Confessions of a Fanboy

You know what the review is, here is my listening companion and you are welcome to it.

I focused my review of Long Road Out of Eden as an album and didn’t get a chance to talk about the individual tracks or any other side issues and notes, so let’s dispense with a few of those here in rapid fire succession.

For starters, I like Disc 1 better than Disc 2. I’ve always been a fan of The Eagles milder material, the acoustic-based stuff, and ballads. That’s not to say I don’t like any of their rockers, but I like more of the ballads than the rockers. The first disc focuses on this more melodic side of the band. It’s also less topical in its lyrical themes than the second disc, which weights in its favor.

My favorite songs from the album?

• I really like Glenn Frey’s “How Long.” I think J.D. Souther wrote this one, which isn’t new for The Eagles. Glenn Frey’s voice has held up well.
• Don Henley’s “Too Busy Being Fabulous” is a good one. The lyrics are a little on the smug side, meaning Don showed restraint on this one.
• Timothy Schmit always sings the schmaltzy love songs and I’m a sucker for some of those, even if he sounds more like a woman than most women. “I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore” is pretty sappy, but it’s pleasant and I enjoy it. Those aren’t the only songs I like on the record, but those three jump out at me right now.

The first song, “No More Walks In the Woods,” is like a hippy, California Gregorian chant song. It’s got nice harmony but no melody or phrasing to speak of. It’s also a little on the preachy side. It’s pretty, but it never really grabs ahold of me.

I don’t know if the band misses guitarist Don Felder, but I think I do. The lead guitar work on the album is unremarkable. Joe Walsh can play, but he doesn’t- not much, anyway. After watching the Hell Freezes Over DVD 100,000 times back in ‘94, I remember watching Felder play a lot of the more interesting lead parts. I don’t know if he would have been allowed much impact on this record, but I wonder.

Speaking of Joe Walsh… he always seemed to me an odd fit in this band and that feels more pronounced on Eden. His leftfield sensibilities still don’t jibe well, even if the meticulous craftsmanship of this record smoothes out some of his edges.

Filed under: Tags: Musical Musings and Random Ramblings