The Very Best of the Eagles [1994]

Performer: Eagles
Engineer: Barry Goldberg; Bill Szymcyzk; Mark Curry; Billy Youdelman; Steve Churchyard; Allan Blazek; Glyn Johns; Carl Glanville; Gary Ladinsky; Howard Kilgour; Richard Davis; Michael Braunstein; Don Wood; Ken Villeneuve; Tom Trafalski; Andy Ackland; Jim Paterson; Bob Stringer; Mike Harlow; Biff Dawes; Jay Parti; Bob Winder; Andy Grassi; Charlie Bouis; Kelly Kotera; Dave Crowthen; John Swain; Dan Everhart; Phil Jamtass; Dennis Mays; Michael Verdick; Rod Thaer; Tom Winslow; Ed Mashal; Bruce Hensal
Producer: The Eagles; Bill Szymcyzk; Rob Jacobs; Glyn Johns; Elliot Scheiner; The Eagles (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Eagles: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit. Initial pressings included a bonus DVD. THE VERY BEST OF includes a 46-page booklet with pictures and track information. The Eagles: Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo, mandolin); Don Felder (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar, keyboards); Glen Frey, Joe Walsh (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, keyboards); Randy Meisner (vocals, guitar, guitarron, bass); Don Henley (vocals, drums, percussion); Timothy B. Schmit (vocals, bass). Producers: Glyn Johns, Bill Szymczyk, Eagles, Elliot Scheiner, Rob Jacobs. Compilation producer: The Eagles. Recorded between 1972 & 2003. "Hole In The World" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Eagles: Don Felder (vocals, guitars, slide guitar, steel guitar, keyboards); Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitars, slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo, mandolin); Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh (vocals, guitars, slide guitar, keyboards); Randy Meisner (vocals, guitarron, bass guitar); Timothy B. Schmit (vocals, bass guitar); Don Henley (vocals, drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Steuart Smith (electric guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); David Sanborn (alto saxophone); Jim Ed Norman, Willie Hollis (piano); Jay Oliver (keyboards); Scott Crago (drums, percussion). This 17-song compilation, mastered in state-of-the-art digital audio, is the successor to its identically-named 1994 predecessor, re-compiled off the 1999 remasters of the group's catalog. None of it is in chronological order, which from a commercial standpoint makes sense -- most people buying this mid-priced disc aren't going to be looking for a history lesson so much as all the hits they remember off the radio plus a few satisfying album tracks; as a result, "Take It Easy," "Tequila Sunrise," "Desperado," and "Best Of My Love," are sandwiched between "One Of These Nights," "Hotel California," "New Kid In Town," while "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "James Dean," "Doolin-Dalton," and "Witchy Woman" are relegated to the end, to what would be the last side of the LP if there were one. In keeping with the CD's low-budget, light-lifting concept., there are no notes, just plugs for the group's (and Don Henley's) CD catalogs. ~ Bruce Eder Despite being a rather inconsistent act, the Eagles were one of the most successful rock bands of the '70s. Made up of five fine musicians (each with unquestionably superb vocal talent), the band blended impressive but often simple music with melodious vocal harmonies. This 1994 release attempts to collect the best tracks from the Eagles' catalog. While it does succeed in compiling many of the finer songs, the need for certain tracks is questionable. On the whole, however, The Very Best Of retains the Eagles magic that typified their finer moments. For those unfamiliar with the Eagles' music, this release will open eyes as to why the band is so revered. The album goes from strength to strength and only takes a small drop in quality in various places. Being slightly overlong at 71 minutes, this is as complete a best-of as one will find, but includes a few unnecessary tracks. ~ Ben Davies The problem with assembling an Eagles collection in 2003 is that there already is a perfect Eagles collection: 1976's Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975). Although it spanned a mere ten songs and summarized only the first five years and four albums of their career, it pulled off a nifty trick by making the albums it summarized -- and by extension, the band -- seem better than they actually were. By concentrating on big hits and substituting album track "Desperado" for "Outlaw Man," a single that didn't receive much chart action, the collection captured the band's peak, making a convincing case for the band's strengths while providing a compulsively enjoyable listen. Of course, the Eagles continued to have hits after the 1976 release of Their Greatest Hits, scoring the biggest proper album of their career that very year with Hotel California. After that, egos and infighting hampered the band, leading to just one more album in 1979's The Long Run before a disbandment in 1982, which was followed 12 years later by a reunion, charmingly dubbed Hell Freezes Over, since most pundits predicted that's when the band would reunite. This isn't much new ground to cover for a compilation, as the spotty 1982 The Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 illustrated, but even with a box set like 2000's Selected Works, there was room for a collection that contained all their big hits on one or two discs: hence the birth of Warner Strategic Marketing's 2003 double-disc Eagles collection, The Very Best Of. There's little question that The Very Best Of does its job well, containing nearly all of the group's charting singles -- including the non-LP seasonal tune "Please Come Home for Christmas" and omitting the purposely ignored "Outlaw Man" along with a couple of reunion-era singles that didn't make much impact -- and filling out the margins with album rock staples such as "Doolin-Dalton," "Ol' 55," "Victim of Love," "In the City," and "Those Shoes." It's a good collection, eliminating the need to own actual Eagles albums by containing all the key songs from each effort, including the highlights from Hell Freezes Over. If there are quibbles, the biggest is that the first disc isn't nearly as compulsively listenable as Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which covers the same ground, with the second being that after Hotel California the collection runs out of steam a little bit, as the Eagles sound more like a collective of solo performers instead of a band -- but that's the run of their career, too. In any case, The Very Best Of is an excellent way to get all the Eagles' songs that matter on one collection. [The Very Best Of was also released as a limited-edition three-disc set with the third disc being a bonus DVD containing the video for the new song "Hole in the World," as well as a making of the video featurette and "Backstage Pass to Farewell 1."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine This 1994 greatest hits package (released in anticipation of the band's wildly successful reunion tour and album) supplants THEIR GREATEST HITS 1971-1975. It adds seven songs, but unfortunately deletes "Already Gone," one of their best rockers. What's most interesting about THE VERY BEST OF THE EAGLES - apart from the presence of obviously classic songs like "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California" - is that it demonstrates that the band's esthetic was fully formed from day one. Despite the fact that the songs here span nearly a decade, listening to them back to back you could almost believe they were the product of one marathon recording session. The Eagles' founders Don Henley and Glenn Frey were forthright in their desire to bring then-emerging country rock to new heights of commercial success. Formed in Los Angeles in 1971, they learned from their observations of the scene around them, and subsequently took their music to the top of the charts. They stayed there throughout the '70s, becoming synonymous with the sound of Southern California rock. The band's first hit was with a song by Jackson Browne, and their first album also included a cover of "Ol' 55" by Tom Waits, but the bulk of the material they're known for was penned by Henley and Frey. This two-disc set wisely expands the original VERY BEST OF collection with important album tracks that have also long been band staples and favorites (such as the aforementioned Waits tune and a number of other songs from their pre-platinum first three releases). As is often the common industry-wide practice, there's also a new song, "Hole in the World."

Rolling Stone (11/13/03, pp.100-1) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...It's a dream package that unerringly documents Henley and Frey's Eagle-eyed view of the 1970s, from the earthly paradise to fast-lane trap..." Q (Summer/01, p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Delivers he soundtrack of '70s LA and they remain the definitive male harmony group of their era..."

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