If there is any major shining aspect of the record, it necessarily lie in the songwriting, which is generally spotty, nor does it lie in the actual variety of the record - hate to break it to you, but this is all country rock through and through. Nay, the strengths of the album really lies in the sound of the album. One thing you can almost certainly give Eagles credit for is that they're a tight enough group, even if nothing is particularly mind-blowing as far as playing goes - after all, Joe Walsh wasn't in the group yet. While they're not as technically brilliant as other groups like The Who or progressive rock acts are, Eagles make for a pretty tight bar/studio band. They're also decently dynamic with moods, readily available to go from fast-paced rockers like "Take It Easy" to slower moments like "Train Leaves Here in the Morning" well enough. It helps that the album is also brilliantly produced by one Glyn Johns, who you may recognize for producing for the likes of Eric Clapton, The Who, and The Rolling Stones - you may also know him for being a recording engineer for Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, and The Beatles. Johns handles it all here, and I'm sure his work is partially responsible for the remarkably clean work on this album - it's maybe a little sparse, but it creates a fine enough mood that sounds great.
This is the part where I have to talk about the actual album, and where I must swallow my pride to tell you that this album isn't really all that bad. "Take It Easy" may be a little overplayed in my mind, but it's a fun enough rock number that also doubles as a pretty great opener - hey, at least it isn't like "Hotel California", which is at least 10 times more overplayed and at least 10 times worse. The following moments with "Witchy Woman" and "Chug All Night" suffice enough, even if I think the former plays a little bit like bootleg Santana - maybe that's why I like it so much. "Nightingale" is pretty much cut from the same fabric as "Take It Easy" or "Chug All Night", but may be better than both of them - whether or not this is because it is actually better or because it simply isn't a rock radio mainstay remains to be seen as our team of experts await test results. Unfortunately, once you finished Side A, you might as well put your album away - Side B is a complete dud, largely because by this point the songs begin to really bleed into each other - the only saving grace, maybe, is closing track "Tryin'" which at least has some solid energy and a great Glenn Frey guitar solo.
"We've got to keep on trying" sings the group at the end of the album, and boy do they. Something certainly must have worked for Eagles to be as successful as they are, but on this admittedly fine debut I fail to see a whole lot that singles out the band from any other rock or country I've heard from the time - why would I pick this over The Byrds, Gene Clark, or Michael Nesmith? Hell, Neil Young's Harvest came out the same year as this debut, and that is an improvement on this record in most ways. While you won't be disappointed with a listen or even two of Eagles, you'll find little to come back to past the big singles - essentially, the massive airplay is all that's essential. Ironic.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯Listen to Eagles.
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