Thoughts Of A Hopeless Romantic

[peneumbra]

From where I see it, there are two - make that three - bands called Eagles.

The first version, the one I preferred and the one I'm most familiar with, is the first version, which, depending on how close you want to cut it, lasted through One Of These Nights, or On The Border.

The kind of music I most enjoyed from this band was the country-based rock that I considered the stepchild of The Stone Ponys and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Call it a California thing; call it the result of too many nights wandering around the moonlit curves of the Santa Monica Mountains; call it the search for The Angel Of Rapture before last call at the Topanga Corral ("we fix broken hearts").

So when Bernie Leadon, a musician I'd been listening to for a very long time, departed, it made a huge difference to me and to a lot of the folks (many of them musicians themselves) who considered themselves fans of the Eagles. There were numerous reasons why Leadon left, some of them widely known and others that no one outside of the principals was aware of.

Remember, this was a group that, on occasion, would perform bluegrass songs; Leadon was (and remains) a virtuoso banjo, mandolin, and dobro player. Neither Frey nor Henley thought that was the path to fame and fortune, and of course they were right.

Then Randy Meisner, the other country-rock guy, left. He had that High And Lonesome sound that, like Bernie's playing, was a throwback to what seemed like better, less complicated days. Again, there were lots of reasons for his quitting, but the result was similar: the Eagles embarked in a change of direction.

The last Eagles album I could really relate to, in a romantically intoxicated Full Moon Over Malibu sort of way, was One Of These Nights, partly because some of the songs were about people I'd come to know.

I certainly appreciate the later material (Eagles Number Two)- great harmonies, awesome chops, outrageously tight and intelligent lyrics. Now we have Eagles Number Three, which I've got to admit I have not seen live.

But this is a way different generation, with visions and romantic excesses of their own. I hope that they find what they need from this band. As for us old Lonesome L.A. Cowboys, we're still out here, driving along in old trucks, a funny looking cigarette between our lips, Desperado on the stereo, searching for the saloon of our dreams...8)

Fooled again...

[My My]

Thanks for the thoughtful post, peneumbra. Eagles 1 with Randy and Bernie was definitely my favorite version. High and lonesome sound is the perfect description for Randy's voice. It was something special to hear live.

[YoungEaglesFan]

To me, they were at their peak vocally with those 4 voices. I definitely think they lost something when Randy left. still gorgeous harmonies but I adore Randy’s voice.

[tac0mao6]

the original 4 remain my favorite lineup too
i appreciate the talents and entertainment that Don F and Joe W added to the mix, but those fabulous harmonies are what i’ve always loved most
:grooving:

[WalshFan88]

To me the Eagles didn't come into their own until Felder and Walsh were there together.

For me the first two records other than the biggest hits were unlistenable. I really hate country music (other than the modern pop country stuff, which is more rock/rnb/edm based) and to me while they called themselves country rock, it was more country than rock. Desperado being my least favorite Eagles album.

I think if someone likes the Eagles for their vocals, I agree that the original 4 were the best vocally but I never saw them as a vocal band or a harmony band. I saw them as a guitar-heavy rock band with fun songs and singable lyrics and a good vibe. For me OTB, OOTN was leaning in the right direction, obviously too much so for Bernie, but I wasn't a huge BL fan just from a style perspective. I never paid attention to their harmonies, but I know a lot of people liked them.

Hotel California was the pinnacle of what they did, and I love The Long Run a lot more than most simply because it had more rock songs than the early stuff.

While I give credit to the original 4, to me they became a supergroup when they invited Walsh and did Hotel California. That's really their pinnacle for me and for a lot of people I think. I just like that classic AOR rock sound that was a little more refined than other bands, which the guys caught flak for from rock diehards. I've never been scared away by pop music at all, or the idea of polished records.

