Eagles Album: “Long Road Out of Eden [UK 2 Disc Bonus Track]”

The Eagles have a new album coming out. "Great", I thought. Looking forward to it. Well the day finally arrived and after being teased with the advance single "How Long" for weeks, now we get to check out the whole thing. Is it gonna be like the old classic `70's Eagles? Or carry on with the modern style we last heard on The Long Run?

I'm here to tell you it's a little bit of everything, all rolled into one. Starts off with an a cappella track reminiscent of Seven Bridges Road. How Long, which most people heard and thought was a throw back to their classic sound, were right. The song was actually written in 1972 by J.D. Souther. Other tracks are typical Don Henley ballads and one track that could fit perfectly on one of his early solo albums, with the vocal stylings and horns like we heard on "Dirty Laundry". Glen Frey's songs are also typical solo type material. All on the soft side. Mellow and laid-back, complete with smooth sax solos. Timothy B. Schmit songs (of which there are only two) are both slow, like his past offerings. "Do Something" even has early style Eagles slide-guitar on it, reminds me of Peaceful Easy Feeling. The most disappointing is Joe Walsh's contributions. Again, only two songs that he sings. He obviously plays guitar on a number of tracks, but it's barely noticeable. There is little of the distinct guitar work that used to stand out on Hotel California and The Long Run. The second disc definately Rocks a little more than the first. Don and Glen get an even split at 40% each of the tracks here. That only left 10% for Joe and Timothy respectively. Not quite as even as the Long Run album.

Over-all, I like it. There's enough good to out-weigh the bad. It is the Eagles. We've waited 13 years for another release, you might as well pick it up and enjoy what you can. It will probably be another 13 or 14 years before their next release (if ever!). By the time that happens, they will be in their mid-seventies! Not likely.

It's a good buy for the money. Your getting a decent double-album worth of music for a very reasonable price. Conveniently waiting for you at your nearest Wal-Mart store. Some people like to bring up "non-musical" issues, like politics and the like. Commenting on the contradictions of Henley's politics and environmental leanings with having this ONLY released by Wal-Mart Corp. What can you say? Typical Hollywood hypocrite. But hey, at least the digi-pak style box and booklet are printed on recycled paper (30%)!

Best thing to do is just get it and decide for yourself. If you are an Eagles fan, you will find something here that you like. There really is a lot of variety.

The 2 CD set contains some great Eagles harmonies and melodies. The music doesn't stray far from what we have come to love about this band. A few of the songs made me smile. I like a little political nod now & then. The opener "No More Walks..." harkens back to the "Seven Bridges from their live set. Very Worth buying. Not a clunker in the bunch.

I was not a BIG Eagles fan, but I always liked what I considered their best work: Hotel California, Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise - the hits, I guess.

I also felt they lacked depth in their lyrics and their albums were always spotty - not consistently good throughout the album.

So I didn't expect much at all from this one.

First of all, most "reunion" albums by old farts from the 70's usually don't turn out too well. Secondly, I figured they were just getting together for a payday.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised.

The very first track is awesome. Sounds a little "Venice"-like, but that's not a bad thing.

I won't go through it song by song because it would just be my subjective opinion, and a waste of time.

The point is, I think any Eagles fan, no matter whether you are a fan of Walsh, Frey, Henley or Schmit, you will find enough really good tracks here to enjoy this album.

Now the bad news, and the reason I didn't give it 5 stars:

Guess what, the Eagles are STILL spotty. They can't make a 100% great album without a lot of "filler" tracks. I think a person could pretty easily edit this 2 cd set down to one cd and end up with one very good 4 and 1/2 to 5 star cd.

So if you're an Eagles fan, buy this set. I can't figure out why it has so many 1 and 2 star reviews. I would expect to find mostly 4 and 5 star reviews.

As a long time Eagles fan and performer in an Eagles tribute band I feel that while it is wonderfully refreshing to hear these masters back on my various media players (don't know if they'll receive much airplay over here radio being what it is...or isn't!) doing what they do best there are a couple of things which need to be addressed: This IS the Eagles we all know and love... but it is the Eagles at the tail end (pun not really intended;-) of 2007 and not 1972-79.

With a generous 20 songs there are moments stylisically speaking which recall many though not all of their past moments of sonic glory. The melodies are strong and the harmonies chime clear and ringing as ever.

The thing that is most noticeably missing from the mix (apart from mssrs Felder, Meisner, and Szymczyk, but I'll address that later!) is simply the youthful exuberance, enthusiasm, piss and vinegar or their heyday: That being said we cannot nor should not expect the Eagles to stop time and transport us instantly to 1976 as if neither we nor they have grown, aged, matured, and become more world weary with the rather substantial passage of time. Just be aware this is appropriately a more mature and comfortable in their own skins Eagles. The angry yet somehow-still-laidback young men of 1976 have become noticeably more reflective in tone and attitude. This is a good Eagles album - whether it is a classic or not will be proven out with the passage of even more time.

I do find myself enjoying it more with repeated listens.

While I salute the Eagles for doing this whole thing themselves and using their position to avoid dealing with major labels they would have benefitted greatly from having a producer because the album is a bit too tame and slick sounding. I really wonder how much better this could have been with Bill Szymczyk back onboard as producer to give them that edge, tension and spark that their best records had. To that end I also feel the songs are missing the contributions of Randy Meisner and Don Felder who would have no doubt added a bit more toothy grit and rock to the sound. Timothy Schmidt is great but Randy's voice and writing had a bit more character and intensity.

