By the spring of 1972 it appeared widespread popularity was destined to remain elusive for any band deemed purveyors of country rock.
In recent years Dillard & Clark, Poco, The Flying Burrito Brothers, even the latter-day Byrds had made agreeable albums, exceptional in the case of the debut releases by Poco and the Burritos, that incorporated countrified elements into a soft rock sound. Yet few of these records had made commercial impact worth a light.
Predominantly through the accomplished song writing of Stephen Stills, the first Crosby, Stills & Nash album (1969) contained country rock connotations and been successful to boot. Its successor ‘Deja Vu‘ (1970) with Neil Young now in tow, had similar folk/country inflections and returned off the scale sales figures – so two years into the 70s it seemed this loose aggregation of superstars, rather than a group in the recognised sense, had given the record buying public their fill of this particular genre.
Besides with Young, Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Stills to an extent and an audacious young wordsmith named Jackson Browne tailoring lyrical eloquence to melodies bearing no shortage of country overtones, who needed a group to plough the same furrow?
Belated success of the 1971 self-titled debut album by America bucked the trend of country rock bands being assigned to chart wilderness, the LP finally arousing interest when folk-ballad ‘A Horse with No Name‘ – a song heavily influenced by Neil Young – became a sizeable hit when issued as a single the following year.
But the acoustic guitar-touting trio, while American in origin, had grown up in England, each the son of U.S. Air Force Personnel stationed just outside London. They had picked up on the mellow vibe created by Crosby, Stills & Nash, yet the country rock sound was most identified with Southern California, its home city of Los Angeles not yet having produced a commercially triumphant group representative of the form.
Enter then the Eagles and their June 1972 debut LP – and perhaps, just as pertinently L.A. music business sceneshifter David Geffen. It proved a solid, at times auspicious start to their recording career, generating even at the time (it would eventually attain platinum status), sales figures every other troupe in their field could only envy.
‘Eagles‘ spawned three high charting singles, something their contemporaries had been unable to manage between them, the Eagles also having in their favour another crucial factor when it came to making inroads – guitarist Bernie Leadon as late as 2023 telling U.K. rock writer Nick Hasted:
‘The biggest reason ‘Eagles’ was successful was the fact David Geffen was promoting it.’
Leadon (born Minneapolis 19/7/1947) went almost as far back to the early machinations of country rock as it was as possible to go. 1968 brought foundation stone releases such as ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo‘ by The Byrds and ‘The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark‘ an ensemble led primarily by former-Byrd Gene Clark. With the latter Leadon played acoustic and pedal steel guitars while co-writing a number of songs with Clark, their repertoire including the wistful ‘Train Leaves Here This Morning,’ that would be revived for the Eagles first album.
Despite a positive critical response ‘Fantastic Expedition‘ made no chart headway and after one more equally ignored offering, the group splintered and while Clark went solo, Leadon gravitated to The Flying Burrito Brothers. He arrived in time for their 1970 ‘Burrito Deluxe‘ effort, a patchy follow-up to ‘The Gilded Palace of Sin‘ that despite becoming one of the most influential albums of the period sank virtually without trace.
Frustrated by the resounding marketplace failure of each, country rock pioneer and head Burrito Gram Parsons departed the scene and after one more album following his exit that band also split. Session work thereafter took Leadon into the orbit of golden voiced songstress Linda Ronstadt, where Don Henley and Glenn Frey could already be found.
Having headed to the West Coast in 1970 with fellow Texans in a band named Shiloh, drummer Henley (born Linden 22/7/1947) remained in L.A. after their demise, finding himself hired for the sessions that eventually resulted in the self-titled ‘Linda Ronstadt‘ album of January 1972 – the ten tracks also featuring contributions from guitarist Frey and bass player Randy Meisner.
Meisner (born Nebraska 8/3/1946) like Leadon had impressive country rock credentials having been a founder member of Poco, leaving due to internal strife between recording and release of their acclaimed 1969 debut ‘Pickin’ Up The Pieces‘. His journey to the Eagles then took in stopping off points with Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band and studio dates with James Taylor before aligning behind Ronstadt with the others – whose number also included Frey (born Detroit 6/11/1948).
His formative experiences as a musician came about playing rhythm guitar and singing back-up for local headliner Bob Seger, Frey then taking the well-worn late-60s path to Los Angeles where after a chance meeting with fellow singer-songwriter JD Souther they formed a country/folk duo named Longbranch Pennywhistle.
