one day and one track at a time. in honor of Joe Walsh. we can do this, people. and may God have mercy on our souls.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nb_x-mJ3FFw/TaSm412HHII/AAAAAAAAAaQ/SDDvvEHKOik/s1600/The-Eagles_l.jpg
http://www.walnutst.com/i/products/f1312567200.jpg
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:31 (five years ago) Permalink
here we go...
"Take It Easy"
http://ring.cdandlp.com/groove-vibrations/photo_grande/114363815.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS442e79mZ0
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:34 (five years ago) Permalink
in the wild...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XByaqHhBFqE
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:35 (five years ago) Permalink
I won't participate unless Ned does.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:39 (five years ago) Permalink
it's the soft rock shot heard 'round the world. and the world would never be the same. browne/frey at their most browne/frey. plus, banjos.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:40 (five years ago) Permalink
Something I like about this song: In the last verse, there's a single substitution of an Am where a C has appeared in all the other verses. It's also supported in the vocal harmonies and is unexpectedly sweet-sounding.
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:43 (five years ago) Permalink
it is, in a lot of ways, dumbed down byrds. musically. except for the demented banjos in the background. the vocals are so slow and deliberate and clear its almost as if they were hoping that it would catch on with children. bubblegum country rock? a lot of countru and southern rock from 1970 to 1972 was seriously dusty or backwoods or blues-based or a hippie homage to old bluegrass heroes. this totally cleans all the dust off. but, obviously, this is the genius. simple, direct, and catchy as hell. it was a song designed to be played 4000 times in a row.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:53 (five years ago) Permalink
As I've said in other Eagles threads, this song exists in the impenetrable part of my mind labeled CHILDHOOD so is kinda untouchable on critical grounds. It came out when I was two-and-a-half years old, and my family was stationed at an Air Force Base in the middle of the Arizona desert. I probably DID hear it 4000x in a row, with my family driving down desert roads with open windows. It was literally created to be the soundtrack for exactly the world I inhabited at that time.
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:56 (five years ago) Permalink
also think its such an appropriate start. and a true test for the cranky. if you can control the desire to feel superior to this song then you are on the path to sainthood. this song is exactly what people hated about this band early on. it is the Urtext of eaglesdom.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 13:59 (five years ago) Permalink
When I listened to this song (and this album) the other day, after not having heard the song for years (I don't listen to the radio, like, ever), I was kinda shocked by the banjos. Somehow, they'd never really registered when I heard the song as a kid. Which is weird, because if there's a sound in the world guaranteed to appeal to small children, it would probably be the banjo. I mean, it's the closest thing traditional musical instruments have to that cartoon "sproinggg" sound!
― 誤訳侮辱, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 14:00 (five years ago) Permalink
MUSICIAN: Kootch, what was your feeling hearing Don and the Eagles' early stuff?
KORTCHMAR: I'll ell you exactly what my feeling was. When the Eagles first came out, I thought they were absolutely appalling. I couldn't stand them. Absolutely terrible. Especially things like "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Take It Easy."'Cause what they were saying was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to hear, what was going on in my life. Take Jackson's "Peaceful Easy Feeling": here's this song that says "walking down the road in Tucson, Arizona, seven women on my mind." (sic) And here I am trying to keep my marriage together, and this guy's got seven women on his mind! God, it sounded like they were having fun, but I sure wasn't (laughter).
http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~markowit/interviews/dh/musician/both.jpg
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 14:02 (five years ago) Permalink
as with most Jackson Browne covers this sucks some balls compared to the original. yes that includes you Nico, fuck you.
also Kortchmar is misquoting there, obviously.
― Jamie_ATP, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 14:05 (five years ago) Permalink
There are definitely better Eagles songs. This is pretty wimpy stuff.
Pretty cool to see them on the California Jam stage in that clip from the very camera that Ritchie Blackmore would destroy only a few hours later.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 15:04 (five years ago) Permalink
it should be noted that this is a standard country and bluegrass song to cover. thousands of country and bluegrass performers have covered this song over the years.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 15:12 (five years ago) Permalink
On A Dark Desert Highway: A Vocal Bluegrass Tribute to the Eagles offers heartfelt versions of the band’s greatest songs with soaring harmonies and delightful pickin’ on the banjo, mandolin, dobro and guitar. You won’t believe how beautiful these songs sound in the hands (and throats) of some of the best Bluegrass musicians in the business. If the Eagles had settled in W. Virginia instead of California, this is how their music would have sounded!
http://www.cmhrecords.com/web/images/products/8917_lrg.jpg
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 15:17 (five years ago) Permalink
do you think that jackson browne oould live off of "take it easy" royalties? not that he has to. but if he had to. i'm going to say yes.
i have a friend whose father wrote a famous song - in the 40's! - and i was kinda impressed by how much money it made the family in a year. not enough to live on, but not nothing either. its a very famous song.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 15:23 (five years ago) Permalink
"loosen my load" is such a gross-sounding phrase
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:06 (five years ago) Permalink
Oh man, I never even thought of the sexual connotation there before.
