The best-selling album of all time in the United States: The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) poll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAH97-TDFzk

Bud Scoppa's original Rolling Stone review of the first LP is good:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-eagles-19720622

(Although "Witchy Woman" is "moderately fast" like Prince Fielder is moderately fast.)

is xgau's initial takedown of the eagles his most famous long review? definitely got under henley's skin, can remember reading an interview w/ him in the late 80s/early 90s still seething over 'ny critics' that hated the eagles but loved - get this - the ny dolls! he said this mockingly, as if history had clearly vindicated him.

anyhow i should probably in some weird way thank the eagles for keeping their stuff of spotify as i have mellowed on them considerably and they are totally the kind of band i would check out on spotify and possibly finding myself liking more than the 2-3 songs i like now.

I don't know (xpost). The most infamous Eagles-related review for me was Marcus going completely off the edge over Henley's The End of the Innocence. Can't find it online--it was in a "Real Life" column.

as if history had clearly vindicated him.

I mean, by any criterion Don Henley might conceivably care about, history probably had, right?

tbf it had vindicated him at the time 'ny critics' were favoring the dolls over the eagles, reading it was just apparent that he thought it hilarious, as if the dolls were this superobscure flop, like a critic preferring pink lady and jeff to mash. considering he had axl on the end of the innocence i wonder if he's even heard the ny dolls (or maybe he's never heard guns n roses?).

It's an interesting question. Twenty-five years ago I likely would have ridiculed Henley, and hung that ridicule on the idea of influence--you sold 100 million albums, but did you actually influence anyone in any meaningful way? But I take it that the Eagles' influence has been huge on a generation or two of country music, and probably also on lots of pop music that doesn't necessarily mean anything to me. The New York Dolls influence was intense for a time, and has been receding for years. So I guess he wins that argument, above and beyond fortune and fame and the fact of being alive. (I'm only partly playing devil's advocate here.)

I remember reading once about King Buzzo meeting Gene Simmons and how the only time during this that the god of thunder could be arsed to even pretend to give a shit about the Melvins was when Buzzo told him (lied to him) that Kurt had played on their cover of Going Blind

I listened to The Long Run (again) on Friday. Thing that always hits me when I listen to these albums made up of singles that I've only heard one-at-a-time on the radio is how off the sequencing is compared to the way I had it in my head.

"I Can't Tell You Why" as Track 2? Please.

haha (that's one of my fave eagles fwiw). i heard 'heartache tonight' the other day and was instantly transported to when it was current on the radio, me five years old sliding around in the back seat of my mom's z28, absolutely loving that song. maybe i will download some eagles.

Heartache Tonight takes me back to the local pizza parlor, same kind of deal. Local teens leaning up against my mom's car as we go out to the parking lot.

That one and Crazy Little Thing Called Love sit on the same shelf of my memory.

ohh man "Heartache Tonight." Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is so much better song for song than this one.

Btw this is actually tied with Thriller, both at 29 million shipped

man balls its way cool you're making your peace with the Eagles but I highly doubt I will ever come to a point in my life where I will respond to Heartache Tonight with anything but pure hateful derision

'crazy little thing called love' and 'another one bites the dust' i'm sliding around in the back seat of my paternal grandmother's car. 'queen of hearts' i'm in the front seat of my maternal grandmother's car. she made me wear a seat belt.

i think it kinda helps that i almost never ever hear them anymore. which was not true for the longest time (which reminds me i've done a similar mellowing on billy joel). mind you i still get outraged when the atlanta oldies/classic rock station ('the river') plays them insanely too much. i think i've probably gotten more pleasure out of yelling out 'ALRIGHT HERE WE GO "LEATHER AND LACE"! "LEATHER AND LACE"!' any time a couple goes onstage at karaoke than i have from actually listening to the eagles ("in the city" which doesn't count anyway excepted obv).

Still say In The City stuck out like a sore thumb as the coda for The Warriors.

"Yo, we just survived a hyper conceptual run for our lives from candy colored ultraviolet street gangs, from one end of this post-Ford metropolis to the other, and now the sun is finally coming up? Let's lay on some Joe Walsh and THROW DOWN."

