Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" review

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by belardd, Oct 1, 2007.

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  1. belardd

    belardd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fort Worth TX
    from Billboard

    First Listen: The Eagles' 'Long Road Out Of Eden'
    The Eagles

    September 28, 2007, 3:25 PM ET

    Ray Waddell, Nashville
    Fans who have waited since 1979 for a new studio album from the Eagles surely won't be disappointed with "Long Road Out of Eden," which arrives Oct. 30. The two-disc set, which will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart in North America, bears the Eagles Recording Co. imprint.

    The album features a wealth of Don Henley/Glenn Frey co-writes and a broad palette of musical styles most representative of the band's "Hotel California" and "The Long Run" eras, a mix of lengthy set pieces and more Cali-rock, radio-oriented gems. The set, which opens with the gentle but foreboding harmony-fest "No More Walks in the Wood," is part social commentary, part examination of the human condition and part re-introduction of the band via new and powerful songs.

    Disc one primarily serves as the latter. Debut single "How Long," a J.D. Souther original, maintains an easy-rolling "Already Gone" vibe, but gives little indication of the strength of the material to follow. "Busy Being Fabulous" is a mid-tempo twanger featuring the familiar Henley vitriol, and the percussive "What Do I Do with my Heart" boasts an earnest Frey vocal and a gorgeous, swirling bridge.

    Joe Walsh is the featured vocalist on the piano-driven, chugging boogie "Guilty of the Crime," followed by Timothy B. Schmit on the sweeping, rhythmic Paul Carrack ballad "I Don't Want To Hear Anymore." Frey's "No More Cloudy Days," a melancholy but ultimately optimistic midtempo, is already familiar to concertgoers, and Frey's "You Are Not Alone" closes out the side.

    But the showstoppers are "Fast Company," which has a "Those Shoes" feel and some killer horns, the call-to-action ballad "Do Something," with steel guitar and loads of harmony, and "Waiting in the Weeds," an acoustic-based ballad featuring a brilliant Henley lyric, vibrant imagery, haunting instrumentation and well-crafted vocal arrangements.


    Disc two begins with the 10-plus minute epic title cut, an apocalyptic cautionary tale that blends desert imagery, spiritual overtones and wry observations on consumerism.

    The Frey instrumental "I Dreamed There Was No War" (which recalls, oddly, "Battle Hymn of the Republic") is followed the spooky, paranoid rocker "Somebody." Next up is another American body-blow in "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture," an adventurous funk-rock powerhouse with biting takes on religion, journalism ("dead and gone," according to the Eagles), sex, money and politics.

    Walsh's "Last Good Time in Town" is an infectious (even danceable) romp, while Frey's warm vocals drive home the pure romance of the acoustic waltz "I Love to Watch a Woman Dance. But soon it's back to biting with the pulsing rocker "Business As Usual." The vaguely Beatles-esque "Center of the Universe" offers observant perspective on enduring love, and Frey wraps the set with the bittersweet "It's Your World Now."

    "I thought I'd be above it all by now, in some country garden in the shade," Henley sings on "Center of the Universe." As this album demonstrates, the Eagles are clearly not ready to kick back in the shade.
     
  2. Dave D

    Dave D Done!

    Location:
    Milton, Canada
    Sounds more like a commercial than a review.
     
  3. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    As a music industry publication, Billboard reviews are generally favorable. It knows where its bread is buttered.
    Having said this, it just could be that this is a really good album!
    You never know.
     
  4. Chief

    Chief Over 12,000 Served

    "How Long" is a really old J.D. Souther song. It was on his first album, in 1972. It's a pretty surprising choice, but it should keep J.D. living well for another dozen years or more. TBS sings a Paul Carrack song? Not an original? He should've resurrected "The Shadow" from his last album if he was running low on songs. That song is a real stunner.
     
  5. jawilshere

    jawilshere Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massapequa, NY
    "Love Will Keep Us Alive" was a Paul Carrack song. Going to the well again, I reckon.

    I do agree that there were a few songs from his last solo CD that would have been a good fit for the Eagles. You'd think that with 2 CD's Glenn/Don could have thrown him a bone and have a couple of his own tunes included.
     
