A Good Day In Hell - The Official ILM Track-By-Track EAGLES Listening Thread

So Dylan is to blame for all this like "The Band" bs. Figures since he and The Grateful Dead are the only ones that ruined American music more than The Eagles.

mellow out man

take it easy

literally

so is desperado the template for the power ballad? are there earlier power ballads to be aware of?

it's a pretty immaculately constructed song, but it's also just so totally ridiculous.

This is flawless of course. Why on earth did they not release it as a single though? Was that a trend at the time, holding the best thing back for the album, like Gimme Shelter or Stairway to Heaven?

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, September 4, 2013 9:06 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think the A&R guys genuinely thought this wouldn't likely be a hit. Thus far, their uptempo singles tended to sell better, especially those by outside writers. The two singles that had already been released fell far short of the top 40, and were ignored outside the US. I think they wanted more crazed banjos, or at least gritty guitars on the instrumental bridge.

Is it just me, or does the string section hold onto certain notes on the outro way past their sell-by date?

Also: the Eagles' rise as multiplatinum threat coincided with the softening of the American and British charts. Check out the non-disco and R&B hits on the 1974-1976 charts; then El Lay studio rock rose as a complement to disco.

desperado's just a ballad though? it's not really a power ballad imo

Even if "Desperado" is a power ballad, there's got to be some that came before it. Like Bread for example starting in 1969 - "Make It With You" and "Baby I'm a-Want You" were the power ballads against hard rockers like "Mother Freedom" and "Truckin'". It's just that their rockers didn't become hits, so they became perceived as a (very) soft-rock act rather than a rock band balancing their rockers with AM radio-friendly power ballads.

but it's not a power ballad

its got drums kicking in midway through, strings, backup vox, it's a total power ballad!

...

you're a power ballad

vegemite raises a good point

the drums and the strings is just the way it builds to a climax, lots of ballads do this and the slightly bigger crescendo does not = 'power'

imo

It's powered by Henleytonium®!

I think of "power ballad" as more a marketing term than a musical genre. It's like when an '80s pop-metal band quiets down for an uncharacteristicly slow and melodic single that wouldn't be too wimpy for the AOR stations of the day but would be palatable to top-40 or adult-contemporary tastes as well.

a true power ballad is ballady enough to get you out on the dancefloor for a slow dance with a girl at a junior high dance but then rocks hard enough at a certain point to make going through the motions of slow dancing seem really awkward

also you have to be able to picture it blaring out of a Camaro

you have to be able to picture it blaring out of Henley-Frey-Souther's apartment.

jesus you guys desperado can totally be blared out of a camaro

desperado has no power

xpost your camaro maybe

"J.D. Souther is the only one of these soulless miscreants I would've allowed to fuck me"

jackson too girly? he was a dreamboat to most.

he's a ponderous fellow

And a hitter iirc

i can't stand him. creepy

would you throw ned doheny out of bed for eating crackers?

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/XwouzFuEMKI/hqdefault.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2802/4291945493_6fba783e6b.jpg

great album that used to sell for a dollar and now sells for $$$ thanks to the young and the hip.

So guys... I never heard early Linda ronstadt before an hour ago. This Capitol Years 2CD fucking slays in every way. Holy crap.

Ned Doheny admitted in HC that Geffen was checking him out.

"a true power ballad is ballady enough to get you out on the dancefloor for a slow dance with a girl at a junior high dance but then rocks hard enough at a certain point to make going through the motions of slow dancing seem really awkward"

journey and reo rule this land.

and that scorpions song.

stiiiiiiiiiiiiiilll loving youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?

Cuz you know it's youuuuu baaaabe
Whenever I get weary and I've haaaad enough

linda ronstadt was amazing. i love her voice. would listen to 2 disc capitol thing.

still loving you is so great. would have loved to hear linda ronstadt sing it.

it's a badass power ballad for sure

UNLIKE DESPERADO

i forgot about that doheny song title "i get it up for love". says it all.

totally. scorps kick ass on that song and still melt hearts.

I'm pretty sure we played "Desperado" as a slow dance at my school.

Eagles were big up there. It was even our mascot.

Ned Doheny s/t is terrific, haven't heard Hard Candy yet.

You all nailed it - Camaro blarability is the key measure of power balladry.

speaking of eagles friends always loved windmills by rick roberts. henley on drums/backing vox:

http://youtu.be/lRElZswFQMo

also good:

http://youtu.be/YrKU00PaMPU

Is it just me, or does the string section hold onto certain notes on the outro way past their sell-by date?

well there's one moment -- the second to last chord of the song -- where the strings are doing a graceful ritard while the piano impatiently anticipates the chord, so if anything it's not the strings holding on for too long but the piano letting go too soon. but it's a cool effect!

in 2005, when I still received everything Rhino put out, they sent me the box of all the Eagles records. So I became familiar with 'em in a way that I never would have if I had to spend money on 'em, etc etc (that's hardly anyone's concern now)…

The Long Run is far away my favorite, and I expect to contribute to this hugely entertaining thread as soon as it gets to records I like/ have something to say about.

But in light of where the thread is now, may I refer you all to the first ILM thread I ever started. To me in 2006, "desperado" is like a Ray Charles song. so was "new York State of Mind."

TS: "Desperado" vs. "New York State of Mind"

My god Hell Freezes Over rode the top ten in '94-'95 for six months.

"Certain Kind Of Fool"

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac327/whitcap/randyutc-1.jpg

http://youtu.be/JPsB__7MemQ

IT'S RANDY'S TIME TO SHINE!

playing this on the front porch just now i suddenly got embarrassed and turned it down in case anyone walked by...