If their decision not to use Bill Szymczyk as producer stemmed from a concern about getting a more contemporarily representative sound it would have been REALLY interesting to hear what a producer like Rick Rubin would have done with this! Rubin's talent for getting the sound of pure honesty and human grittiness on record is legendarily in evidence on recordings by everyone from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Johnny Cash and Tom Petty.

All in all though I would say that this is a relatively satisfying record for long time Eagles fans as well as fans of contemporary country music. It is PERFECT for background music at the office or while working at home or on the car stereo when in the mood for something laidback and not too raucous.

The supreme irony here though is that the recording is not raw or lo-fi enough to draw in many of the Alt-country fans (a genre which the Eagles, Poco, Gram Parsons and the Byrds were all influential in creating) who could've been a very significant crop of new fans had they used someone like Rick Rubin to produce. Not that the Eagles are bound to notice. It'd just be nice to have new generations support their ongoing work.

Long Road Out of Eden is a bit like putting on your favorite NEW pair of jeans then... The ones with about 4-6 extra inches in the waistline;-)

This is the first new album I've bought in ... well longer than I can remember. As a 27 year fan of the Eagles this album has been a long wait and I must say I'm very happy they finally did it. There have been a few tracks that have appeared since their "reunion" a few years ago but this is the first full on album since The Long Run. Some will argue that it may have been better to shorten it down to one album instead of two. However if they had done that there would of been those of us that would be complaining about missing out on the tracks they left off. My own personally assessment after listening to the albums non stop for about a week is that they pretty much nailed it. Sure there are a couple of tracks that maybe don't light my fire as much as others but overall it's a great pair of discs.

Disc 1

No More Walks In The Woods - Pretty much continues where Seven Bridges Road left off. An almost a capella (there is a little acoustic guitar) track that really showcases the great harmonies the Eagles are famous for. I do feel it would of been better to start the set with a more uptempo song but that's not much of a criticism. The album cover lists the song as 4 minutes but it's actually only 2 minutes.

How Long - Probably the best track on the album. The fact that it was written by J.D Souther in 1972 is probably why it sounds like it could of come off any of their first three albums. A little reminiscent of Take It Easy. I really wish they had done more tracks like this. Maybe if the feedback on this track gets back to them the next album will have a lot more of this kind of stuff.

Busy Being Fabulous - Kind of reminds me of the title track from The Long Run in it's feel if not the lyrics.

What Do I Do With My Heart - Slow paced track from Glenn Frey. While not exactly the most thrilling track it does have some nice harmonies and some good guitar work.

Guilty Of the Crime - First of two Joe Walsh lead vocal tracks. I seem to enjoy the Joe Walsh tracks more than most of the songs on this set. Always been a big fan of Joe and these two tracks really showcase his sense of humor and of course the legendary guitar. Nice piano piece in the middle too.

I Don't Want To Hear Any More - Never thought I'd see a Paul Carrack song on an Eagles album. Pleasant enough song and handled very nicely by Timothy B.

Waiting In The Weeds - A 7 minute opus whose opening few bars almost sound like a Bruce Springsteen song. One of the strongest tracks. (1:36 outro)

No More Cloudy Days - One of the better Glenn Frey tracks. One that sounds more like an Eagles track rather than a solo track with the band playing on it. Sounds a little like Nilsson's Everybodys Talkin'

Fast Company - Every time this track comes on I think of Life In The Fast Lane. Both have "Fast" in the title and both feature Don Henley's falsetto. Similar theme in the lyrics too. Very catchy tune and one the tunes that has grown on me the most.

Do Something - Another vocal from Timothy B. Very country sounding song. Slow paced but enjoyable all the same.

You Are Not Alone - One of the strongest Glenn Frey tracks on the album. A nice closer for disc one. Apart from Glenn's instrumental on disc two this is the shortest track running in at 2:24.

Disc 2

Long Road Out of Eden - I see his as the third in a trilogy. The Last Resort, King Of Hollywood and now Long Road Out Of Eden. The haunting Arabic sounding intro fits the song nicely. Probably go down as one of Don Henley's strongest tracks ever. Great guitar work throughout the song.

I Dreamed There Was No War - Nice short and sweet instrumental track from Glenn Frey.

Somebody - One of the few really strong uptempo numbers on the set. Unfortunately unlike How Long this sounds more like a Glenn Frey solo track. Nice pumping bass.

Frail Grasp On The Big Picture - Followed suitably by a track that sounds like a Don Henley solo track. Dirty Laundry II perhaps.

Last Good Time In Town - Joe Walsh provides us with a Steely Dan sounding ditty. I wonder if Joe wrote this as a poke in the eye to The Dan given the history of the two bands. Great track in my opinion. Joe's vocals still sound great.

I Love To Watch A Woman Dance - Probably the weakest track on the album. Written by Larry John McNally (who wrote For My Wedding on Don Henley's Inside Job album). Kind of folksy slow ballad. Nice but a little boring.

Business As Usual - Nice intro. A pretty good song from Don but sounds more like a solo track than classic Eagles. Still nothing to complain about here.

Center Of The Universe - Another Don Henley track. One of the top 5 tracks on the album. Nice acoustic guitar and close harmonies. Don's best vocal on the album.

It's Your World Now - Glenn Frey cajoled a mariachi band to back him on this one it sounds like. I can see why some would not like this, it doesn't sound like the Eagles at all but I like it.

overall a great 2 album set. Well worth the wait. An album I will be playing a lot over the next few months. And at $11.99 for a 2 CD set a bargain for so many tracks. How Long will we have to wait for the next one? not long I hope.