  6. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    "love will keep us alive" was written by the late jim capaldi.

    renny
     
  7. jawilshere

    jawilshere Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massapequa, NY
    According to AMG:

    Jim Capaldi/Paul Carrack/Peter Vale

    Guess we were both right!
     
  8. jawilshere

    jawilshere Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massapequa, NY
    Also appears on Paul's 96 album Blue Views and the 03 reissue of Jim's Let The Thunder Cry.
     
  9. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA

    Check out the 2-CD tribute to Jim Capaldi (released about a month ago and recorded live in January) called Dear Mr. Fantasy. The show closes with a live rendition of this song by an all-star band including Steve Winwood and Joe Walsh. Nice.
     
  10. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    :edthumbs:
     
  11. I will not shop at any Walmart,If no other stores carry it I will pass on it.:mad:
     
  12. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    if you really, really, hate wal-mart you will go into the store,

    walk right by everything else and go directly to the music section.

    get the new eagles CD.

    take it directly to the counter ignoring everything else in the store.

    pay for it and walk out.

    do not buy another thing, not even a 1¢ piece of bubble gum.

    they will know, and they will hate you because you will have stuffed them over good.

    they are charging only $11.98 for a double CD just to get you in the store to buy something else.

    this is exactly what i am going to do.

    renny
     
  13. jason100x

    jason100x Forum Resident

    That's a good idea. Too bad there are no Wal-Marts within a convenient distance from me or I would do it too. I suppose I could order it from Wal-Mart.com, maybe ordering it from there and ordering nothing else would have the same effect.
     
  14. Henry the Horse

    Henry the Horse Active Member

    Well, I'm all about how good/bad the album's gonna be.
    With the fake reviews and unavailable song clips, I'm going to wait for feedback from here before I touch that cd! :D
     
  15. MikePh

    MikePh Forum Resident/Song and Dance Man

    :p :p :p

    At first I thought it was a press release.

    Seriously, Lets cross our fingers and hope this is as good as it promises.:righton:
     
  16. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Darn!!! I enjoyed hearing their new recording, but knowing it's a cover deflates my interest just a bit. Still, there's a Walmart about a half mile from my house, so I'll probably get it; but nothin' else.
     
  17. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    I probably won't buy the Eagles CD, but I'll probably buy something else.
     
  18. cincyjim

    cincyjim Senior Member

    Location:
    Cincinnati, Ohio
  19. monewe

    monewe Forum Resident

    Location:
    SCOTLAND
    Love the Eagles but not that keen on the single so may give the album a miss.
     
  20. musicalbeds

    musicalbeds Strange but not a stranger

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Without Don Felder's guitar solo's, I can't see myself buying this release and I'm a huge Eagles fan....
     
  21. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    You mean, every single Wal-Mart employee, from the stockboy to the cashier to the greeter, will KNOW that you, deliberately and with malice aforethought, purchased the Eagles CD, and ONLY the Eagles CD, in an attempt to thwart their evil plan to get you to buy a bunch of other stuff? :laugh:

    Do you imagine that Wal Mart corporate execs will hold board meetings, turning a copy of your receipt over on their hands, rubbing their bald heads, mumbling, "Damn that Renny! He got away with it!"?
     
  22. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    I've worked at corproate offices of various retailers for almost 10 years. Trust me, if they wanted to, they could go into their databases and see exacty what percentage of customers are buying on the Eagles CD. Do I think they'll do this. Probably not. But it is something that can be done if somebody at corporate is curious enough that a significant percentage of people are going along with Renny.
     
  23. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I don't doubt that they can gather this information - of course they can. But what will they do in retaliation? Will they carpet-bomb Renny's house and turn it into a Wal-Mart?
     
  24. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    No no no. Of course, not. I think that Renny's point was that if enough people buy the Eagles disc at Wal-Mart and only the Eagles disc which they are selling at below cost I believe then "evil" Wal-Mart will take a loss on this project and be hesitant to do another deal like this with another artist. But I don't want to speak for anybody else here.
     
  25. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Here's hopin'. Maybe when that happens we can go back to complaining about the price of CD's.
     
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