Setlist decisions, etc...

[BillBailey1976]

I know the Eagles weren't the most open band, but does anyone know if there is anything written about how they (Glenn primarily from what I have heard) picked the songs they'd do. I know the support of an album dictates a number of songs, but I'd love to hear how they crafted their song order. Stuff like, does Don not like to sing song X directly after song Y, or does he prefer getting up from the drums after this song, or only stay on the drums for this many songs...stuff like that.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I know the Eagles weren't the most open band, but does anyone know if there is anything written about how they (Glenn primarily from what I have heard) picked the songs they'd do. I know the support of an album dictates a number of songs, but I'd love to hear how they crafted their song order. Stuff like, does Don not like to sing song X directly after song Y, or does he prefer getting up from the drums after this song, or only stay on the drums for this many songs...stuff like that.

I know that originally they liked to get a balance of lead singers in it and liked to show off their vocal talent as a group so songs like How Long and Saturday night with some shared vocals. I think in their heyday they basically just played all the hits with some deeper cuts on the more recent albums. There was some occasional strategic songs like playing after the thrill is gone at the Long Beach concert. I know now they prefer to have a mix of the Eagles hits early and late with A Joe heavy middle to give don a break. Seven bridges road is the starter song for the sake of again showing “hey we can still do it”. SBR was the opener for a while until Hotel California. I think the band always liked having encores with both a slow and an upbeat song such as desperado/ Take It To The Limit and like Rocky Mountain way/ TIE. I think set list order meant less back then back when their voices were in the prime and didn’t have to avoid one getting hoarse. I think who is singing at what point in the concert matters more than what song during the middle these days. I know you wanted more details about the order but this is the extent of my knowledge of setlist making

[sodascouts]

I know the Eagles weren't the most open band, but does anyone know if there is anything written about how they (Glenn primarily from what I have heard) picked the songs they'd do. I know the support of an album dictates a number of songs, but I'd love to hear how they crafted their song order. Stuff like, does Don not like to sing song X directly after song Y, or does he prefer getting up from the drums after this song, or only stay on the drums for this many songs...stuff like that.

This is an interesting question... the trick is finding something that's WRITTEN rather than just things I've heard. I can't help you much with the written material, I'm afraid.

I do recall hearing that for HOTE, Glenn picked songs now only that were hits but for historical reasons - like the fact that "Saturday Night" was a song they all worked on - and put them in largely chronological order until they started getting to the end where you have that build up to the encore.

[My My]

I know that originally they liked to get a balance of lead singers in it and liked to show off their vocal talent as a group so songs like How Long and Saturday night with some shared vocals. I think in their heyday they basically just played all the hits with some deeper cuts on the more recent albums. There was some occasional strategic songs like playing after the thrill is gone at the Long Beach concert. I know now they prefer to have a mix of the Eagles hits early and late with A Joe heavy middle to give don a break. Seven bridges road is the starter song for the sake of again showing “hey we can still do it”. SBR was the opener for a while until Hotel California. I think the band always liked having encores with both a slow and an upbeat song such as desperado/ Take It To The Limit and like Rocky Mountain way/ TIE. I think set list order meant less back then back when their voices were in the prime and didn’t have to avoid one getting hoarse. I think who is singing at what point in the concert matters more than what song during the middle these days. I know you wanted more details about the order but this is the extent of my knowledge of setlist making

Actually, Take it Easy was the opener for the early Eagles concerts with Glenn's introduction of "We're the Eagles from Los Angeles." Later the opener was Hotel California. I think there is a real misperception about how popular 7 Bridges Road was. I didn't know the song back in the 70's and don't recall it being played in concert. It became popular after it was included on their Greatest Hits volume 2 and the tours in later years after their "vacation." In an article in the Indianapolis News published in Nov. 1980 about GH2, it states that the song wasn't played live until that summer,meaning right before they broke up. So I may have heard them play it in June of 1980, but since I wasn't familiar it I didn't know what it was.

[scottside]

Actually, Take it Easy was the opener for the early Eagles concerts with Glenn's introduction of "We're the Eagles from Los Angeles." Later the opener was Hotel California. I think there is a real misperception about how popular 7 Bridges Road was. I didn't know the song back in the 70's and don't recall it being played in concert. It became popular after it was included on their Greatest Hits volume 2 and the tours in later years after their "vacation." In an article in the Indianapolis News published in Nov. 1980 about GH2, it states that the song wasn't played live until that summer,meaning right before they broke up. So I may have heard them play it in June of 1980, but since I wasn't familiar it I didn't know what it was.

The Eagles first started playing Seven Bridges Road in 1976 right after Bernie left and Joe joined. I saw them at Roosevelt Stadium in NJ that summer and they played in somewhere in the middle of the set. They didn't play it the following year however, after HOTEL CALIFORNIA came out.

