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<\/a><\/p>\nI don’t hate the Eagles, obviously, or I wouldn’t be about to Why?<\/p>\n Commercial radio.<\/p>\n Radio kills music.\u00a0 Corporate stuffed suits who wouldn’t know good music from a hole in the ground over play the same damned songs by the same damned bands again and again and again and again.\u00a0 There are more than a dozen bands, and those bands have more than five songs each, you assholes.<\/p>\n I stopped listening to radio because of this repetition and overplay problem, and it almost ruined the music of many of my favourite bands, like AC\/DC, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and yes, the Eagles.<\/p>\n I had to give Led Zeppelin a 10 year cool down, and after listening to all of their albums a few years ago, I decided that I’m good for another 10 years.\u00a0 The Eagles, however, were overplayed to the point where I had to nearly double that.\u00a0 It was 19 years since I’d listened to any of the Eagles music I had.\u00a0 I had sworn them off after hearing Hotel California on the radio every single day for five days in a row when my alarm went off.<\/p>\n But anyway, I’m better now.\u00a0 And out of the blue, I was thinking about all those great bands who made great music, but hated each other as people and fought each other.\u00a0 The Eagles were the first to come to mind, so some of their music started floating into my memory, and I decided to give their back catalog a proper spin.<\/p>\n I never had their studio albums except Hotel California, so I listened to them all on YouTube in order of release.\u00a0 And to cut to the chase, I was very, very impressed.\u00a0 I enjoyed their early music far more than I thought I would, and I remembered just how much and why I loved their songs before overplay and repetition made me hate hearing them.<\/p>\n So here is my rundown and quick review of those Eagles albums.<\/p>\n Eagles (1972)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I’ve never really been a big fan of straight-up country music, but this mix of country-rock has grown on me.\u00a0 I actually didn’t like the songs from this album that I’d heard at first, but after getting over myself and giving this whole album a fair listen, I’ve got to say that this is a really great album.\u00a0 There are a couple of boring spots here and there, mostly when Glen Frey tries to rock to hard for his own good.\u00a0 But I was quite impressed by what Bernie Leadon brought to the band from this record onward.\u00a0 That guy was massively talented, as a player, singer, and as a songwriter.\u00a0 And it turns out that Don Henley’s a really good drummer too.\u00a0 Who knew!<\/p>\n A lot of people discovered this band from this record right at the start of their career, so they became relatively famous and successful early on.\u00a0 Fame would kind of mess them up artistically, but for now, they were making great music.<\/p>\n Desperado 1973<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I was not expecting this.\u00a0 This album is a masterpiece.\u00a0 I’d heard the songs Tequila Sunrise and Desperado outside of the context of this album several times of course.\u00a0 Everybody’s heard those.\u00a0 But they really fit almost like magic into the album as a whole.\u00a0 This is something of a thematic album, stopping short of being a concept album, and it fits together and flows perfectly.\u00a0 From what I’ve read, there was a lot of eye-rolling when this came out because the whole “Western” genre in film and television was played out and sliding down in popularity when this was released.\u00a0 The film Westworld came out the same year, for comparison, and that turned the Western genre on its head.<\/p>\n But this album has some really interesting, poignant, and emotional statements to say about outlaws, villains, and the lifestyle that went along with how some men spent their time in the Old West.\u00a0 This album back cover is part of the experience too.<\/p>\n I get the feeling from listening to this album that it’s partly about fighting to blaze a path of your own, only to find out that it’s the wrong one.\u00a0 If you’re at all interested in this band’s music, forego the many “Greatest Hits” releases… get this one and listen to it.<\/p>\n On the Border (1974)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Here we have a deliberate attempt to change the sound of the band, which was accomplished by ditching the old producer, writing songs away from the country-rock style, and near the end\u00a0 of the recording process, recruiting another member.<\/p>\n This is the album that has Already Gone, which is probably the song that I liked hearing the most way back 30 years ago when I first discovered this band.\u00a0 That hot guitar work is courtesy of Don Felder, who joined the band late just before this came out.\u00a0 While that is an amazing song, the rest of the album doesn’t really stand up to the two that came before it.\u00a0 There are a few plodding sections that seem to not really gel like things did before, including what was one of their biggest hits “Best of My Love”.\u00a0 I can’t say I’m a fan of that kind of sound.\u00a0 Bernie Leadon shines again on this, with his contribution My Man, which might be one of the most beautiful songs saying goodbye to a departed friend that I’ve ever heard.\u00a0 Overall, this is still an enjoyable listen, and I recommend them all over any Greatest Hits package.<\/p>\n One of These Nights (1975)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This one is another stellar album, with some very interesting and brilliant songs that are unlike any that they’d recorded up to that point in time.