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What's the worst 'Biggest Band In The World' there's ever been?


bouillon

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I'll give Henley credit for that but the endless "farewell tours", overcharging for tickets (the Eagles paved the way), selling out to Wal-Mart (remember Henley's self-serving tirades against corporate greed?) and their more mediocre material ("Witchy Woman", "Take It To the Limit", etc.) that clogged the AM and FM airwaves in the 70s are what turned me off to them. I feel like their early material isn't bad but I'd sooner point to Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers (whom the Eagles were emulating) as the true pioneers of "country rock". I also don't mind some of their work during the Walsh years but I much prefer his tenure with The James Gang. Sadly, the James Gang seem to be largely forgotten. I thought their reunion shows from a few years back would bring more attention to them but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. There's a whole world of music of theirs out there to be discovered beyond "Walk Away" and "Funk #49" but that's all most people know thanks to Classic Rock radio.

Took my first trip to a real record store a few years ago. Dug through the bins and found "Rides Again" Thought, hey there's a couple tunes on here I recognize. Took it home, slapped it on my turntable and said GODAMN!!! Great album nad surely better than anything the Eagles ever offered.

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Took my first trip to a real record store a few years ago. Dug through the bins and found "Rides Again" Thought, hey there's a couple tunes on here I recognize. Took it home, slapped it on my turntable and said GODAMN!!! Great album nad surely better than anything the Eagles ever offered.

Funny you should mention that particular record (also one of my very favorites) as a few weeks ago, the Deep Tracks channel on XM played "The Bomber: Closet Queen" / "Boléro"* / "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and brought something to my attention (see the info below which was taken from Wikipedia) that I'm not sure I was aware of before:

* On the initial pressings of James Gang Rides Again, a 1:25 electric rendition of Ravel's "Boléro" is interpolated into the song "The Bomber." However, Ravel's estate (which still owns copyright on the work) objected, and threatened suit against both the James Gang and ABC Records for its unauthorized use. As a result, the track was edited, and the "Boléro" section was removed on subsequent pressings of the album until the late 1970s. The edited song's running time on such pressings is 5:39. CD re-issues of Rides Again contain the full version of "The Bomber," with the "Boléro" section restored.

I'm not sure if this is what they're referring to in the Wiki entry but I know that at one time, MCA Records released some "Special Product" releases of albums that featured altered tracklists that removed certain tracks. I know I saw some Joe Walsh albums that were like this as well as a copy of James Gang Rides Again. I hope you were able to procure an original, unaltered copy. According to the announcer on XM, the track was fully restored for inclusion on the James Gang's Greatest Hits CD which came out in 2000.

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I'm not too far away from your opinions re The Eagles, Jahfin.

Tommy Bolin was the James gang man for me though.

I only have one album by the James Gang from when Tommy Bolin was with them (Miami) but it's never quite grabbed me the way Joe Walsh-era James Gang did. Once I track down a new turntable I'll have to give it another spin. For me, the James Gang covered lots of the same ground the Eagles did years later but did it much better and much more convincingly. They were also free of the massive size egos of Henley and Frey which often overshadowed the music of the Eagles (and still do to this day, just ask Don Felder).

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Sorry Jahfin, gotta disagree with you on this one. Their last album has only a few songs that I think are any good (mostly because they aren't chock-full of Henley's political BS), but their early-to-mid 70s material is very solid, IMO. Totally inoffensive music, and they absolutely personified the MOR format, but for what it was.....it wasn't the worst music to come out of the 70s. I mean, I'd rather listen to them than say, the Bay City Rollers, Starland Vocal Band, or The Captain and Tennille.

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I've been an Eagles fan since 3rd grade (Lying Eyes); still love them and I think Don Henley has one of the best voices in the business. Their sound just makes me happy; best concert I ever saw, too.

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I've been an Eagles fan since 3rd grade (Lying Eyes); still love them and I think Don Henley has one of the best voices in the business. Their sound just makes me happy; best concert I ever saw, too.

+1, although I never saw them live.

One Of These Nights was the song that hooked me. At the time, it felt totally WRONG to be listening to hee-haw soft rock, but I just couldn't help myself.

To this day, Take It To The Limit is one of the few songs that can bring a tear to my cynical eye. Oh, and Wasted Time, too.

Unfortunately, The Long Run was a great big steaming turd of an album. Very disappointing.

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