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quite liked the Greatest Hits and Hotel California albums. the closest I ever got to country music. Decent last dance songs in Hicksville Ballyclare. And a bit of common ground for me and the missus.
Joe Walsh?All right. But they were still a bit too laid back even with him. Rocky Mountain Way isn't it?Great live album of his - "You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind",but it took Jeff Beck to show him how to use The Box.
There's a reason why they have the biggest selling album ever - because they are a very good band. Excellent vocal harmonies and very good musicians. Also some wide lyrical content in their songs, not just standard country material. Also a very interesting personal history between the band members as well!
Bit like Abba's Greatest Hits being the best selling album somewhere or the other, probably here! Doubt that their original albums sell much these days, certainly compared to the Beatles etc. Having said that, it's a nice easy listening harmless sort of album, and one of the most played on my Ipod.
I hated them at the time though. I worked in the car park at Wembley when I was a kid and one of the gigs I worked on was topped jointly by Elton John and the Eagles, with the Beach Boys third on the bill. Well that was a crazy billing even then, so I saw the Beach Boys and went home. Never did see the Eagles but half wish I'd stuck around now.
Actually watched a 2 hour documentary on BBC4 last week about them. A lot of great old footage and good interviews with some of them. Their come back album Hell Freezes Over worth a listen.
Sorry to be pedantic, but they didn't produce the 'biggest selling album ever' - which is Thriller by MJ. (42 and a half million copies or so). The Eagles' best selling record is the 'Greatest Hits' album (32Mill), which doesn't really count imo - they're best-selling 'real' album, 'Hotel California' (21.5Mill) is way behind truly great albums such such as Dark Side of the Moon, Back in Back, Led Zep IV, Rumours etc.
'Easy listening' probably counts for the great success - when on long car journeys, it seemed to be only thing no one could have objection to. There's a good bit in 'The Big Lebowski' when the guy is ordered out of a late-night taxi after objecting to the driver playing the Eagles.
The problem with all the Eagles songs is that voice harmony takes precedent over any feeling for the lyrics. Some of their Lyrics are good, but they wash over you because of the blandness of the harmonies which became their signature sound. I think there is room for differently produced covers of some of their songs - without the whining hamony they could be really good.
I liked them. There was an air of West Coast decadence about their lyrics, of something being over (the thing that was over was the era of unquestioned American optimism and prosperity).
In 'Take It To The Limit' one of the lines is 'When there's nothing to believe in', which might have come from the Sex Pistols.
Not strictly a C & W band, but a West Coast rock band using big country and folk influences, a type of music popular in the States in the 70's.
Not a bad band, but would never buy any of their stuff, but will listen to most of it as background music on the radio apart from Hotel California. I find the lives of the musicians perhaps more interesting than the music they wrote or performed. Having endured their 'classic' Hotel California almost constantly on the radio waves back in '77, I find I can no longer listen to it. Too long, overblown and overplayed.
Not strictly a C & W band, but a West Coast rock band using big country and folk influences, a type of music popular in the States in the 70's.
Not a bad band, but would never buy any of their stuff, but will listen to most of it as background music on the radio apart from Hotel California. I find the lives of the musicians perhaps more interesting than the music they wrote or performed. Having endured their 'classic' Hotel California almost constantly on the radio waves back in '77, I find I can no longer listen to it. Too long, overblown and overplayed.
I agree with you about Hotel California, but lyrically some of it seemed out of character with the music, which is what someone else said as well I think. The Last Resort was quite hard-hitting for a C & W song:
"The Last Resort"
She came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island Where the old world shadows hang heavy in the air She packed her hopes and dreams like a refugee Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin' They spoke about the red man's way, and how they loved the land And they came from everywhere to the Great Divide Seeking a place to stand or a place to hide
Down in the crowded bars, out for a good time, Can't wait to tell you all, what it's like up there And they called it paradise I don't know why Somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high
Then the chilly winds blew down Across the desert through the canyons of the coast, to the Malibu Where the pretty people play, hungry for power to light their neon way and give them things to do
Some rich men came and raped the land, Nobody caught 'em Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em And they called it paradise The place to be They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea
You can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina just like the missionaries did, so many years ago They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming" Brought the white man's burden down Brought the white man's reign
Who will provide the grand design? What is yours and what is mine? 'Cause there is no more new frontier We have got to make it here
We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds, in the name of destiny and the name of God
And you can see them there, On Sunday morning They stand up and sing about what it's like up there They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye
Sorry to be pedantic, but they didn't produce the 'biggest selling album ever' - which is Thriller by MJ. (42 and a half million copies or so). The Eagles' best selling record is the 'Greatest Hits' album (32Mill), which doesn't really count imo - they're best-selling 'real' album, 'Hotel California' (21.5Mill) is way behind truly great albums such such as Dark Side of the Moon, Back in Back, Led Zep IV, Rumours etc.