[sodascouts]

If you want to do a little "reverse engineering" analysis - although this is probably not what you're looking for, BillBailey, since it would be speculative....

Setlists garnered from bootlegs (there were variations as tours progressed of course)

Setlist 1972
Take It Easy
Witchy Woman
Train Leaves Here This Morning
Peaceful Easy Feeling
How Long
Get Up, Kate
Nightingale
Earlybird




Setlist Desperado Tour

Train Leaves Here This Morning
Tequila Sunrise
Saturday Night
Peaceful Easy Feeling
How Long
Certain Kind of Fool
Outlaw Man
Out of Control
Earlybird
Tryin'
Witchy Woman
Take It Easy
Chug All Night
Dream Baby


Setlist OTB Tour

Take It Easy
Outlaw Man
Already Gone
Doolin Dalton
Desperado
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Midnight Flyer
Twenty-One
Blackberry Blossom
James Dean
Good Day in Hell
Tryin'
Witchy Woman
Chug All Night
Out of Control



Setlist OOTN Tour
Take It Easy
Outlaw Man
Doolin-Dalton/Doolin-Dalton - Desperado (Reprise)
Train Leaves Here This Morning
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Desperado
Ol’ 55
One of These Nights
Blackberry Blossom
Midnight Flyer
Journey of the Sorcerer
Too Many Hands
Already Gone
Good Day in Hell
James Dean
Witchy Woman
Chug All Night
The Best of My Love
Oh Carol
Tequila Sunrise


Setlist HC Tour

Take It Easy
Outlaw Man
Doolin-Dalton / Desperado Reprise
Turn to Stone
Lyin' Eyes
You Never Cry Like a Lover
Take It to the Limit
Desperado
Midnight Flyer
One of These Nights
Already Gone
Too Many Hands
Good Day in Hell
Witchy Woman
Rocky Mountain Way
James Dean
Best of My Love
Funk 49
Carol


Setlist Long Run Tour

Hotel California
Already Gone
In The City
King of Hollywood
The Sad Cafe
Lyin' Eyes
I Can't Tell You Why
Desperado
Those Shoes
Heartache Tonight
One of These Nights
Turn to Stone
Life's Been Good
Life in the Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
Greeks Don't Want No Freaks
Take It Easy
Oh Carol


Setlist HFO Tour

Hotel California
Victim Of Love
New Kid In Town
Wasted Time
Pretty Maids All In A Row
The Girl From Yesterday
I Can't Tell You Why
Ordinary Average Guy
Lyin' Eyes
One Of These Nights
Silent Spring / Tequila Sunrise
Help Me Through the Night
Heart of the Matter
Love Will Keep Us Alive
You Belong to the City
The Boys of Summer
Funk #49
Dirty Laundry
Life's Been Good
All She Wants to Do Is Dance
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Get Over It
Rocky Mountain Way
Already Gone
Desperado
Take It Easy


Setlist Millennium Tour

Hotel Calfornia
New Kid in Town
Wasted Time
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Pretty Maids All in a Row
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Boys of Summer
Take It to the Limit
Best of My Love
Already Gone
In the City
One of These Nights
Seven Bridges Road
The Long Run
Lyin' Eyes
I Can't Tell You Why
Walk Away
Silent Spring / Tequila Sunrise
Sunset Grill
You Belong to the City
Funk #49
Dirty Laundry
Heartache Tonight
Life's Been Good
Life in the Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
All She Wants to Do is Dance
Take It Easy
Desperado



Setlist Farewell 1 Tour

The Long Run
New Kid in Town
Wasted Time
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Hole in the World
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Boys of Summer
Take It to the Limit
Already Gone
In the City
One of These Nights
James Dean
Lyin’ Eyes
I Can’t Tell You Why
Walk Away
Silent Spring / Tequila Sunrise
Sunset Grill
Turn to Stone
You Belong to the City
Life’s Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Hotel California
Rocky Mountain Way
All She Wants to Do Is Dance
Take It Easy
Desperado


Setlist LROOE Tour

How Long
Busy Being Fabulous
I Don't Want to Hear Any More
Guilty of the Crime
Hotel California
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
One of These Nights
Lyin' Eyes
Boys of Summer
In the City
The Long Run
No More Walks in the Wood
Waiting in the Weeds
No More Cloudy Days
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Take It to the Limit
Long Road Out of Eden
Somebody
Walk Away
Witchy Woman
Life's Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
All She Wants to Do Is Dance
Take It Easy
Desperado


The HOTE setlist is elsewere on the board.

