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Thread: Celebration of "Eagles" LP!

  1. #11
    Border Rebel Fan_For_Life's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    For me there isnt' a least favorite album. I can certainly see where people can have certain opinions on the songs but as a whole there isn't an album/song I don't like.

    Using the scale of 1(least)-5(best)

    Take It Easy-5
    Witchy Woman-5
    Chug All Night-5
    Nightengale-5
    Most Of Us Are Sad-2
    Train Leaves- 2
    Take The Devil-5
    Earlybird-2
    Peaceful Easy Feeling-5
    Tryin-4


  2. #12
    Stuck on the Border
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Using the ranking system:

    1. Take It Easy 5
    2. Peaceful Easy Feeling 5
    3. Witchy Woman 5
    4. Train Leaves Here This Morning 4
    5. Chug All Night 4
    6. Take The Devil 4
    7. Most Of Us Are Sad 3
    8. Earlybird 3
    9. Nightingale 2
    10. Tryin' 2

    Of all the songs apart from the obvious Big Three I always loved TLHTM. Take The Devil is the song that has grown on me the most. I love those guitars at the end. It foreshadows more songs of this type like Good Day In Hell and echoes Witchy Woman.

    Chug All Night is extremely underrated. Naive it may be but it has a certain charm if you know what I mean.

    I never really took to Most Of Us Are Sad although I applaud the sentiments.

    Earlybird is a bit too 'quaint' for me although it is a perfect showcase for Bernie. With Nightingale I really have to be in the mood although Don probably never sounded this carefree again. The only song that doesn't really work is Tryin' because I find it a bit overblown.

  3. #13
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    My thoughts:

    Take It Easy
    The opening chords of this never fail to bring a smile to my face and that energy is maintained throughout. The song just exudes vibrancy in a way that's hard to define. It's more than just the carefree lyrics, the spirited banjo/guitar licks, the exuberant vocal, the catchy melody; it just WORKS. What a terrific song. My favorite part - the full stop and drumbeat after the last "SAAAAAAAAAAAAVE ME." Just that little extra kick to put it over the top!

    Witchy Woman

    Strangely, when I first heard this song, I thought it was kind of boring. I hit "skip" regularly when it came on my "Greatest Hits" CD. However, it's grown on me, and I now understand why it's a favorite of so many people; it's hot!

    Chug All Night
    When I first heard this, I didn't really get it. I had only heard the term "chug" used in the downing of beverages at frat houses and the visual this conjured up was unimpressive. I envisioned the Eagles guzzling beers greedily at a frat party while belching out how they were gonna "CHUG ALL NIGHT." Unable to get past that initially, I ascribed the label of "TRES LAME" to this song and skipped it consistently. Then I got a hold of some seventies bootlegs and they really rocked it live! To my own amazement, I started to... LIKE... the song. That guitar is smokin'! I was able to overlook uninspired lines like "We're gonna do a little chuggin'; we're gonna do a little huggin'" and concentrate on the fun, free-spirited tune behind it... and now I find the song enjoyable. Plus, the "Wired for sound/wired for light" segment is cool.

    Most Of Us Are Sad
    So many people hate this song, but I love it. Beautiful melody and I love the imagery of the "coming dawn" and "scarlet sun." I only wish he had chosen a different title; the title makes the song sound like it was written by a first grader, when the lyrics themselves contain some of the most mature sentiments of the album.

    Nightingale
    Another song that I initially thought was pretty lame but that grew on me. Hearing a youthful Henley sing lyrics that scorn social awareness is worth the price of admission right there. It has the honor of containing one of the most unintentionally hilarious lyrics of any Eagles song: "I'm hangin' on to my special friend." Don't see why that's funny? Just try to imagine Henley seriously saying that to his girlfriend. "Honey, I just want you to know that you are my special friend." LOL Best part: I love the pace changes when he sings "Here comes my baby!" Really effectively communicates the joy of the relationship. The "devastation trail" line is a clever lyrical turn which I snatched for a YouTube username at one point. Indeed, the whole latter half of the chorus that goes to the minor key is interesting melodically, so as I said, the song grew on me.

    Train Leaves Here This Morning
    Our first taste of Bernie. Nice mellow melody, nice harmonies. Not a standout track, but pleasant.

    Take the Devil
    I was never much impressed with this song; the verses kind of wander, although I do like the "God, will you lead me when I roam" part and the drum beats building to it. Other than that, the song doesn't really do much for me. Repeated listens have allowed it to grow on me, but I even now I couldn't sing it from memory in its entirety. It just doesn't stick with you. That said, Randy does a great job with the vocal.