They cut an album that went nowhere, but played several gigs at renowned L.A. rock venue The Troubadour that quickly became clubhouse for a legion of country rock hopefuls. Here the paths of Browne, Souther, Frey, Henley, Leadon and Meisner all crossed during 1971 – each of whom featured on the ensuing Ronstadt album.
To promote the record manager John Boylan sent her out on the road, Henley and Frey accepting offers to back Ronstadt on stage, the unit then extended to include Leadon and Meisner. On sensing a close connection, at least on a musical level, they returned from the tour to begin rehearsing in their own right, overtures from Boylan and Browne to Geffen – who had just signed Browne to his newly formed Asylum Records – resulting in the quartet, now known collectively as the Eagles, also joining the recently launched label.
After putting pen to paper with Asylum in September 1971, Geffen sent the band from L.A. to Colorado in order to forge a musical unity before club and bar room audiences. On occasion the outfit found themselves performing in front of Glyn Johns, whose most recent production handiwork had been overseeing monumental Who album ‘Who’s Next‘ – Englishman Johns receiving an approach to man the controls when the Eagles were deemed ready to enter a studio.
Initially Johns was not especially taken with what he heard, unsure there was clear focus amid the myriad tones of country and light rock. In the end he was won over by their soaring vocal harmonies atop of ringing acoustic guitars, accepting on proviso the record was cut in England. Hence, first steps toward the Eagles becoming grandmasters of ’70s California rock were taken at Olympic Studios in dark, dank London during the early weeks of 1972.
Aside from two tracks sourced from outside the group – songs by L.A. cohorts Browne (‘Nightingale‘) and Jack Tempchin (‘Peaceful Easy Feeling‘) hardly unlikely vehicles – the record is entirely self-contained, the four Eagles responsible (according to the credits), for all the instrumentation. Most of the original material is contributed, in one manner or another by Frey, Leadon and Meisner, a somewhat ironic state of affairs given how Henley with lyrics – and lead vocals – would come to dominate future releases, his presence on ‘Eagles‘ confined to a couple of main vocal turns and the words to ‘Witchy Woman‘.
As the early ’70s unfolded and the hippy ideals of the Woodstock generation began to dissipate, nothing articulated the change in outlook from collective responsibility to self-interest more than the Eagles rolling up with advice to ‘Take It Easy‘ – this being the title of the instantly engaging opening track and signature song of the entire piece.
America may still be mired in the Vietnam war and the first rumblings of the Watergate scandal were audible on the horizon, but above resounding acoustic and electric guitars, Frey, who co-wrote the song with label mate Browne, has no time to consider conflict or politics, the ‘seven women on my mind‘ his overriding concern:
‘Take it easy, take it easy/Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy/Lighten up while you still can/Don’t even try to understand/Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy.’
The second verse finds him ‘a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,’ the innocence of early Beach Boys car songs from less troubled times evoked when he is given the eye by a passing female motorist, (‘It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford/Slowin’ down to take a look at me‘). The sweeping harmony vocals are resonant but relaxed, an easy-going electric guitar solo, complimented by exuberant banjo work from Leadon, emphasising the pop and bluegrass sensibilities in their make-up, represented essentially by Frey and Leadon.
Indeed, the combination of these elements turned ‘Take It Easy‘ into the most distinguished country-rock number yet to appear – underlined by its steady climb to number 12 on the U.S. singles chart in July 1972.
Later in the year ‘Witchy Woman‘ the next up track on the album, would climb three places higher when issued as a 45, Henley and Leadon joining forces to compose an altogether more surly track.
It revealed drummer Henley to be a soulful, expressive vocalist with an eye for describing dark characteristics within a person, in this case a femme fatale, (‘She held me spellbound in the night/Dancing shadows and firelight‘) and later with places where images are distorted, most notably on ‘Hotel California.’
The tribal drums and Leadon’s insistent American-Indian themed electric guitar riff allowed the Eagles to boast impressive contrast in their first two singles and showed they had a sultry side when it came to up-tempo material – Henley and Frey building the ‘One of These Nights‘ title track on a similar framework three years later.
Side one of the debut set continues with two contrasting Frey compositions. ‘Chug All Night‘ is an upbeat affair that wraps an energetic performance around some thin lyrics, the pace then slowed for the acoustic balladry of ‘Most of Us Are Sad.’ Sung impressively by Meisner, this melancholy cut shows the composer has a flair for melody, although his melodicism would become better showcased when aligned to words written by Henley.
