REVIEW - Eagles - Long Road Out of Eden
October 26, 2007 - I, like most, go back a long way with the Eagles. As a teenager when there were only 10 albums in my collection two of those were Eagles LP's. The Eagles quota for most of us former bell-bottom, mullet-top, crotch rockers in the seventies was pretty good. I didn't have a close friend in high school that didn't own at least "Hotel California" or "One Of These Nights" The prolific early Eagles recorded one LP per year between 1972 -1977. (ok, one of those was the "Greatest Hits") The Long Run followed in 1979 and after many years of playing live like a 'chainsaw in a hurricane,' the band was burnt out on drugs, groupies and each other. It was all over by 1980.

Interestingly, it took this group 35 years to get to "Long Road Out of Eden," their 7th studio album. That's kind of nuts when you think of it but forgivable considering the staying power of their product. Long gone are original guitarist Bernie Leadon who helped give them that country flavor, Randy Meisner who sang "Take it to the Limit" (he also punched Glen Frey in the nose before leaving the band in 1977) and Don Felder, who co-wrote and came up with the great guitar riffs for "Hotel California." He was kicked out of the band in 2001, sued and won an out of court settlement.

So, are the remaining core guys, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit still the Eagles? Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Does it still sound like the old band; hell, is it good enough to qualify? Yes, on all marks. In fact with the exception of the two funky tunes, this album could have been released as a more creative follow up to "The Long Run." This new CD is that good. Though it could use a few more "stare at speakers/jaw dropping" tunes it still has no bad tracks.

As if doing it by duty, the album opens with an a capella "No More Walks in the Wood," it's as much a campfire cowboy song as it is a social, environmental statement. It's simply, a quick reminder of how big a part the harmonies played in the success of this band and it sets the appropriate mood for what's to come.

The first single "How Long" was actually an old Eagles 1974 concert stand-by written by JD Souther (better known as the silent or 5th Eagle back then, though he was never in the band.) Frey's kids found a clip of the Eagles performing it on Youtube and they redirected their dad to revisit the track.

"Busy Being Fabulous," one of the first tracks written for the album in 2001, is classic Henley/Frey Pop/Country/Soul. It also fits into the usual bitch-rant the band was famous for. There was always some woman doing them wrong back home while they were on the road with hookers and blow. This one laments the adventures of a mom trying to loosen the load of her family for a crack at popularity. Hey, wasn't Britney's album released today? An alcohol free Joe Walsh reminds us again that loud garage band songs never get old on "Guilty of the Crime." It serves as a speeding ticket tune, with a nice grungy tempo and Joe still sounding drunk - Hey, you gotta have a hobby. His other track on the album "Last Good Time In Town" could have easily been hen-pecked from, arguably his best solo album, "But Seriously Folks." It's goofy yet brilliant with a chorus that's strangely hypnotic.

Henley's haunting "Waiting in the Weeds" is the album's high point. A love song about the passage of time. It could also describe an aging country/rock band waiting for just the right time to present their new invention, well at least their old wine in new bottles. It does suffer from Henley penchant for coming up with an exquisite chorus and driving it in the ground by repeating it endlessly. They give the same treatment to the funky "Fast Company" featuring Henley singing falsetto wrapped around balls a blazin' horns and the chorus over and over again. I still loved it.

The title track opens with a creepy, ominous Middle Eastern flavour, setting the pace for the Eagles social commentary on our involvement in the Middle East. Henley says," We may think we are civilized, but we have a ways to go yet." It's got that epic feel; maybe it's trying to be the bands new "Hotel California" though good it can't compete on that platform.

The bouncy "Somebody" co-written by Jack Tempchin who co-wrote "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Already Gone" has Frey sounding deliciously evil. He had fun recording this tune and it shows. Frey, who's southern vocal slant helped put the band in the country world, sounds more sophisticated now especially on the inspirational "You Are not Alone." and the tender "I Love to Watch a Woman Dance."

"Fail Grasp on the Big Picture" presents more funk for the band. It's about the dumbing down of our culture. Henley and Frey are obviously attaching questionable journalism especially idiot shows like TMZ and Entertainment Tonight. Thanks for nothing Mary Hart!

Both Frey and Henley said that going into this project they wanted to continue the Eagles tradition of having all members contribute input and lead vocals. Timothy B. Schmit, co-wrote and sings lead on two. "I Don't Want to Hear Any More" though written by Paul Carrack sounds suspiciously like their old hit "I Can't Tell You Why." Schmit is enveloped by classic Eagles harmonies on "Do Something" with twangy guitar in tow.

Henley says, "I think the point of the whole album is summed up on the last song that Glenn wrote with Jack Tempchin, "Your World Now." The crux of the whole thing for me is those two lines: "Be part of something good, leave something good behind." For me that sums up everything, to my children, to my fans, to everybody. If there was one message to this album that I want to impart, that would be it."

While old rockers are famous for losing the edge that made them relevant in the first place, the Eagles have aged and their take on the human condition is even more poignant and just as easy to listen to. "Long Way Out Of Eden" is classic Eagles. - by John Beaudin