― cops on horse (WilliamC), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:07 (five years ago) Permalink
the only thing i have to say in favor of the eagles is that at least they were kinda pleasantly sleazy
― no fomo (La Lechera), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:10 (five years ago) Permalink
just a ragtag band of misfits...
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:15 (five years ago) Permalink
yeah everything about this song is gross, which is compounded by its expert execution. no doubt dudes could harmonize, but not well enough to make me overlook the material or sentiments expressed.... I can think of other harmony or country acts whose singing is so beautiful and intense that it creates a compelling contrast with otherwise bothersome lyrical content, this tension becomes part of the appeal. But the Eagles are not the Louvin Brothers or the Beach Boys. They aren't weird or damaged or desperate enough, nor are they beatific or angelic enough, they're just gross.
xp
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:19 (five years ago) Permalink
at least they weren't trying to sell us abstinence like the malevolent mumford banjo mafia
― no fomo (La Lechera), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:23 (five years ago) Permalink
• I have the best memory of a buddy finally going insane at two in the morning during a poker game when "Take It Easy" comes on and he can't stop laughing over "running down the road, tryin' to loosen my load."
• Rich Hall has this chapter in his Vanishing America about going to Winslow, Ariz., and waiting for a girl in a flatbed Ford to slow down and take a look at him. He gets a ride with her and asks about Jackson Browne. "Kinda quiet," she says and he replies, yeah, that's what he's heard too.
• I'm sure I'll get into it later, but background vocals on Eagles songs scare the shit out of me.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:29 (five years ago) Permalink
Ok, I think I'm gonna lose my shit about "loosen my load" now.
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:31 (five years ago) Permalink
everything about the arrangement is so uptight, SOMETHING'S gotta get loosened amirite
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:33 (five years ago) Permalink
I imagine a constipated Yosemite Sam running through Roadrunner territory.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:36 (five years ago) Permalink
Mumford does not take it easy, which sort of makes them worse. The Eagles were hilariously smug and arrogant making lite music. Mumford delivers its music with that annoying faux gravitas, as if it was Important. I'm sure the Eagles though they were Important, too, but only after enough people told them they were, and that probably only came after they were hugely successful and everyone around them was too afraid to say otherwise. "Wow, guys, 'Hotel California' really is like holding up a mirror to America. Like you said, it's about the American dream, but also the American nightmare!"
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:36 (five years ago) Permalink
Song does nothing for me, and never did. Really, the Doobies' "Listen To The Music" is my own personal substitute for "Take It Easy" (not only banjo, it's got steel drums too!) for that 1972 west coast highway-driving feel.
The phrase "There's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford" does sing nice.
― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:55 (five years ago) Permalink
I am avoiding this shit like the plague. Aside from this post, obv.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 16:56 (five years ago) Permalink
All right, everyone. Ned's in.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:06 (five years ago) Permalink
Being from California, these are the songs of your people, correct?
Only Eagle actually from California was Timothy Schmit.
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:09 (five years ago) Permalink
Listen, this isn't the place to start on any of your anti-immigrant rhetoric.
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:11 (five years ago) Permalink
I take great umbrage at this suggestion, good sir
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:16 (five years ago) Permalink
Sorry to get all Soft Rock Civil Defense Corps on you.
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:17 (five years ago) Permalink
All native Californians are from Iowa iirc
― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:25 (five years ago) Permalink
"Listen To The Music" is my own personal substitute for "Take It Easy"
i love "listen to the music" to death. its an amazing song when all is sad and done. and the production is arguably just as tightassed as eagles but somehow it opens up into a field of infinite possibilities by the time you get to the psych break where the lazy flowing river does something to the castles in the sky.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:28 (five years ago) Permalink
lighten up while you still can
― reggie (qualmsley), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:30 (five years ago) Permalink
apparently frey came up with the flatbed ford line.
http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/2179/3261/5446630016_large.jpg
― scott seward, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:34 (five years ago) Permalink
oh fuck, where is my statues thread.
http://maxmccoy.com/blog/uploaded_images/IMG_0174-769036.jpg
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:37 (five years ago) Permalink
Take It Easy is unfuckwithable; tight structure, sweet harmonising, singalong up to your eyeballs. Was this their first song? What pros.
