Wasted time reprise/ eagles reprises

Small question but does anyone know why the Eagles during such a prolific time musicially during the HC era decided to put the wasted time reprisal on the album? Was it because they didn't have any better tracks? It's a shame because I love every song on there and Glenn should have gotten another lead vocal on there. This same applies to desperado where you have the instrumental and the doolin dalton and desperado reprisal. Was it due to lack of material or did they believe it made the album better?

I have read in the past that Wasted Time Reprise was included (you will note at the start of the second half) to give some continuity between the two sides.

I'm in two minds on D-D/D Reprise. On one hand it could be the fabled final composition that was needed to finish the album (see Glenn's reference at the BBC concert to CKOF being the penultimate one), however the Instrumental would equally fit that bill. Given the amount of alternative lyrics for the original Doolin-Dalton (see JD Souther's version on the Old Grey Whistle Test) then I am tempted to say that it was included simply to bring everything back together (finish where you started if you like) and use the additional material they had on it. Either way, it is easily one of their finest tracks and gave us for me their most beautiful harmonies and outro. I could listen to it for hours.

I think Glenn :heart: liked to put some instrumental interludes between songs occasionally - he has also done it with Silent Spring and Agua Tranquillo in Strange Weather and he put 'I Dreamed there was no war' between the rather long LROOE and the rocking 'Somebody' on the LROOE album. Maybe his idea was that it provides a way of contemplating on one song before going straight into the next. I like it.

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Originally Posted by Glennsallnighter

I think Glenn :heart: liked to put some instrumental interludes between songs occasionally - he has also done it with Silent Spring and Agua Tranquillo in Strange Weather and he put 'I Dreamed there was no war' between the rather long LROOE and the rocking 'Somebody' on the LROOE album. Maybe his idea was that it provides a way of contemplating on one song before going straight into the next. I like it.

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I think you're probably right, and I'm guessing it's sort of a throwback idea to vinyl, when you wouldn't be as likely to be just starting midway through, or picking a song here and there, and more likely would listen to a whole album.

I have always love DD & Wasted Time reprises. I think they continued the "theme" on both albums. Also loved Glenn's on LROE, especially since the title song is so long(a little too long for me but just MPO). That was something very much done back in the 70's.

The other thing involved is the length of each side of the album. In the case of HOTEL CALIFORNIA, side two is about 20.5 minutes. A full song added there would have the reduced the fidelity some so that must've been a part of the consideration as well. And I think it's really neat that the second side of the vinyl album starts with this beautiful string piece before "Victim Of Love" kicks in...it's kind of unexpected the first time you hear it that way.

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Originally Posted by Glennsallnighter

I think Glenn :heart: liked to put some instrumental interludes between songs occasionally - he has also done it with Silent Spring and Agua Tranquillo in Strange Weather and he put 'I Dreamed there was no war' between the rather long LROOE and the rocking 'Somebody' on the LROOE album. Maybe his idea was that it provides a way of contemplating on one song before going straight into the next. I like it.

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Yeah, I remember Glenn saying in a HC related interview in the 90's that he always liked "little links between songs".

Going back to BB1976's comment, yeah, sometimes these decisions make much more sense when you look at the album as a whole work, rather than a collection of discrete songs. Piecemeal downloading has kind of messed up the whole "concept album" idea.

If you occasionally wonder why an artist does something like this, sit down and listen to the entire record, start to finish. Sometimes, that clarifies it.

But I love the Desperado Reprise. The lyrics are so good. "The Queen of Diamonds let you down; she was just an empty fable. The Queen of Hearts, you say you've never met." Great. And then the counter melody behind it. ("Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?") It brings the whole album full circle, to me. Kind of like watching a play. Individual scenes are fine, but there's such a sense of replete satisfaction when you watch it from beginning to end. Same with a great album that's been thoughtfully assembled. "Desperado" wouldn't be such a great album if the song order had been changed up.

Listen to albums like we did waaaay back in the Dark Ages! LOLOL.