[Scarlet Sun]

I agree with you completely peneumbra

[cosec3791]

I personally feel that the years of 76 till 77 had the best personnel. That is, Henley, Frey, Meisner, Felder and Walsh. Went to a more rock like direction, but could easily play country songs. Meisner and his high flyin harmonies still there. The setlist was very interesting that time. And Walsh brought the best out of Felder imo

[redstorm1968]

Peneumbra (https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/forum/member.php?u=6331), you are a breath of fresh air on this board. I find myself really looking forward to your posts. I am also a huge fan of the first incarnation but also of the second too. (Meaning when they added Felder who, along with Meisner, is my favorite Eagle.) Please post more. With all of the ceaseless bickering going on around here, I am starving for the "meat and potatoes" posts that you provide. Thank you! It's good to be an Eagles fan.

[UndertheWire]

Doesn't it all come down to which version we heard first and that pulled us in? While I can enjoy later work, it's always going to be the original four, playing the songs I heard as young teenager, that exert a pull. It's that magic time when I'd say who my favourite groups were and the response would usually be "Who?" and bask in the glow of being maybe ahead of the game. I might have spots and homework, but I was still special. By "Hotel California", they were so mainstream that my mother was buying the records and music wasn't as big a part of my life.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Doesn't it all come down to which version we heard first and that pulled us in? While I can enjoy later work, it's always going to be the original four, playing the songs I heard as young teenager, that exert a pull. It's that magic time when I'd say who my favourite groups were and the response would usually be "Who?" and bask in the glow of being maybe ahead of the game. I might have spots and homework, but I was still special. By "Hotel California", they were so mainstream that my mother was buying the records and music wasn't as big a part of my life.

It’s funny for me I had no idea that the band had different iterations and the background to band when I started listening to them. I liked TIE, HC, LE, PEF and LIFTFL. My favorite was HC but I didn’t really think about how there were different lead singers, the evolution of the sound. Now I appreciate that stuff but early on I didn’t notice. I have a great appreciation for both sounds and I don’t think I have a preference really

[NightMistBlue]

I guess we'll never know the mystery that is Bernard Leadon.

[peneumbra]

To me, music and the people who make music are "organic": they are always in a process of change (except for maybe Lawrence Welk). Some times the change is for the better, sometimes not. And then you have the issue of who decides what is better or worse, the folks who buy albums, or the music critics, or the musicians themselves. It gets complicated.

You want a band that REALLY changed direction? Remember Journey? Once they got Steve Perry out front, it was a completely different outfit. I had never listened to Journey before we did a big outdoor show with them in 1981, when they had just released the Escape album. Watching them, I was blown away at how good a singer Perry was. I mentioned this to one of their guys, and he looked at me like, "Oh, really? You just figured that out?"

So, yeah the Eagles changed, and maybe I didn't like all the changes, but these guys were some of the best and most introspective songwriters in the business; nothing they did (at least nothing up till the 1980s) was mundane or pedestrian.

Just yesterday, the weird radio station around here played Sad Cafe (twice). A poignant song lyrically and musically, especially if you are familiar with the backstory. Same thing with The Last Resort - I feel the emotion of that deep in my viscera, likely because I watched first-hand the devolution of the southern California I'd grown up in.

I admit it: I'm a California Chauvinist. Both Henley and Frey, the two primary writers of The Eagles, have mentioned how much the ephemeral nature of this place changed them. So Cal has done that to a lot of artists, from Thomas Mann to Joan Didion. I mean, can you imagine what kind of songs Henley and Frey would have written had they stayed in Texas and Detroit?

So I try to keep an open mind and ear when I hear a band alter its direction, even if I liked the path they were already on; I'd hope that others would as well. Who was it who said, "The only constant in the world is change."?

