New Kid In Town most underrated Eagles hit?

[YoungEaglesFan]

From what I’ve seen online and in media, When people think of the eagles hits it’s greatest hits one, HC and life in the fast lane. I know that on here it’s a beloved song and some consider their best (I personally feel that way too). But it’s not talked about on HOTE, the HC rerelease. CNN didn’t put it in their list of Glenn’s best work, billboards hits list doesn’t include it, a rolling stone readers poll had it as their 10th best song. I have never heard it on the radio (granted with limited exposure to local stations). It was after all a number one hit song, does it get covered up by hotel California? I adore the song and I just don’t see it mentioned far enough when discussions about the Eagles catalogue come up

[cosec3791]

Yeah maybe it is. I love that song, though Hotel is still my favorite. The harmonies are amazing, Felder is amazing with his Strat. Live versions are better than studio for this song imo.

But even then, I don't see it talked about that much as well.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Yeah maybe it is. I love that song, though Hotel is still my favorite. The harmonies are amazing, Felder is amazing with his Strat. Live versions are better than studio for this song imo.

But even then, I don't see it talked about that much as well.

I agree, what separates this song from say Lyin eyes is the guitar work. Felder doesn’t go crazy and wows you but he serves the song perfectly

[cosec3791]

I agree, what separates this song from say Lyin eyes is the guitar work. Felder doesn’t go crazy and wows you but he serves the song perfectly

Really? I LOVE Felder's work on Lyin Eyes!

[YoungEaglesFan]

Really? I LOVE Felder's work on Lyin Eyes!

It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just I think it’s just not enough if you get what I mean. I prefer the music to new kid in town compared to Lyin eyes because it’s more complex and more in front, where as Lyin eyes the lyrics take over

[thelastresort]

Of their singles, for me yes it is. It has excellent instrumentation, particularly from Walsh and Felder, and contains for me Glenn's single best vocal performance. Couple that with the superb harmonies and decent lyrics and you have a belting song on your hands. Glenn holding 'and you're still aroooooooooooooound' with the backing vocals joining in ranks as one of my favourite moments in any Eagles song. One of very few Eagles songs I can listen to multiple times in a row.

[Dawn]

Of their singles, for me yes it is. It has excellent instrumentation, particularly from Walsh and Felder, and contains for me Glenn's single best vocal performance. Couple that with the superb harmonies and decent lyrics and you have a belting song on your hands. Glenn holding 'and you're still aroooooooooooooound' with the backing vocals joining in ranks as one of my favourite moments in any Eagles song. One of very few Eagles songs I can listen to multiple times in a row.

Yes, I absolutely agree about Glenn and his superb vocal performance on this song.

[Freypower]

It's Glenn's best song, so of course it doesn't get the recognition it deserves, to the point where it was DROPPED from the LROOE tour. Although that was my favourite tour, that hurt, as did the exclusion of Already Gone & Tequila Sunrise (you see the pattern here). It should have won Best Vocal Performance as well as Arrangement.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm not sure that I would agree that the song is underrated, and, even if it is, I certainly don't think it has anything to do with the fact that it is a 'Glenn' song. There are lots of Eagles songs that I would call underrated before this one. Maybe I've had different experiences than others, but I remember it as a huge hit back in the day. And, while it doesn't get the same amount of air time as Hotel California, few songs do. I remember hearing it just a couple of weeks ago in the grocery store.

In any event, I would put it in my top 5 of all Eagles songs. When I saw this thread, it reminded me of a thread that we had during the Eagles' 40th anniversary year where we rated our favorite Eagle songs. While this is certainly not a scientific poll, some of you may still find it interesting. NKIT finished at #8 overall. Here is the link:

https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3769&page=8

[Dawn]

It's Glenn's best song, so of course it doesn't get the recognition it deserves, to the point where it was DROPPED from the LROOE tour. Although that was my favourite tour, that hurt, as did the exclusion of Already Gone & Tequila Sunrise (you see the pattern here). It should have won Best Vocal Performance as well as Arrangement.


I will never understand how anyone can listen to NKIT by Glenn Frey and not appreciate what a masterful vocalist and arranger Glenn Frey was.

[maryc2130]

I do agree that it's somewhat underrated, perhaps due to so many great songs on the HC album. Although I wouldn't call it the most underrated song of the Eagles, ti's always been one of my favorites. The lyrics, lead vocal, harmonies and guitars are all excellent. I love listening to it!

[groupie2686]

I suppose New Kid in Town is somewhat underrated, as there are hits that are more well-known, but to me an underrated song are ones that few have heard of (Saturday Night, Hollywood Waltz, Ol' 55 are a few that fit this description to me). I love NKIT though, definitely one of Glenn's best.

[WalshFan88]

I really like NKIT. It wasn't always that way. But I feel like I like it more and more.

[New Kid In Town]

Well, as you can tell from my user name, NKIT is one of my all time favorite Eagles songs. I think it is underrated but, I also think most of Glenn's songs are underrated because most people think Don is the voice of the Eagles and they just think of those songs. I think his performance at the Capital Center is one of the highlights of the show along with Randy singing TITTL. I could listen to Glenn singing that song every day. FP was right, it also deserved the Grammy for best vocal performance.