(Almost said "Let's lay on some Joe Walsh and JAM," but didn't want it to look like I was making a music pun.)

no surprise balls and I agree. I've made my peace with their influence on country and I can enjoy a few of these tunes now, but, god, they remain one of the few bands I have no problem being Robespierre and condemning to the guillotine because their personal lives are sufficiently generous and ecumenical to fellow human beings. Fortunately these songs often reflect these attitudes, so hate is easy.

*INSUFFICIENTLY

The best freelance assignment of my life: reviewing the Eagles's 2003 show, a three-hour Ringling Bros extravaganza during which every member got solo terms and Glenn Frey, cokehead, made a crack about never trusting women with credit cards.

Not sure what to go with here. It ain't "Desperado", though, yuck.

the gaudiness of "Take it to the limit" has really grown on me over the years.

that thing milks its refrain like nothing this side of "Hey Jude"

You can spend all your time making money.
You can spend all your money making time.

Now that's deep, man.

dude that's the Frey-Henley life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neY7D4aCW_A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXfPWstSOsw

is xgau's initial takedown of the eagles his most famous long review? definitely got under henley's skin, can remember reading an interview w/ him in the late 80s/early 90s still seething over 'ny critics' that hated the eagles but loved - get this - the ny dolls! he said this mockingly, as if history had clearly vindicated him.

― balls, Sunday, February 24, 2013 7:21 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

As you and Sun4r pointed out, yeah, nothing on Henley's radar would suggest otherwise. "But Don, the Dolls influenced the Replacements!" "[derisive snort]" "[coke snort]"

I haven't made my peace with the Eagles (other than "Take It To The Limit"), and don't know if I ever will. The main sticking point is that the insanely rigid drumming. To his credit, Don must have some notion of his deficiencies in this area, since he got Keltner and Porcaro to play most of the drums on his solo records.

or programmed them

I've softened, but I'm not handing them any Elia Kazan awards either.

obligatory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_kCR5yQpY0

ohh man "Heartache Tonight." Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is so much better song for song than this one.

I'm going with "Tequila Sunrise". So light and breezy compared to the others.

Couldn't find a clip of "Life in the Fast Lane" at the Fast Times at Ridgemont High prom...

Totally enjoying reading this thread backwards. Looking forward to seeing entropy reverse itself and the softening positions reorganize themselves back into full on hate.

didn't want to admit how solid Building The Perfect Beast was when I got a copy a few years ago.

Oh wait, this is a new poll. Never mind./roseannerosannadanna

"Heartache Tonight" by far my least favorite of their singles
have mellowed quite a bit on these dudes, probably because of east coast-> west coast migration
would rank these songs

"One of These Nights"
"Peaceful Easy Feeling"
"Tequila Sunrise"
"Lyin' Eyes"
"Best of My Love"
"Take It to the Limit"
"Already Gone"
"Take It Easy"
"Desperado"
"Witchy Woman"

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dw_zwLsSBT4/URlrqK0hkVI/AAAAAAAAGwQ/bhF_54n1QAo/s640/eagles.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb_XEwgfmDk

which reminds me i've done a similar mellowing on billy joel

I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.

don't ask me why aero

"When you ask for a backstage pass to come and see Joe Perry, give me some advance notice so I won't have to be there."

After my sister and her friends would listen to this and then Rod Stewart's A Night On The Town I would ritually cleanse my record player by putting on "This Boy" - I guess this means I was some kind of proto-Sinister kid./flashback_from_wayback

Reminder that thing in the 90s that album of the (Canadian?) grammar school kids singing the famous rock songs and one kid sang "Desperado"? Which in theory was supposed to redeem the song for those who didn't like it but instead has ultimately added yet another layer of unpleasantness.

Take it to the lemming one more time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm-o7_VVAoU

Didn't Don Henley get up on stage once and sing that with Mojo? Maybe at The Hole In The Wall in Austin?

every star that shines in the back of the bus is just waiting for his cover to be blown