    Earlybird
    I gotta admit, I hate cutesy gimmicks like those bird chirps. They annoy me to death. Once I set that aside, it's a great bluegrass tunes and Bernie is amazing on the banjo (especially live). Also love the harmony on the "You know I like to lay in bed" part. But... the birds... MAKE THEM STOP!

    Peaceful Easy Feeling
    Ah, how I love this song. The tune is lovely, but what really sells it is Glenn's vocal. When you look at the lyrics in isolation, this isn't really a hugely romantic song. However, somehow, when Glenn closes his eyes and sings those words in a certain way, it becomes one. His voice may have changed over the years, but his ability to vocally infuse lyrics with a certain emotion and make the audience feel it with him - that hasn't changed and never will. To this day, this song makes 'em melt.

    Tryin'
    Not the highlight of the album by any means; I can't recite this song from memory either. It's not terrible. It's just not that notable. It also suffers from sounding dated, but it's got a nice theme: you gotta keep on tryin'!

    Overall, as I said before, a very strong debut!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  4. #14
    Stuck on the Border luvthelighthouse's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Soda, I agree about those stupid birds. I hear them begin to chirp and I'm instantly annoyed! I have to forward through that part to get to the actual song, with overall isn't one of my favorites by any means. Probably because I can't get get past the birds. I think I'm gonna give the CD another listen now while I work.

  5. #15
    Stuck on the Border EagleLady's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Funny thing about the birds, me and mom were driving with our friends from the UK and their kids, and when Earlybird came on, they went chirp chirp along with the bird noises.

  6. #16
    Stuck on the Border luvthelighthouse's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    I must have listened to this CD six times within the past 24 hours. I have to say, it’s a pretty good album, and certainly agree it’s impressive for a debut. I don’t know if it’s the time tested familiarity of TIE, WW and PEF, or are they just so fantastic that they really do stand out amongst the others. I would like to add that I believe Nightingale could be in their ranks as well. Although, I will admit, I didn’t recognize that to be Don’s voice at first. It’s so smooth!

    I have mixed feeling on Most of Us are Sad. I think some parts are great, while others are so-so. Also, I can not grasp that Glenn sings it. To me, it sounds like Randy. I have to listen to it over and over just so I can pull Glenn’s key sounds, and still it’s hard.

    I do happen to really like Train Leaves Here This Morning. I think it’s actually kinda catchy.

    For me, the forgettable tracks are Early Bird and Tryin’. They don’t do much for me.

  7. #17
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Randy does sing lead on Most of Us Are Sad, although Glenn wrote it. Glenn harmonizes on the "love was here today" part, but you have to strain to pick him out. I do my best, though.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  8. #18
    Stuck on the Border luvthelighthouse's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Thank goodness Soda! I thought I was losing my mind! Okay, it IS Randy. I'm feeling better about my mental capacity now.

  9. #19
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Something interesting I wanted to note about Train Leaves Here This Morning, and that you'll also find in many other Bernie songs: the use of unusual harmonies. What I mean is, there's kind of an instinctive harmony to most Eagles songs that you can sing along with easily because it naturally fits - like on Take It Easy - but Bernie uses ones you have to kind of listen to before you can sing along with them because they aren't quite natural, but they still sound great. His songs are not the only ones that do that; you can also hear unusual harmony lines in songs like James Dean. Still, Bernie does it the most consistently.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  10. #20
    Moderator Ive always been a dreamer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Anniversary Eagles LP!

    Soda, that's an interesting observation about Bernie's songs. I'll have to listen more closely to see if I can pick up on what you're saying. But, that may very well be why most of Bernie's songs don't sound as "Eagley" to me. It's not that they aren't good, it's just that they have a different sound. As far as Earlybird, for me, the bird tweets are THE only truly cringe-worthy moment in any song the Eagles ever recorded. I, too, want to yell "shut up, already"! Thankfully, the song itself is pleasant enough to listen to after that, so that the tweets don't kill it for me.

    With regard to Most Of Us Are Sad, it was one of the rare instances where an Eagle sang lead on a song written by one of the other members. I always wondered about the reason for this because Glenn could surely do the song justice. I always speculated that it was because the entire album was recorded in about three weeks. Maybe they just simply needed another song for Randy to sing, and Glenn just happened to have one.

    "People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
    Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016

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