Hands down the most underrated "Eagles" album, IMO. Yes yes, "painful birth", I know. It WAS hard for them to make and they were pretty insufferable at this point with one another, especially Don and Glenn. Still, I think this album deserves a LOT more than what it got from critics and fans alike. It's the Eagles at IMO their hardest edged period. Some might argue LITFL and VOL from Hotel California were pretty hard edged for the once country-rock group, and they absolutely were, but something like LITFL pales in sheer "rawness" and edge to Those Shoes or Heartache Tonight. In some cases, there is less polish on TLR songs vs the HC album. It has a very industrial quality to the music I think and as I said, just a raw unpolished sound both in the way it was mixed sound wise, and in the way they sang and played their instruments.
Even something soft and ballad-y like ICTYW has a certain informal flavor to the way it was recorded, produced, and mixed. It doesn't have that gloss on it. It sounds like it was recorded in Memphis by a band that plays smoky clubs. And I mean that in a positive way, by someone who doesn't like a "Jeff Lynne/ELO" like polish on everything. And I don't mean a pop sensibility. Just more in the way a record is produced and mixed and the finished product. Not necessarily the writing or the tones of the guitars and instruments on the album. But just an organic sounding non-processed record. And I love that about The Long Run. Everyone knows I love NKIT. But if someone asked me what a glossy Eagles recording sounds like, that'd be the first one I'd point them to, probably after that it would be One Of These Nights, which I do like. But more often than not, I like a raw, live-sounding record without a lot of icing on top. Don't make it too pretty, in other words. It can be heartfelt and emotion-provoking, but it doesn't need to be a shiny diamond.
Yes, it may have The Disco Strangler and The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks, but it's still a great album. Warts and all, I would personally listen to it 5x before I'd listen to Desperado (album). Just my tastes.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THE LONG RUN!!!
Yep - It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that the band's last 70's studio album is 40 years old because their music is timeless.
I love this album even though I think it is uneven - it has some of their strongest tracks, as well as, some of their weakest. However, I think even the band's weaker tracks are listenable and I don't skip them when I hear them. I personally like 'Greeks' a lot - it cracks me up.
"People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016
Happy belated anniversary to The Long Run!
There are some great tracks here. Unfortunately the bad songs are really bad. Overall though I enjoy this album. “Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks” is silly but fun. I like it more than I dislike it.
My favorite used to be “In the City”; now it’s probably “Those Shoes.” “I Can’t Tell You Why” is up there too.
Right or wrong, what’s done is done
It’s only moments that you borrow...
Yeah, I have to say, considering some of the weaker songs on the album, I'm glad they didn't make it a double album, lol. But when they were hot, they hit it out of the park. "Heartache Tonight" and "Those Shoes" are two of my favorite Eagles songs.
I personally feel that while there are weaker songs granted, other than The Disco Strangler none of them are really "bad", per se.
For instance, I think Teenage Jail in the big picture of things is kind of underrated and it has actually grown on me some. King Of Hollywood is quite good.
I DO like the humor in The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks, just like I like Funky New Year.