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Thread: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

  1. #1
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    Default Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    I was pondering the Eagles time together today, and it just amazes me, when I put it in perspective, how short the original run of the Eagles was.
    If you count from the release of "Eagles", the run to the last show at Long Beach was 8 yrs and 2 months exactly. Eagles released on June 1 1972, and the last concert was July 31, 1980.
    When you think about the amazing amount of hit music they created in 7 years, from June 72, to September 79 it's pretty incredible. 6 albums in 7 years, with those hits!!!

    Then you compare that with the "second act", you have a run from April 23 1994 to July 2015, that's 21 yrs!!!!
    They were together almost 3 times as long the second time around.

    It's hard to believe that Hell Freezes Over will be 25 years old in 2 years.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    It wasn't just the Eagles BillBailey1976, practically all today's heritage acts were releasing great new albums annually. It was a magic time to be a recorded, rock music fan.

    I'm a little too young to remember the early 70s but I was lucky enough to spend many hours in record shops checking out albums by Genesis, ELO, Joe Walsh and stuff I'd seen on TV or heard on the heard on the radio, and then deliberating for ages over which LP I'd be taking home to get better acquainted with.

    The whole of the Eagles original run isn't that much longer than the time it took them to produce the Long Road Out Of Eden album. You can sorta see why Don's singing Wasted Time in a new light since Glenn's passing.

    It's difficult to see an Eagles anniversary celebration of the release Hell Freezes Over or The Long Run without first honoring Hotel California but it'll be an achievement worth celebrating in a business that you very rarely get to retire from before it retires you.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    I was watching an old Glenn Frey video of Heartache Tonight from 86. I think it was the Japan show with Christopher Cross...and having the discussion with my wife about the great music and performances that stubbornness cost the Eagles getting to make.
    Imagine Don, Glenn and Joe's best songs from the 80s as Eagles tunes, along with the stuff that they'd have co-written for sure.
    Oh well....Wasted Time is right.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    Alot of this has to do with being in the right place at the right time.

    Namely the 1960s early 70s Southern California/LA/Laurel Canyon. Birthplace of what became known as the Country Rock Sound

    The Troubadour Nightclub

    Meeting and associating with people each playing a pivotal role in their success:

    Bob Seger, JD Souther, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Jack Tempchin, David Geffen of Asylum Records, Bill Szymczyk and the very talented, artistically well connected and generous Linda Ronstadt who ultimately led them to Bernie Leadon who in turn led them to Don Felder.

    IIRC it was John Boylan who suggested Randy Meisner of Poco
    And Irving Azoff who later recommended Joe Walsh

    It's a primitive incomplete disjointed timeline I know - these are just a few events and names that come to mind.

    FWIW I think Irving Azoff has been highly influential in terms of securing the Eagles financial success as a touring band and other ventures but there is no disputing the significant role played by David Geffen early in their career. Or decisions made by Frey, Henley and the other band members themselves.

    Of course we must acknowledge the successful marriage of Classic Rock and Nostalgia Filled Baby Boomers which is still going strong and the main reason why it can cost a home mortgage payment to see certain legendary bands up close and personal. Supply and Demand.

    The History of the Eagles documentary tells their story in their own words.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    Quote Originally Posted by BillBailey1976 View Post
    I was watching an old Glenn Frey video of Heartache Tonight from 86. I think it was the Japan show with Christopher Cross...and having the discussion with my wife about the great music and performances that stubbornness cost the Eagles getting to make.
    Imagine Don, Glenn and Joe's best songs from the 80s as Eagles tunes, along with the stuff that they'd have co-written for sure.
    Oh well....Wasted Time is right.
    The other way of looking at it is that instead of sharing writer's block and unproductive months in the studio, they recorded lots of new music with other collaborators.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    I think they mention in the documentary, that what they really needed to do was take time off to recharge more between albums.
    I think a post Hotel California break would have done them a huge good, but the record company wants wants wants. Gotta deliver the album.....it's sort of ironic that the pushing of the record company probably cost them millions.
    Had they let the band take more time, and pace themselves with albums better, they may have gotten several more quality albums out of the band.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    It would be interesting to know what was the straw that broke the camels back: I'm sure Glenn has said in the past he knew way before Long Beach et al that he was going to take time out of the Eagles, but I can't remember if that was before or after the strain of making The Long Run began to manifest itself.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    I think Glenn realized losing his cool on stage was a tipping point in and of itself.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    If I remember right, Glenn stated he knew while making TLR that he would be leaving the group. I think based on the monster success of HC, which they never expected, put too much pressure on them. They were the cash cow for Asylum records at that time, and were under constant pressure to turn out albums and tour. The more they toured, the more albums they sold. I had read(forget which book) that the OFTN tour was 9-10 months and the HC Tour was 11 months. I can't imagine how exhausting that must have been. Especially when working on a album at the same time.
    At one point while making HC and TLR, they would do a concert, fly to Miami after the concert, work till the next afternoon, fly to the next concert, and than repeat the same thing the next day.
    When they resumed in 1994, the were older and wiser and knew those long tours were no good for them and structured their touring schedule with numerous breaks to spend time with their families. Which, should have been done to begin with but, they were not in a position to do so.
    Last edited by New Kid In Town; 04-13-2017 at 05:21 PM.

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    Default Re: Eagles Short Run vs. Longevity

    "Back in the day" the Eagles were getting grief for taking two whole years to complete an album! It's hard to imagine that kind of pace being the norm nowadays.

    However, the "pressure cooker" often yields great results for a while because they were motivated to work hard. Once they got the point where they didn't HAVE to do it (HFO), they lost the drive to make new music regularly. It became "we'll do it when we feel like it" which was all of once in over two decades. No pressure, no results.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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