\u00a0 The title track is a soul-influenced showcase of their talent that took a while to grow on me.\u00a0 I now think it’s one of their best songs, along with the Randy Meisner showcase Take It to the Limit.\u00a0 I have to digress to tell a story about that song in particular.\u00a0 I actually never liked Take It to the Limit, until one time I was at a strip club.\u00a0 I was about 3 beers in, having a nice buzz going.\u00a0 The next dancer out on the stage was an extremely gorgeous woman with a perfect body, and she danced to this song.<\/p>\n I was mesmerized, and not just by the way that woman looked.\u00a0 The song finally “clicked” for me, and I’ve loved it ever since.\u00a0 It’s a genuinely great song, and I don’t even need beer and tits to enjoy it.<\/p>\n There’s also a Bernie Leadon instrumental called Journey of the Sorcerer on this album, which is, pardon the pun, spellbinding.\u00a0 I mean, I had no idea that this band was making this kind of stuff on their albums past the Greatest Hits I knew.\u00a0 Some of what they were doing was downright progressive.\u00a0 It’s interesting and exciting music, from a band that sometimes gets a reputation for being dull and trite.<\/p>\n Speaking of Bernie’s songs, the album closer I Wish You Peace is another fine one, but his contributions weren’t being appreciated by the two band leaders, Don Henley and Glenn Frey.\u00a0 It was after this album that he would leave the band, sadly, and they never really sounded the same or as good if you ask me.<\/p>\n Hotel California (1976)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I’m gonna tell ya, right off the bat, I don’t like this album.\u00a0 Yes, everybody says this is their masterpiece, their best album, their pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance.\u00a0 I can see why almost everybody thinks so, I just find it interminably boring.\u00a0 Hotel California is a masterpiece of a song, and I can’t think of any reason to argue against anyone who says it’s the greatest rock song ever written.\u00a0 I actually really love that song, despite my little problem mentioned above.\u00a0 There are a whole bunch of great songs on here too, like Life in the Fast Lane, Victim of Love, New Kid in Town, and The Last Resort.\u00a0 That last one took seven attempts to record because Black Sabbath<\/a> was in the same studio recording their worst album and their sound kept bleeding through the walls.\u00a0 Thanks guys.<\/p>\n But as for the remainder of this album… god, I just don’t see the appeal.\u00a0 Even the addition to the band of the legendary Joe Walsh, whom I absolutely love in the James Gang and as a solo artist doesn’t make this an interesting or enjoyable listen to me.\u00a0 I’ve heard this album plenty, too, because I’ve had this on cassette since the early 90s.\u00a0 It’s just not for me.\u00a0 But it’s probably for you because it’s sold 32 million copies.<\/p>\n The Long Run (1979)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Oh Christ, what unlistenable dreck.\u00a0 This is fucking horrible.\u00a0 I’d only heard the title track, I Can’t Tell You Why, In the City, and Heartache Tonight from this album.\u00a0 I don’t like I can’t Tell You Why, and I can tell you why.\u00a0 It sucks.\u00a0 Joe Walsh’s version of In the City is way better than what the Eagles recorded here.\u00a0 That being said, The Long Run and Heartache Tonight are two genuinely great songs that can be counted among their best.\u00a0 But everything else?\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n Long-time and founding member Randy Meisner had also left the band at this point, changing the band chemistry and dynamic even further away from the original which had been able to craft such amazing and memorable stuff in the early ’70s.<\/p>\n Had this been a single release, just those two songs, it would have been a case of “Hey, remember those two really awesome songs the Eagles put out in 1979?” instead of what we actually got.<\/p>\n This isn’t the worst album I’ve ever heard.\u00a0 That distinction goes to the thoroughly unredeemable Van Halen III.\u00a0 But this is bad enough that I refuse to listen to it ever again.\u00a0 None of these songs are going to get a chance to “grow” on me because there’s nothing else good here that I haven’t heard before.<\/p>\n I feel like I should also mention the production.\u00a0 Bill Szymczyk’s production sucks all the life and vitality out of music, and the song Heartache Tonight is a perfect example of this.\u00a0 Just listen to that song.\u00a0 You can practically see the studio isolation booths and baffles as you listen.<\/p>\n Eagles Live (1980)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This one is almost as bad as the one that came before, but slightly better due to the fact that the truly terrible songs from that one aren’t on here.\u00a0 But as far as live albums go, it’s nothing special.\u00a0 It sounds pretty bad due to the stale and flat production, and the only standouts are the Joe Walsh solo songs performed by the band and the performance of Seven Bridges Road.<\/p>\n The Eagles had broken up before this was even completed and released, and most of the vocals are overdubbed on to live recordings, so it’s like a lot of live albums from that era… kind of fake.\u00a0 But it’s also an album that I actually bought because it was on clearance at the HMV store downtown for cheap.<\/p>\n Speaking of live albums…<\/p>\n Springfield Flyer (1975)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nbore you to tears<\/del> go on an extended rant about their music.\u00a0 But I do have to start off by saying that before about a month ago, it was damn near two whole decades since I listened to their music.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n