Eagles (album)

Eagles
Studio album by Eagles
Released June 1, 1972
Recorded February 1972
Studio Olympic Studios, London
Genre
Length 37:19
Label Asylum
Producer Glyn Johns
Eagles chronology

Eagles
(1972)
Desperado
(1973)
Singles from Eagles
  1. "Take It Easy"
    Released: May 1, 1972
  2. "Witchy Woman"
    Released: August 1, 1972
  3. "Peaceful Easy Feeling"
    Released: December 1, 1972

Eagles is the debut studio album by the rock band of the same name, released in 1972. The album was recorded at London's Olympic Studios with producer Glyn Johns. The album was an immediate success for the young band reaching #22 on the charts and going platinum. The album also released three Top 40 singles with "Take it Easy", "Witchy Woman" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling". The three singles reached #12, #9 and #22 respectively. The album played a major role in popularizing the southern California country rock sound. In 2003, the album was ranked number 374 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The single "Take It Easy" is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". This album was slated for Quadraphonic release and even given a Quadraphonic catalog number but it was never released in that format. In the documentary History of the Eagles, Glenn Frey revealed that the band were all on peyote when the pictures for the album cover were shot in Joshua Tree National Park.[2][3]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
Robert Christgau B[5]
Rolling Stone [6]

Robert Christgau felt that the band wrote good songs, but he was unsure about the authenticity of their country roots so what they produced was "suave and synthetic--brilliant, but false."[5] Bud Scoppa of Rolling Stone on the other hand felt that they had "distinguished" country-rock backgrounds, and that after Jackson Browne's debut album, it was the best debut of 1972.[6]

Legacy

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann, in his retrospective review, sums up the album as balanced in terms of songwriting, however noting that the three hit singles were sung by Frey and Henley who would later go on to dominate the band.[7] Rolling Stone listed it as number 374 on their "500 Greatest Albums" with the comment that the album "created a new template for laid-back L.A. country-rock style".[8] It was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s)Lead vocals Length
1. "Take It Easy"  Jackson Browne, Glenn FreyFrey 3:34
2. "Witchy Woman"  Don Henley, Bernie LeadonHenley 4:10
3. "Chug All Night"  FreyFrey 3:18
4. "Most of Us Are Sad"  FreyRandy Meisner 3:38
5. "Nightingale"  BrowneHenley 4:08
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s)Lead vocals Length
1. "Train Leaves Here This Morning"  Gene Clark, LeadonLeadon 4:13
2. "Take the Devil"  MeisnerMeisner 4:04
3. "Earlybird"  Leadon, MeisnerLeadon 3:03
4. "Peaceful Easy Feeling"  Jack TempchinFrey 4:20
5. "Tryin'"  MeisnerMeisner 2:54

Personnel

[10]

Production

Singles

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1972 Billboard Pop Albums 22
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1972 "Take It Easy" Billboard Pop Singles 12
1972 "Witchy Woman" Billboard Pop Singles 9
1973 "Peaceful Easy Feeling" Billboard Pop Singles 22

References

  1. "Eagles - AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  2. The Eagles' Greatest Hit Grantland, August 14, 2013.
  3. History of the Eagles around 45 minutes in.
  4. Ruhlmann, William. "Eagles". Allmusic. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Christgau, Robert. "The Eagles: Desperado". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). Eagles. Simon and Schuster. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  7. William Ruhlmann (2011). "Eagles - Eagles | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. by Frey and Henley.
  8. "500 Greatest Albums: The Eagles - The Eagles | Rolling Stone Music | Lists". rollingstone.com. 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  9. "1001 Albums You Must Hear - 2008 Edition". rocklistmusic.co.uk. 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011. Eagles
  10. http://www.discogs.com/Eagles-Eagles/release/1615902

External links