[My My]

Scottside--I was going to edit after I posted because I remembered there being versions out there with Randy singing 7BR which would have been around 1976. I didn't edit because I knew someone would correct me. Still, even though I may have heard it, it was not the iconic Eagles song that we think of it today. Thanks for the correction!

[YoungEaglesFan]

Actually, Take it Easy was the opener for the early Eagles concerts with Glenn's introduction of "We're the Eagles from Los Angeles." Later the opener was Hotel California. I think there is a real misperception about how popular 7 Bridges Road was. I didn't know the song back in the 70's and don't recall it being played in concert. It became popular after it was included on their Greatest Hits volume 2 and the tours in later years after their "vacation." In an article in the Indianapolis News published in Nov. 1980 about GH2, it states that the song wasn't played live until that summer,meaning right before they broke up. So I may have heard them play it in June of 1980, but since I wasn't familiar it I didn't know what it was.

I’m not saying SBR was popular, I’m just going off what Felder had said. He said they liked to open concerts up with that song with them singing and liked to blow the crowd away. In terms of the timeline in the book he was talking about this happening the OTB To HC days. He specifically references HC replacing SBR as the opener song. Once they got post hotel California the song was dropped until the very end where they recorded it for Eagles Live

[My My]

Yeah, I read that book. Just saying, that wasn't my experience. They opened with Take it Easy for my early concerts, 1975 and 1976. Then they opened with Hotel California in 1978 and 1980.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Yeah, I read that book. Just saying, that wasn't my experience. They opened with Take it Easy for my early concerts, 1975 and 1976. Then they opened with Hotel California in 1978 and 1980.

Maybe there was variance. I haven’t been to any concerts before 2010 so I can only go off the books and what the band has said LOL

[scottside]

Scottside--I was going to edit after I posted because I remembered there being versions out there with Randy singing 7BR which would have been around 1976. I didn't edit because I knew someone would correct me. Still, even though I may have heard it, it was not the iconic Eagles song that we think of it today. Thanks for the correction!

I agree that it wasn't iconic back then. It was sandwiched somewhere in the middle of the set and that was the only show I saw that it was in. I pretty much saw the Eagles whenever they toured up until 1979 and they never played it again at those shows.

[NightMistBlue]

Didn't the boys sing 7BR backstage before a show to warm up vocally? I forget who told us that, maybe it was in Felder's book.

[mimi g]

I have a pretty good bootleg DVD of one of their concerts Live in Seattle, WA 1976 & they sing Seven Bridges Road. The set list is:
Outlaw Man
Doolin Dalton
Desperado
Turn to Stone
Seven Bridges Road
Lyin Eyes
Take it to the Limit
Desperado (Reprise)
Midnight Flyer
Already Gone
One of These Nights
Forty Nine
Witchy Woman
James Dean

[New Kid In Town]

I have a pretty good bootleg DVD of one of their concerts Live in Seattle, WA 1976 & they sing Seven Bridges Road. The set list is:
Outlaw Man
Doolin Dalton
Desperado
Turn to Stone
Seven Bridges Road
Lyin Eyes
Take it to the Limit
Desperado (Reprise)
Midnight Flyer
Already Gone
One of These Nights
Forty Nine
Witchy Woman
James Dean

I was going to mention the Seattle '76 bootleg. It's up still on you tube. I was just watching it a couple of weeks ago. I think they also did it in the Houston '76 show. That used to be up on you tube too but I don't know if it is now(I am too tired and lazy to check right now-sorry). Like YEF said, Felder mentions in his book that they used to open shows with SBR before they started using HC. Either way, I love the song. It is one of my all time favorite songs they did.
BTW - Soda - You come thru again with the set lists. TY.

[Freypower]

I was going to mention the Seattle '76 bootleg. It's up still on you tube. I was just watching it a couple of weeks ago. I think they also did it in the Houston '76 show. That used to be up on you tube too but I don't know if it is now(I am too tired and lazy to check right now-sorry). Like YEF said, Felder mentions in his book that they used to open shows with SBR before they started using HC. Either way, I love the song. It is one of my all time favorite songs they did.
BTW - Soda - You come thru again with the set lists. TY.

From what I have read in this thread it would appear that Felder's recollection that they opened with 7BR is incorrect. His book is extremely inaccurate on many counts.

[New Kid In Town]

From what I have read in this thread it would appear that Felder's recollection that they opened with 7BR is incorrect. His book is extremely inaccurate on many counts.

FP - So true - I usually take everything he says with a grain of salt. However, I figured why lie about that. I saw them in 1975 with Bernie and it was so long ago I have no idea what they played. I don't remember for the most part what they sang when I saw them in 1980 either. :blush: They did not sing it at HFO. The HOTE shows them warming up singing the song before a concert. When did they start doing it again ?

