I got into the Eagles first by watching the Farewell Tour DVD (sorry, there’s probably a better place on the forum for this, but it serves as an introduction). My father showed me, because he was a long-time fan. I liked the band upon my first impression. They had a serious side (they wear suits during the first couple of songs) and a playful side (Joe is fooling around with Glenn and wears pyjamas on stage). Plus, they had a soft spot, which was Timothy. The concert setting just oozed quality and class as well, with all members alternately in the spotlight and behind them the horn section in black… And above all, the stuff they were playing just sounded better than most of what I had heard from other artists.

But the moment that really made me fall in love with the guys was during Life’s Been Good. The interaction with the crowd via Joe’s helmet cam was just phenomenal and I must have enjoyed it as much as the people who were actually there.

It’s fun to compare the first impression you had of the band with what you came to know about them further down the line. Because the first song plus the only song I knew back then, HC, were both sung by Don Henley, I assumed that he, together with Joe (I must have been sleeping while Glenn introduced everyone) was the leader of the band in favor of Glenn. I also used to think back then that, for example, Dirty Laundry was a way bigger hit of theirs than Take It Easy.

So my question to the other borderers is: What would you want someone else’s first impression to be like? Or, rephrased, which songs would you recommend someone who wants to know more about the Eagles to listen to?

This would be my list:
How long
One of these nights
Hotel California
Learn to be still (I just can’t imagine someone not liking this song upon first hearing it)
The boys of summer
Life in the fast lane
The end of the innocence
You belong to the city
You don't know me at all
Those shoes (showing their darker side)
Try and love again (I feel this would have been a hit, had Randy not left the band and had it been promoted like it needed to be)
No more cloudy days
Waiting in the weeds
King of Hollywood (this would serve as a slow fade-out after one of the many highlights on this album)

Deluxe:
Somebody
In the city
Tequila sunrise (showing their more country side)
Get over it
The last resort
Hole in the world
Dirty laundry
My man
Walk away (even though it’s technically a whole other band, but written by Joe)
I can't tell you why
The sad café
And I would show them some of my favorite sections from the Farewell 1 Tour DVD.

I remember Don saying that he doesn’t see the point of making a new album, because even if they would write the best song ever, people wouldn’t care much, or something alike, just because they wouldn’t get the same attention as the 70s hits. And I think that How Long, WITW, NMCD and even Somebody would have been massive hits had they been released in the 70s. That’s another thing: this compilation album is not just about those hits, but about all the best songs (+ some solo stuff if you like) that could turn someone into an Eagles fan upon first listen, so think outside the Eagles canon. And as a side note it can be a thread about your own (wrong) first impressions.