Thoughts Of A Hopeless Romantic

[peneumbra]

From where I see it, there are two - make that three - bands called Eagles.

The first version, the one I preferred and the one I'm most familiar with, is the first version, which, depending on how close you want to cut it, lasted through One Of These Nights, or On The Border.

The kind of music I most enjoyed from this band was the country-based rock that I considered the stepchild of The Stone Ponys and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Call it a California thing; call it the result of too many nights wandering around the moonlit curves of the Santa Monica Mountains; call it the search for The Angel Of Rapture before last call at the Topanga Corral ("we fix broken hearts").

So when Bernie Leadon, a musician I'd been listening to for a very long time, departed, it made a huge difference to me and to a lot of the folks (many of them musicians themselves) who considered themselves fans of the Eagles. There were numerous reasons why Leadon left, some of them widely known and others that no one outside of the principals was aware of.

Remember, this was a group that, on occasion, would perform bluegrass songs; Leadon was (and remains) a virtuoso banjo, mandolin, and dobro player. Neither Frey nor Henley thought that was the path to fame and fortune, and of course they were right.

Then Randy Meisner, the other country-rock guy, left. He had that High And Lonesome sound that, like Bernie's playing, was a throwback to what seemed like better, less complicated days. Again, there were lots of reasons for his quitting, but the result was similar: the Eagles embarked in a change of direction.

The last Eagles album I could really relate to, in a romantically intoxicated Full Moon Over Malibu sort of way, was One Of These Nights, partly because some of the songs were about people I'd come to know.

I certainly appreciate the later material (Eagles Number Two)- great harmonies, awesome chops, outrageously tight and intelligent lyrics. Now we have Eagles Number Three, which I've got to admit I have not seen live.

But this is a way different generation, with visions and romantic excesses of their own. I hope that they find what they need from this band. As for us old Lonesome L.A. Cowboys, we're still out here, driving along in old trucks, a funny looking cigarette between our lips, Desperado on the stereo, searching for the saloon of our dreams...

Fooled again...

[My My]

Thanks for the thoughtful post, peneumbra. Eagles 1 with Randy and Bernie was definitely my favorite version. High and lonesome sound is the perfect description for Randy's voice. It was something special to hear live.

[YoungEaglesFan]

To me, they were at their peak vocally with those 4 voices. I definitely think they lost something when Randy left. still gorgeous harmonies but I adore Randy’s voice.

[tac0mao6]

the original 4 remain my favorite lineup too
i appreciate the talents and entertainment that Don F and Joe W added to the mix, but those fabulous harmonies are what i’ve always loved most

[WalshFan88]

To me the Eagles didn't come into their own until Felder and Walsh were there together.

For me the first two records other than the biggest hits were unlistenable. I really hate country music (other than the modern pop country stuff, which is more rock/rnb/edm based) and to me while they called themselves country rock, it was more country than rock. Desperado being my least favorite Eagles album.

I think if someone likes the Eagles for their vocals, I agree that the original 4 were the best vocally but I never saw them as a vocal band or a harmony band. I saw them as a guitar-heavy rock band with fun songs and singable lyrics and a good vibe. For me OTB, OOTN was leaning in the right direction, obviously too much so for Bernie, but I wasn't a huge BL fan just from a style perspective. I never paid attention to their harmonies, but I know a lot of people liked them.

Hotel California was the pinnacle of what they did, and I love The Long Run a lot more than most simply because it had more rock songs than the early stuff.

While I give credit to the original 4, to me they became a supergroup when they invited Walsh and did Hotel California. That's really their pinnacle for me and for a lot of people I think. I just like that classic AOR rock sound that was a little more refined than other bands, which the guys caught flak for from rock diehards. I've never been scared away by pop music at all, or the idea of polished records.

[Scarlet Sun]

I agree with you completely peneumbra