The first side closes with a cover of the Browne-penned ‘Nightingale.’ Included at the last minute, despite objections from Johns, to give Henley another lead vocal contribution, it stands as a pleasant, if insubstantial country rock workout. Not a stellar effort from a writer quickly gaining repute as a gifted lyricist, but Henley gives plenty of gusto to the better couplets, (‘Don’t let me see that mornin’ paper/’Cause I don’t need those dues/It’s just the same old murder movie/But they call it the news‘), the overall framework used again when Browne, Henley, Frey and Souther came up with ‘James Dean‘ for the Eagles 1974 ‘On The Border‘ album.
In opening side two with ‘Train Leaves Here This Morning‘ Leadon goes back to an impressive song written four years earlier with Gene Clark, this likeable update bolstered by an electric guitar solo from Frey.
Beyond that it has a distinct country feel accentuated by smooth harmonies behind the vocal of Leadon and interlocking banjo and acoustic guitar. The writers, in describing why the proragonist needs to depart by rail, either by sheer coincidence or amusing wordplay manage to insert one of their names, ‘And I laughed when the joker said lead-on‘ into the tale.
Meisner takes vocal responsibilites and receives sole writing credit for ‘Take the Devil‘ a stern, edgy track, with an ambience far closer to rock than country.
The writer strives to convey restlessness while searching for his place in the world, wanderlust here not necessarily depicted as a good thing, ‘The wind outside is cold/Restless feeling in my soul/Tempting me to get away/But there’s no place a man can go‘. Johns reinforces the feeling of anxiety by bringing sharp electric guitar work to the fore.
Leadon and Meisner combine as writers for ‘Earlybird‘, the country orientations highlighted by birdsong sound effects and Leadon producing more accomplished banjo playing.
It is a polished performance all round from a band at the start of their journey, the decorative slide guitar by Frey used again two years later on ‘Midnight Flyer‘. Yet already the Eagles sound ahead of the country rock game, not necessarily for having better songs but through superior song craft. In Johns they have a producer attuned to giving them presence and moreover are blessed with four distinctive singing voices.
Sung by Frey, ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling‘ is a country ballad acquired from fellow L.A. songsmith Jack Tempchin. As espoused in the title, the time felt right to step back from a world going to hell in a handcart, deep soul-searching being for others (or in their case, to come later) – sentiments not lost on a swathe of record buyers who sent the track to 23 on the U.S. charts in December 1972.
The album closes amid the surging refrains of ‘Tryin‘ another writing and vocal submission from Meisner. It ensures things come to an end on a propulsive, positive note, ‘Cause it’s a long road ahead/And you can make it in the end/And I’m going to make it with my friends/And I’m trying,’ the song ideal in every respect for a debut album finale. The close harmonies and jangling electric guitars barely abate before it climaxes with a Who-like power chord, the Eagles affirming their arrival while Johns gives a nod to his pal Townshend – the producer in question enlisted to work on albums by each group the following year.
In the meantime ‘Eagles‘ headed to previously unchartered territory for L.A. based bands of similar ilk, their city competitors never going within a country (no pun intended) mile of its highest 22 placing on the Billboard listings.
Generally speaking, the critics were enthusiastic if not exactly overwhelmed. Billboard magazine liked it (‘Excellent‘), New York rock scribe Robert Christagu did not (declaring it ‘false‘), while in the U.K. – where it failed to chart – Roy Carr in the New Musical Express, wrote, ‘the Eagles incorporate every fashionable soft-rock device into their style,’ which was undeniably true, but also the point.
As an entity the Eagles summoned up every country rock nuance they could muster, but streamlined them to create the first concerted album on this wavelength with appeal to a mainstream audience.
In retrospect the timing could not have been better. Others had done the pioneering work and were able to claim greater originality, only for ‘Eagles‘ to appear at a moment when many listeners sought an antidote rather than analysis of times gripped by uncertainty.
On the back cover the four Eagles may have looked inscrutable while sitting in a desert wilderness, but their mantra was finding a place to make a stand, not trying to understand, the key being to take it easy no matter what.
Everybody except David Geffen that is, who was busy turning a good album into a hit.
‘EAGLES‘ – released June 1st 1972:
Take it Easy/Witchy Woman/Chug All Night/Most of Us Are Sad/Nightingale/Train Leaves Here This Morning/Take the Devil/Earlybird/Peaceful Easy Feeling/Tryin‘;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