I do have to say that I agree with Dreamer in that I remember it being a HUGE hit when it was released in Dec.1976. You could not listen to a radio without it being played over and over. We were driving to Fla. to visit my sisters for Christmas and my parents commented on how often it was played on the radio-lol. And, it was a #1 song.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Well, as you can tell from my user name, NKIT is one of my all time favorite Eagles songs. I think it is underrated but, I also think most of Glenn's songs are underrated because most people think Don is the voice of the Eagles and they just think of those songs. I think his performance at the Capital Center is one of the highlights of the show along with Randy singing TITTL. I could listen to Glenn singing that song every day. FP was right, it also deserved the Grammy for best vocal performance.

I do have to say that I agree with Dreamer in that I remember it being a HUGE hit when it was released in Dec.1976. You could not listen to a radio without it being played over and over. We were driving to Fla. to visit my sisters for Christmas and my parents commented on how often it was played on the radio-lol. And, it was a #1 song.

I totally agree about NKIT in the capitol centre footage. That is my favorite performance from the band both individually and as a band

[cosec3791]

I totally agree about NKIT in the capitol centre footage. That is my favorite performance from the band both individually and as a band

My personal favorite is the performance of 22nd September 1976 from The Forum (not the Eagles Live version, but the bootleg. It was rawer which I liked). But the Capital Center version is obviously the best in terms of quality and generally one of the best as well.

[chaim]

It's not for me to say what people should like, but sometimes when I hear NKIT I do go "how can some people not get the greatness of this song". Sometimes I try to put in words what makes the song great for me and it may sound like I love it for some kind of technical reasons, but not so. I loved the song before I knew what an E chord means. I guess HC, for example, is captivating for a lot of people because of the "what does it mean" factor in the lyrics, but for me, although on one level in can be taken as an ordinary love song, NKIT takes me into a magical journey much more than HC does. To me it's also more a movie-like experience than HC. To this day I can't REALLY say why it does all that for me. Something about the spirit

[Freypower]

It's not for me to say what people should like, but sometimes when I hear NKIT I do go "how can some people not get the greatness of this song". Sometimes I try to put in words what makes the song great for me and it may sound like I love it for some kind of technical reasons, but not so. I loved the song before I knew what an E chord means. I guess HC, for example, is captivating for a lot of people because of the "what does it mean" factor in the lyrics, but for me, although on one level in can be taken as an ordinary love song, NKIT takes me into a magical journey much more than HC does. To me it's also more a movie-like experience than HC. To this day I can't REALLY say why it does all that for me. Something about the spirit

Agreed, although I've never seen NKIT as a love song, despite the second verse. What happens to his relationship is just a part of it, hence the sense of it being a movie as you say.

'They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along' is my favourite line in any Eagles song; so resonant & sadly still so relevant.

[luciknight]

I will never understand how anyone can listen to NKIT by Glenn Frey and not appreciate what a masterful vocalist and arranger Glenn Frey was.

I will never understand how anyone can listen to any song Glenn sings, even if it's Happy Birthday to You... and not appreciate what a f*cking talented man he was.

[luciknight]

btw... are they still performing this song live or did they drop it from the setlist?

[Annoying Twit]

btw... are they still performing this song live or did they drop it from the setlist?

They are still performing it live. Vince Gill takes the lead vocal.

It was performed at the Grand Ol' Opry concert, Of course, it would be illegal to obtain a copy of it online, so I of course would never recommend that you search for it.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Agreed, although I've never seen NKIT as a love song, despite the second verse. What happens to his relationship is just a part of it, hence the sense of it being a movie as you say.

'They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along' is my favourite line in any Eagles song; so resonant & sadly still so relevant.

That is also one of my favorite lines. It’s such a strong and perfect lyric for that song. Truly brilliant song writing

[luciknight]

They are still performing it live. Vince Gill takes the lead vocal.

It was performed at the Grand Ol' Opry concert, Of course, it would be illegal to obtain a copy of it online, so I of course would never recommend that you search for it.

Thank you!
I didn't even think of looking up on video websites many many times for an updated version of this song, that's why I asked cos... not that Id know, but apparently there aren't any uploaded.
Not gonna think of looking elsewhere, then.

I actually have mixed feelings if I actually wanna listen to this song and it's not Glenn who's singing it...
My favorite Eagles song used to be Lyin Eyes, but it's been NKIT for some time now <3

[YoungEaglesFan]

Kinda a different topic but I was listening to the HC outtakes on NKIT and the line “they will never forget you till somebody new comes along” was “they were here when you came and they’ll be here long after you’re gone” I thought that’s also an excellent line. Not as good as the first but I think it’s cool they pushed harder on that lyric. I wished they could have used that somewhere else

[chaim]

Kinda a different topic but I was listening to the HC outtakes on NKIT and the line “they will never forget you till somebody new comes along” was “they were here when you came and they’ll be here long after you’re gone” I thought that’s also an excellent line. Not as good as the first but I think it’s cool they pushed harder on that lyric. I wished they could have used that somewhere else

Never heard of that line. It is indeed a fine line, although the line they ended up using is more clever and biting.