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:38 (five years ago) Permalink
lol @ the reflection
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:39 (five years ago) Permalink
take it easy is ok
but it is sort of impressive, as far as "first song on first album totally defining the aesthetic of the band"
right up there with "black sabbath"/black sabbath/black sabbath
― usic for 18 magicians (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:41 (five years ago) Permalink
I feel like the first two missing panels of this cartoon involved Mr. Magoo somehow.
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/9619/hs56.jpg
― pplains, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:42 (five years ago) Permalink
What's going on in those upstairs windows?
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:44 (five years ago) Permalink
Well, when two trompe l'oeil figures love each other very much . . .
― Domo Arigato, Demi Lovato (Phil D.), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 17:48 (five years ago) Permalink
"it's a girl my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me" is the only contribution Frey made to the song. Save for that one line, the song is written by Jackson Browne whose own version of the song I prefer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMA3lIeqV8M
― Lee626, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 18:48 (five years ago) Permalink
Of course Frey would write the line that makes him look like Paul Newman.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 20 August 2013 18:52 (five years ago) Permalink
I'm curious about the exact nature of the relationships with those seven women, particularly the one who says she's a friend. Why is that was enough distinction to call her out specifically? Did most of the women he knew not want to be mistaken for being friends with him?
― Lee626, Tuesday, 20 August 2013 19:13 (five years ago) Permalink
Well: yeah
― or at night (Jon not Jon), Friday, 7 July 2017 23:09 (one year ago) Permalink
one of the joys of learning about henley is the continual, neverending confirmation that he is the dickwagon I assumed he was when I knew zero about him
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 7 July 2017 23:37 (one year ago) Permalink
In the Wild: "Victim of Love."
Victim of the Eagles.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 8 October 2017 18:00 (one year ago) Permalink
If you listen closely you can hear Felder sobbing quietly
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 8 October 2017 18:03 (one year ago) Permalink
I saw at WalMart recently that they've quietly reissued the two vinyl-era hits comps in a box for $12.
Also: Vince Gill is apparently an Eagle now.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 8 October 2017 20:08 (one year ago) Permalink
what!?
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 8 October 2017 20:39 (one year ago) Permalink
Yeah, two CDs in a box.
But seriously, apparently that summer show w/Gill & Frey's son went well enough that they plan to continue touring with them in the lineup.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 8 October 2017 20:54 (one year ago) Permalink
don: think of it as the old guild system, where i am the master and you are the apprentice.
Reminds me of what I posted last year"
Also I picked up Felder's hefty Between Heaven and Hell in the library, and read the whole thing that afternoon, which never happens. Gist: his father comes off as a self-made, self-righteous, self-torturing workaholic and skinflint, and Don follows suit during his Eagles years, with infinitely more bucks and perks than blue collar Dad ever had, of course. Furthermore, Dr. Phil, he somewhat recreates his own defiant-dependent teen relationship with Dad, now played by Henley and Frey.Also:When he finally gets his ass fired, after having papers served in the studio, he actually calls back, all crying---"Try to seek some higher ground in this, Fingers," Frey counsels, and the ex-Mrs. Felder fervently seconds. So he does, by writing this agony-and-juicy-tidbits saga. He's always been go-to for tha latter apparently; has everybody in the firm calling up to ask him what "the Gods" are up to now, incl. the Gods themselves, D & G, checking on each other, and maybe themselves. D. circulates a memo on making sure the toliet paper rolls *toward* the shittee, so reacharound nec. One of the lighter moments.
― dow, Sunday, 8 October 2017 23:13 (one year ago) Permalink
And he casually mentions in that one of his guitar students back in Florida was "Tommy" Petty.
― dow, Sunday, 8 October 2017 23:18 (one year ago) Permalink
^^Who later had a band with Bernie Leadon's brother.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 8 October 2017 23:40 (one year ago) Permalink
Me and some of the fellas at work takin' it to the limit.
https://i.imgur.com/rrkZJ6C.jpg
― pplains, Monday, 23 October 2017 14:15 (one year ago) Permalink
A bad day in hell: being trapped with Lyin' Eyes.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 October 2017 02:57 (one year ago) Permalink
i enjoy the melody but the lyrics make me crosseyed with hatred
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 25 October 2017 03:15 (one year ago) Permalink
fantastic piece.
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 25 October 2017 08:21 (one year ago) Permalink
DON: Well, yeah.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 October 2017 10:50 (one year ago) Permalink
thanks!
I'm happy that we all came out of this thread stronger, bolder and wiser. And we didn't even lose anyone along the way!
― pplains, Wednesday, 25 October 2017 13:13 (one year ago) Permalink
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a0/42/5d/a0425d08c6b7d828e4a3903f81ab11d1--eagles-band-the-eagles.jpg
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 October 2017 13:14 (one year ago) Permalink
Listen, you ever hear me use the pronoun "we", be assured that it'll mean "me and the Eagles".
