Agreed, I really like the song too, especially the respective solos - at risk of straying off topic it's my favourite of the three widely derided songs from The Long Run. The Disco Strangler is one of my least favourite Eagles songs - I think it is unpleasant both lyrically (you've got to admit it's rather sleazy) and musically (that same in-your-face guitar riff throughout), but having said that, I by and large hate disco music so the criticism of disco and the lifestyle strikes a chord with me, I consider it to be creatively sound and I quite like Tim's bass playing on it. Greeks is the opposite - it's fun but essentially a throwaway devoid of any real compositional merit, and I don't think the humour is as funny as TJ, although I do like the groove and it does rock. If I'm listening to the album I don't skip any of these songs, the difference is I play TJ outside of the album more often.
I was interested to read about Glenn's synth solo on the song, just shows that it was intended to be humorous. I'm glad the other guys agreed to put it on the song! They had never used a synthesiser in that way before either, at least not on record.
JCL, do you know the full story behing TGDWNF & who "the Greeks" are in the song? I'm just curious as Don & Glenn explained what the song means in the same interview where Glenn tells about the synthesizer solo. I never would have guessed the meaning if I hadn't heard the interview.
Anyone willing to share for those of us who have no idea?
It's late & I'm on my way to bed, but I will try to locate the interview so I can give an exact quote. If I can't find it I will try to remember the details & post that. Glenn is quite funny telling the story. "The Greeks" are the members of university fraternities & sororities that Glenn & Don played for early in their respective careers.
Fraternity & sorority houses in the US often have names consisting of Greek letters such as Phi Beta Kappa.
The song appears to be a direct homage to the film Animal House which was set in a 'frat house' and this is one of the reasons why it has aged so badly, and also why it appeals less to non-Americans.
To me the biggest problem with Greeks is that it follows Teenage Jail and destroys the dark atmosphere that TJ has created. You hear Don's cool solo on top of a menacing riff, and then suddenly this jolly rock'n'roll riff appears. Greeks becomes ok eventually, but the beginning irritates me, because it kills the mood.
It's the same with some Beatles stuff. There are McCartney songs that are not bad at all, but because they follow rather dark and atmospheric songs, they sound lame to me. You know, Blue Jay Way -> Your Mother Should Know, I Am The Walrus -> Hello Goodbye, Strawberry Fields Forever -> Penny Lane, Glass Onion (with a really dark outro) -> Ob-la-di, ob-la-da.
I'm English, this is news to me!
and I love Greeks Don't Want No Freaks now as much as I did when I first heard it decades ago. Maybe I'm a freak too
If the music's good, I can still enjoy dumb lyrics. Greeks isn't as lyrically exclusionary as Long Road Out Of Eden or Glenn's unfortunate, Better In The USA which I like too.
To return to the topic I thought I'd do a Top Ten (I Was There) guitar solos;
01: Hotel California - I know it's a duet but 1st concert, 1st track, Never thought I'd see it
02: Witchy Woman - Halfway through the 2001 European/UK tour, The Eagles played WW for the first time since the 70s and GLENN plays the solo
03: In The City - LROOE tour with the horns, Joe adds a solo to the end of ITC, takes the roof off
04: Dirty Laundry - Joe rockin', the band jumping in unison
05: Long Road Out Of Eden - Just awesome from Joe, Smith good too
06: Love Will Keep Us Alive - Pretty little thing from Smith, wish it was longer
07: Life's Been Good - A joy from start to finish
08: Sunset Grill - Couldn't understand why they added this to the set list until Steuart and the horns take over and start soaring at the end of the song
09: Pretty Maids All In A Row - Joe takes about 3 notes to set that beautiful melancholic tone
10: Take It Easy - Glorious and triumphant end to my fist Eagles concert
Honourable mentions to solo (long haired) Don, headbanging to a storming, I Will Not Go Quietly in 1989 and Joe wailing away on Ringo's, I Get By With A Little Help From My Friend.
The first night, his Gibson, Les Paul was silent, he slammed the guitar on the floor and stormed off stage as concerned underlings came on to inspect the instrument for damage. The following night, the solo went off without a hitch. I thought Joe had lost his early 70s howl.
Mine, in no real order:
1) I Can't Tell You Why
2) Already Gone
3) Sad Cafe
4) Victim of Love
5) Those Shoes
6) Hotel California
7) Take the Devil
8. Tequila Sunrise
9) Peaceful Easy Feeling
10) Long Road Out of Eden
Shout outs to to Most of Us Are Sad, PMAIAR and In the City
According to the interview, "The Freaks" are Don & Glenn because they smoked pot. Glenn said that the "Greeks" could do all kinds of crazy things like driving by the police station & "dropping trou" (trousers, Glenn's words) but they didn't want to associate with people like Glenn & Don. Glenn's words again "They don't want no freaks". They said that Don played many more of these kinds of venues than Glenn did. I find it hard to believe that no one in fraternities or sororities smoked marijuana, but that's the explanation that they gave.