#folk-rock

> alternate album covers

Single Released: on March 7, 1970 Album Released: April, 1970 Buddah Records

https://ift.tt/X1CwZUf Trails I Never Traced (Alternative Version) Ghorppo

Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (1969)

Clear your mind, maybe you will find That the past is still turning Circles sway, echo yesterday Ashes burning, ashes burning

I tell that story, and I tell you that all information, because that same year, right around the spring / summertime, I remember getting heavily into classic rock (which is just rock music from the 1980s and before, “classic rock” didn’t actually become a thing until the early 80s when radio stations realized they could get some listeners by playing songs from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s). My parents had a decent collection of greatest hits from certain bands, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Boston, Journey, Styx, Hall & Oates, and finally, The Eagles. Out of all of these bands, I only really connected with a few of them, even though I enjoy all of these bands to some degree, and one of those were the Eagles. I’ve always been a huge fan of them, even back in the mid-00s when I was first getting into music, as well as discovering music from before my time. I’ve grown to really love older music, and a lot of my taste is just that, so I find myself going back to the classics, even when I’m diving headfirst into newer music. I find myself listening to these bands and albums when the new releases are running dry, which seems to be happening a lot in the last few weeks, but I digress. The Eagles is just one of those bands that I latched onto, and every time I listen to certain songs from their discography, I’m taken back to that time, just like I listened to them for the first time. Their brand of folk, soft-rock, country-rock, and arena-rock is incredible, and it’s so influential to many bands that came after them in the 70s and 80s. Even now, you can hear a lot of bands that had to have been influenced by the Eagles, even if they have never named them as a distinct influence. The reason that I said that this wasn’t a review, or at least a proper one, is that I wanted to just talk about a band I really like, especially their two greatest hits albums that came out in mid-70s and early 80s. I’ve reviewed these albums in the past, but I did that maybe like seven years ago, and my reviews weren’t very good then, so I wanted to talk about them again, especially now that I’m older and appreciate these albums / bands a lot more. Basically, I just want to fanboy over The Eagles for a little bit. I’ve actually had this sitting in my drafts for the last week, because it’s like, how do you a band like this justice? I’ve been listening to these greatest hits albums almost nonstop for the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been watching and listening to a lot of stuff about them, just to gain more knowledge about them, but even that wouldn’t do it justice. Their story is just as interesting as their music, if not slightly more interesting at times, because of the ups and downs that they’ve had in terms of their members. The band formed out of being Linda Ronstadt’s backing band, releasing their first album in 1972, but ultimately breaking up by 1980. In that short amount of time, they went through a few lineup changes that also reflected in their sound (most notably guitarist Joe Walsh joining the band in 1976 right before the writing and recording of their magnum opus Hotel California), and they released a multitude of hit singles and albums, a lot of which are still in heavy rotation today. You most likely have heard some of their songs, such as “Hotel California,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” “Best Of My Love,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman,” “:Peaceful Easy Feeling,” and many more. You’ve most likely heard some of these songs and didn’t realize it. They’re often considered to be one of the best bands of all time, not just from pure sales numbers, but because their sound was so unique, at least compared to other bands at the time. They took this country-rock sound that was starting to bubble up, and they ran with it, especially with a lot of their early work. Their use of five-part harmonies was also another thing that so many people loved about them. If you want a good example of how well they make it work, and how amazing they sound altogether, check out “Seven Bridges Road” from their second greatest hits album, Vol 2, where they recorded a live version from their 1980 live album before their breakup. They used to sing that song as a warmup before shows, but people really wanted to hear it live, so they started singing it. When it comes to sales numbers, though, they’re a big one. The first greatest hits album, entitled Their Greatest Hits (1971 - 1975), is really interesting, because the Eagles themselves had no idea it was even happening, and they also didn’t feel the need for a greatest hits album when they were only getting started (kind of funny they’d say that, but I digress). Luck just happened to be on their side, because their first greatest hits album was the selling album of the 20th century. It’s also the second highest album of all time, right behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Hotel California, their 1976 LP, is also one of the highest selling albums of all time, so they have two albums in the top ten. Personally, when it comes to the greatest hits albums, the first one is a lot stronger, but the second one also features some of their later hits, including the title track to the album of the same name and “Life In The Fast Lane.” They released one more album before their breakup, 1979′s The Long Run, and it’s a decent little record, but the songs from that album that are on the greatest hits album are the best ones, it’s just that their first volume is stronger overall. There’s just so much to say about The Eagles, and I haven’t even talked about a lot of the individual members, especially the main two, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, who are the two that most people remember, unless you also count Joe Walsh in there, since he had a pretty successful solo career after they broke up (they all did, in fact). I just wanted to keep this retrospective somewhat brief, although this is long enough as it is, so I’m going to wrap it up here, but these two albums are utterly fantastic. There are some bands that are “greatest hits” bands, and I’d argue that the Eagles is one of them. What I mean by that is that you just need the greatest hits, minus maybe a few deep cuts from their actual albums, but the hits are really their best songs. Most bands have a lot of deep cuts from their discography, but the Eagles have banger after banger on these albums, and if you listen to these two, that’s all you’ll need. The Eagles are one of the best, most influential, and most important bands of all time, and I just wanted to highlight them. I might do this from time to time, or if I’m listening to a classic album that I don’t have anything negative to say about (and why would I have anything negative to say about them; they’re classic rock royalty), I might just write something that shoots the shit about it. We can have a casual conversation about it, ultimately just talking about why this record and/or artist is really good. I have a few records in the pipeline that I’d like to talk about, including Bob Dylan’s greatest hits, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and a few other records that I’ve been really listening to lately. I really wanted to talk about The Eagles, just because I absolutely love this band and I’ve loved them for the last 15 years, give or take. These songs still sound just as great now as I first heard them all of those years ago, and that’s the best kind of music for me.

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