Oh, yeah, now I remember. It was Lawrence Welk...8-)

[MaryCalifornia]

That's the thing about the Eagles, a lot of fans, including myself, didn't know who the members were or who sang what! Their picture wasn't on the album covers! My dad had Their Greatest Hits and that was what I always thought of as the Eagles, I listened to it my whole life and had no other albums. Almost 20 years later I caught a Hell Freezes Over performance on TV, probably the recorded show, and I was so confused! So many guys out front, and who was that guy on the far end with the really long hair?! Not until I saw the HoTE doc did I understand the different members, lineups and eras.

[LuvTim]

That's the thing about the Eagles, a lot of fans, including myself, didn't know who the members were or who sang what! Their picture wasn't on the album covers! My dad had Their Greatest Hits and that was what I always thought of as the Eagles, I listened to it my whole life and had no other albums. Almost 20 years later I caught a Hell Freezes Over performance on TV, probably the recorded show, and I was so confused! So many guys out front, and who was that guy on the far end with the really long hair?! Not until I saw the HoTE doc did I understand the different members, lineups and eras.

Yes, agreed. And then, after HOtE, I started realizing that the long-haired guy was the same dude that was on the Poco Deliverin' album cover, and it just kept getting more compelling as I learned more and began to understand the dynamics of Eagles growth and changes.

[groupie2686]

For me, I was born in the mid-80s, so my first exposure to the Eagles was in the 90s, when HFO came out and my mom would play it in the car. At the age of 8, I didn't know their names or what they looked like, but I knew there was the one with the soothing voice (Glenn - my favorite even at that age), the one with the raspy voice, the one with the high-pitched voice, and the one with the voice that sounded...different (Joe). I didn't know what they looked like until many years later, except for Henley (The End of the Innocence was also played in the car and I knew the cover.). I didn't even know who Randy, Bernie, Felder, and Tim were until I saw HOTE.

Since then, I've come to appreciate all versions of the band (except the current one), and all members. My favorite era is circa Hotel California, but I've really come to like and appreciate Bernie recently.

[Pippinwhite]

First Eagles song I remember hearing (REMEMBER -- probably not actually heard), was "Lyin' Eyes." It was a BIG crossover hit (when you still had crossover hits), and since most of the music played in the car was either Big Bands on the 8-track or country on the AM radio, country was what I usually heard. I was seven or so, and I didn't know Glenn from Adam's housecat, but I knew I loooooooved his voice. He immediately went to the top of my list with Paul McCartney. (I had a couple of younger babysitters and older cousins who kept me up on the better music. "Band on the Run" was and is my favorite song.) I saw a picture of Glenn in my sister's "Seventeen" magazine, which was actually for teens and not a fanzine. It was that one of him sans mustache, where his hair was just.. Oh heck. It was this one.
Anyway, even at seven, I knew a good looking man when I saw one. I heard "TITTL" on the radio a year or so later, and knew I'd happened on a good thing. Then, my sister came up with the Greatest Hits Vol. I on cassette and I nearly wore it out.
Since I like country, I like the early stuff, and the rock and roll part approves of the later music. I love Bernie and his contributions, which were so vital, and Randy and his voice, but even more, his absolutely stellar bass work. "Already Gone" wouldn't be the song it is if Randy's bass weren't driving it. By the same token, I love Tim's sweet singing -- and his bass is pretty doggone good, too.
While my favorite overall album is probably "On The Border," I can find something to love on every album. It will surprise no one that I'll be a Glenn woman until I die (I know. SHOCK! LOL.), but every member contributed something lasting and unforgettable to the group's sound. You can't leave out "The Long Run" any more than you can leave out "Take it Easy." It's all part of a truly incredible body of work from guys who hadn't even hit 30 for most of it. I've said it here before: these guys are a massive chunk of the soundtrack of my life and I love them for it. :inlove:


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[groupie2686]

I love that picture, Pippin, I could stare into those eyes forever, lol.

It's been interesting to read everyone's stories on here and how and when they discovered the band. I keep thinking of a comment someone made in the extras to the Melbourne concert, I think it was Timothy, about their music reaching across generations.