― pplains, Wednesday, 25 October 2017 13:18 (one year ago) Permalink
it'll never mean.
I don't need a Roach Ghost haunting me today, all right?
Love the responses from angry Eagles fans - and Alfred's retorts - in the blog post linked above.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Thursday, 9 November 2017 00:59 (one year ago) Permalink
I wondered why my stats were exploding two weeks ago: an Eagles fan site had linked to it.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 9 November 2017 01:03 (one year ago) Permalink
First, you call yourself an author, yet you spelled ‘great with “grate” Are you making a cheese topped dish?
O Lord, I think Henley found your blog.
― pplains, Thursday, 9 November 2017 01:19 (one year ago) Permalink
sick burn
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 9 November 2017 03:40 (one year ago) Permalink
man this is sweet and soft and cool.. so airy, bernie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrFD_5iD7w
― brimstead, Friday, 18 May 2018 21:21 (six months ago) Permalink
Lol @ the setlists: http://www.citypages.com/music/jimmy-buffett-and-the-eagles-at-target-field-a-timeline/487077441
― pplains, Saturday, 7 July 2018 14:18 (four months ago) Permalink
"The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" just came up on a random shuffle. Never heard it before and missed its day here. It's like a prototype for solo-Henley "Johnny Can't Read" and Hen's other sour new wave.
― ... (Eazy), Tuesday, 17 July 2018 19:31 (four months ago) Permalink
a day-ruiner, basically
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 02:31 (four months ago) Permalink
hey y'all!
We approach the five-year anniversary of this thread.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 02:38 (four months ago) Permalink
whaaaaaat good lord
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 02:46 (four months ago) Permalink
we should celebrate by starting over again :D
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 02:47 (four months ago) Permalink
^^^ frail grasp on the big picture
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 02:53 (four months ago) Permalink
carved on my tombstone iirc
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 03:05 (four months ago) Permalink
Well, Yeah
― Making Plans For Sturgill (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 18 July 2018 03:13 (four months ago) Permalink
what would Don 'n' Ghost of Glenn say?
https://apnews.com/3c0b39a1bb5b4e44aafe2c4e05a4b67f/Beating-King-of-Pop,-The-Eagles-have-No.1-album-of-all-time
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 August 2018 16:58 (three months ago) Permalink
DON: “We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It’s been quite a ride.”
GLENN: "Don't forget the ins and outs."
DON: "Well, yeah."
― pplains, Monday, 20 August 2018 17:05 (three months ago) Permalink
ug what a bummer
― The Desus & Mero Chain (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 20 August 2018 17:12 (three months ago) Permalink
couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of assholes
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 20 August 2018 17:34 (three months ago) Permalink
Are we maybe down to one (living) asshole still in the band?
― dow, Monday, 20 August 2018 17:52 (three months ago) Permalink
The new RIAA cert for the Eagles' Greatest Hits album is absurd and doesn't mean what most people - including almost every source reporting it - think it means. I'm a total music charts/sales geek and I could break it down in detail, but suffice it to say that A) this is U.S.-only sales; worldwide, Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time by a very large margin and B) RIAA certifications no longer reflect actual album sales and have become almost meaningless to anyone outside the industry. They're now a weird amalgam of album sales (physical and digital), digital singles sales, and streams. Thriller has likely still sold more copies, even in the U.S.
― It's like an Christian pop (thewufs), Monday, 20 August 2018 21:26 (three months ago) Permalink
Yep.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 August 2018 21:42 (three months ago) Permalink
good to know. that makes me feel better
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 20 August 2018 21:44 (three months ago) Permalink
in short: take it easy, everyone
No doubt the Eagles have sold more than the last time the RIAA certified those albums, but "selling" isn't streaming, and selling matters not a whit in 2018.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 August 2018 21:51 (three months ago) Permalink
THIS FUCKING PICTURE
https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/media:621b972b2d3049ad9bf361b83b46c6ae/800.jpeg
― Ubering With The King (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 20 August 2018 22:09 (three months ago) Permalink
is Don playing bongos on his guitar there
― Οὖτις, Monday, 20 August 2018 22:11 (three months ago) Permalink
GLENN: Not the first time he awkwardly slapped some bongos...
― Ubering With The King (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 20 August 2018 22:14 (three months ago) Permalink
Greatest comment I've seen about the Eagles today, on a friend's FB page about this:
The public like them because their lyrics are decipherable and make singing along easy. Say what you want about their other abilities, but those guys could enunciate.
― Eliza D., Wednesday, 22 August 2018 15:49 (two months ago) Permalink
lol
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 22 August 2018 20:25 (two months ago) Permalink