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MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL ANALOG MASTER TAPES FOR DEFINITIVE SOUND: PRESSED AT RTI ON MOFI SUPERVINYL, LIMITED TO 7,500 COPIES
Originally released in June 1972, the Eagles’ self-titled debut played a significant role in changing the face of mainstream music while setting up a dominant run that’s continued for nearly five decades. Produced by Glyn Johns, and home to three massive hits, Eagles established a cleverly restrained, Los Angeles-bred style that would sweep the country and position the group as superstars.
The front cover brilliantly captures the fundamentals of the Eagles’ aural essence. Photographed at Joshua Tree National Park, it portrays a seemingly endless blue sky arched over the hovering copper glow of a sunset. In the foreground, shadow-bathed cacti hugs a slice of desert, both illuminated by nature above and beyond. Peaceful, easy, breezy, organic, laidback, cohesive, warm yet cool: The picture parallels the tone and timbre of the content lurking in the vinyl grooves, and helps elevate Eagles to that rare place where every single aspect (and participant) is united in theme and purpose.
As just one of two Eagles albums created by the original quartet of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon, the record remains unique in the band’s history for the shared songwriting and vocal performances. Each member takes the lead on at least one track, extending to Meisner on “Most of Us Are Sad,” “Take the Devil,” and “Tryin'” as well as Leadon on “Train Leaves Here This Morning” and “Earlybird.”
The mellifluous blending of the Eagles’ distinctive voices, the very aspect that drew Johns to the project, lingers throughout. Such harmonizing – in combination with textured sonic tapestries stitched with acoustic guitars, steady bass lines, banjo notes, folk constructs, and edgy rock elements – informs arrangements bolstered by golden melodies and brilliant craftsmanship. Nowhere is that approach more evident than on “Take It Easy,” an opening tune that quickly became a signpost of the collective’s mentality, technique, and philosophy. Rambling, and related themes of traveling or returning home, resurface in “Train Leaves Here This Morning” and the restless “Take the Devil.”
Women, another of the Eagles’ other long-running inspirations, occupies much of the album’s other focus. Frey’s opportunistic “Chug All Night,” the Top 25 smash “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” and Jackson Browne’s devotional “Nightingale” continue the light-streaked vibes. In contrast, Henley’s cautionary “Witchy Woman” portends the darker concepts the band would explore going forward even as the song maintains a voodoo-kissed, feel-good mood. Indeed, few albums of the era felt better in both scope and spirit.
Tracklist:
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’