[YoungEaglesFan]

FP - So true - I usually take everything he says with a grain of salt. However, I figured why lie about that. I saw them in 1975 with Bernie and it was so long ago I have no idea what they played. I don't remember for the most part what they sang when I saw them in 1980 either. :blush: They did not sing it at HFO. The HOTE shows them warming up singing the song before a concert. When did they start doing it again ?

From what I personally know, they used it in the era between OTB to HC though not always. Felder states they also warmed up with SBR and doing some oohs and aahs. This is backed up from the pre footage in HOTE where the band does a bit of Lyin Eyes and SBR. I believe the song was replaced by Hotel California though it seems that is wrong. I guess just having more hits to play with the HC tracks, they were more choosy and their setlists were usually shorter back then. Felder states they stopped singing that song until the very end of the band where they sang it for the last couple weeks for the Eagles life album. Felder says it was clear that they hadn’t practiced it for years and it wasn’t as good as it could have been. (Also states it wasn’t practiced in the locker room before concerts anymore due to tensions etc). They didn’t play the song during HFO but I think they brought it back for the millennium concerts (I gusss because they were capping off a era of eagles hits) from that point on they played it sporadically on tours depending on each one. I think it went away for LROOE and I don’t think it was on HOTE.

[LovinGlennGirl]

In the beginning they led into Take it Easy with Silver Dagger, now THAT was some incredible harmony for a "new" band. Was Silver Dagger what they played for Geffen instead of SBR? Can't remember.

[New Kid In Town]

From what I personally know, they used it in the era between OTB to HC though not always. Felder states they also warmed up with SBR and doing some oohs and aahs. This is backed up from the pre footage in HOTE where the band does a bit of Lyin Eyes and SBR. I believe the song was replaced by Hotel California though it seems that is wrong. I guess just having more hits to play with the HC tracks, they were more choosy and their setlists were usually shorter back then. Felder states they stopped singing that song until the very end of the band where they sang it for the last couple weeks for the Eagles life album. Felder says it was clear that they hadn’t practiced it for years and it wasn’t as good as it could have been. (Also states it wasn’t practiced in the locker room before concerts anymore due to tensions etc). They didn’t play the song during HFO but I think they brought it back for the millennium concerts (I gusss because they were capping off a era of eagles hits) from that point on they played it sporadically on tours depending on each one. I think it went away for LROOE and I don’t think it was on HOTE.

YEF - Thanks - I think they brought it back for the Millennium Concerts too(I do not have that package to listen to). I do know that they did not play as long back then as they do now. If my memory serves me right, they played for appx. 2 hours in 1975; 2 to 2 1/2 hours in 1980 and 3 hours in 1995. They did not have an opening act in 1995.

[New Kid In Town]

In the beginning they led into Take it Easy with Silver Dagger, now THAT was some incredible harmony for a "new" band. Was Silver Dagger what they played for Geffen instead of SBR? Can't remember.

Yes, I think so. According to HOTE, that was what they sang for Glyn Johns. I love watching some very old you tube videos which shows them singing that(maybe BBC or Holland?).

[Freypower]

YEF - Thanks - I think they brought it back for the Millennium Concerts too(I do not have that package to listen to). I do know that they did not play as long back then as they do now. If my memory serves me right, they played for appx. 2 hours in 1975; 2 to 2 1/2 hours in 1980 and 3 hours in 1995. They did not have an opening act in 1995.

I have a bootleg of a 2001 show in Lucca, Italy, and 7BR is in fact the opening song. That was when the four of them used the hand mics & then they did The Long Run. So they did open with it; but not when Felder was in the band. At least I was SURE they opened with it but Soda's setlist is different. There are a lot of photos from that tour of them singing the song, which to me implies they did open with it.

https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/images/eaglesRedGlenn.jpg

On the LROOE tour they did it but not the full song - for that matter I don't think they did the full song on the Millennium tour either.

My own feeling about the song radically altered when I heard that vocals only version & some of Glenn's part had apparently been removed. It confirmed my belief that Eagles Live is not a 'real' live album and I vowed never to listen to that song again.

[My My]

I can definitely see them opening with 7BR by 2001. By then it was a well known song.

[UndertheWire]

A general rule for setlists seems to be to have a balance of ballads and more up-tempo songs and to aim for more "rock" at the end of the set.

Bernie said that they never performed "Most of Us Are Sad" live because they already had enough ballads (incidentally, that's the song the Glyn Johns said changed his mind).

I've heard bootlegs where Glenn has told the audience it was time to rock or get on their dancing shoes etc, implying that the quiet part of the show was over.

From the early days onwards, the setlist allowed each of them (except Felder) to have at least one lead vocal, although for the first 3-4 years, Glenn usually had as many as the rest put together. That may have been because he sang most of the up-tempo songs.