'Easy listening' probably counts for the great success - when on long car journeys, it seemed to be only thing no one could have objection to. There's a good bit in 'The Big Lebowski' when the guy is ordered out of a late-night taxi after objecting to the driver playing the Eagles.
I think what is usually said is that they had the biggest selling album of the seventies when record sales were at their height. That was what was said on the recent documentary on them. I think that Thriller (1982) has the most sales of all time but Eagles Greatest Hits is second - which would be a surprise to many people.
I've got a crappy old Washburn 12 string that's tuned down a couple of steps, stick a capo on the 5th fret and play 'Hotel California' whilst sat in the garden by meself bliss, excellent song in fact the Eagles best. and I was there at the Wembley arena for the Stratocaster 50th anniversary gig when Joe Walsh completely cocked up the intro to one of his songs in front of a packed audience. Guffaw etc Please yourself
My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
Johann hits the spot..'easy listening' is too true. Whining,anodyne,middle-of-the-road,easy listening as cutting edge as a jelly souffle. The sort of music that punk was sent to destroy. In the same era,a peer of theirs,also operating out of California - Tom Waits who is cool as fook.
The BBC4 documentary on The Eagles though was excellently made however shyte the music.
'I'm 18 with a bullet.Got my finger on the trigger,I'm gonna pull it.."
Love,Peace and Fook Chelski!
More like 20StoneOfHoop now.
Let's face it I'm not getting any thinner.
Pass the cake and pies please.
Johann hits the spot..'easy listening' is too true. Whining,anodyne,middle-of-the-road,easy listening as cutting edge as a jelly souffle. The sort of music that punk was sent to destroy. In the same era,a peer of theirs,also operating out of California - Tom Waits who is cool as fook.
The BBC4 documentary on The Eagles though was excellently made however shyte the music.
Why do people find it desirable to destroy someone elses music?I remember some bunch of prats who were very proud they'd "destroyed" a band called Gentle Giant.And all in the name of that monumental con called Punk.I hate that shit with a passion but I'd never go out to suppress it.
Johann hits the spot..'easy listening' is too true. Whining,anodyne,middle-of-the-road,easy listening as cutting edge as a jelly souffle. The sort of music that punk was sent to destroy. In the same era,a peer of theirs,also operating out of California - Tom Waits who is cool as fook.
The BBC4 documentary on The Eagles though was excellently made however shyte the music.
Why do people find it desirable to destroy someone elses music?I remember some bunch of prats who were very proud they'd "destroyed" a band called Gentle Giant.And all in the name of that monumental con called Punk.I hate that shit with a passion but I'd never go out to suppress it.
I'm pretty sure that I saw Gentle Giant at some point. A group of us used to write off for tickets for Radio 1 'In Concert' as they were free and we were pretty skint, and we saw all sorts of stuff we wouldn't have paid to see. Can't remember anything at all about Gentle Giant except for the name.
I'm pretty sure that I saw Gentle Giant at some point. A group of us used to write off for tickets for Radio 1 'In Concert' as they were free and we were pretty skint, and we saw all sorts of stuff we wouldn't have paid to see. Can't remember anything at all about Gentle Giant except for the name.
You can see this band on YouTube performing on the old BBC Sight and Sound in Concert programme. Must have been from the late 70's. Was this the gig you went to? Could never dig that Prog Rock thing. Long winded yawn inducing songs about fairies at the bottom of the garden stuff, but each to there own. At school there were a number of lads into this type of music. We non prog rockers referred to them as 'Swot Rockers', intelligent, long haired, geeky types who always did well in lessons and bored the hell out everyone droning on about bands such as The Enid or Pentatonic Anus. [The last I made up}. It seems that Gentle Giant were just another Genesis clone like so many of their ilk. Anyway The Eagles.......
You can see this band on YouTube performing on the old BBC Sight and Sound in Concert programme. Must have been from the late 70's. Was this the gig you went to? Could never dig that Prog Rock thing. Long winded yawn inducing songs about fairies at the bottom of the garden stuff, but each to there own. At school there were a number of lads into this type of music. We non prog rockers referred to them as 'Swot Rockers', intelligent, long haired, geeky types who always did well in lessons and bored the hell out everyone droning on about bands such as The Enid or Pentatonic Anus. [The last I made up}. It seems that Gentle Giant were just another Genesis clone like so many of their ilk. Anyway The Eagles.......
Don't think that was the one I went to Mona. We went to what were basically radio recordings so a lot of the acts didn't really 'perform' they just concentrated on the sound. I did check out Gentle Giant just now and at a guess I probably thought that they were shite but one or two of us probably didn't mind them. Pentatonic Anus wouldn't have been out of place in that era, for sure.
Those radio concerts were recorded all over the place in London. The BBC must have owned loads of venues at the time. Golders Green Hippodrome was one of them I think but I've forgotten where the others were.
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But they were still a bit too laid back even with him. 
