. The final Eagles song, sorta! This one is a formula song. Vocal arrangement/harmony plus that sorta Eagles fictional sheen. It's sorta plodding for my taste though.

    Overall: Meh album. I Can't Tell You Why, newcomer Timothy B's song, is the highlight.

    Also:

    Eagles Live, 1980:

    Seven Bridges Road. UNREAL. This is about as good as anything they ever did. This *is* the Beach Boys of country rock.

    Life's Been Good. Hey there, Joe Walsh. If the Eagles did more of this, they would be able to make a case for greatest American band. I guess this is your song Joe, but kudos for the Eagles getting it on a live album.
    Last edited by Hawgdriver; 12-10-2022 at 08:12 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    Why the Eagles are not the greatest American band.

    1. The albums don't stand up compared to bands like Metallica, Journey, Steely Dan, CCR. Hotel California, Desperado, and maybe One of These Nights stand up a bit.

    2. The short amount of time in the spotlight. They burned super bright from 75-76. That was the Greatest Hits album followed by Hotel CA. They were nominated for a Grammy award for new act with their debut, so they were known in 1972. But they had one of those Metallica-like commercial explosions and the label made them megastars. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many units moved from Greatest Hits and Hotel California.

    3. The songwriting output is uneven. Whereas Roger Waters and David Gilmour can pack a double-album full of bangers on The Wall, Henley and Frey seem comparatively limited.

    4. The "sweet spot" of the Eagles oeuvre is vocal arrangement and harmony set to a make-believe California desert outlaw ethos. They don't have much outside that. All bands should stick with what they are good at, but to me it's just a bit too limited to consider them the greatest.

    They are one of the greats.

    But I'm sorta over The Eagles for a while rn.

    I got jazzed by Journey and CCR. Steely Dan was my favorite week because their music is just terrific from A to Z. Metallica was even sorta interesting to dive into some of the late career stuff, even though it didn't end up moving the needle for me.

    But I just wanna move on rn.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    This thread, btw...



    guess no one else is feeling it either?

    The Eagles have some great music. Guess we don't care to discuss it right now.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    This is Eagles-adjacent.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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    lol

    Quote Originally Posted by Sting
    "You know cos I just lost my parents--both my parents died in the same year...to this day, people come up to me and say 'my dad died and that album really meant a lot to me,' which is very nourishing {pats heart} for a songwriter to hear that your songs have a utility beyond just their own solace, that it actually helps other people."

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