Personally, I'm not a big fan of the "Greatest Hits" album concept, because they tend to be superficial selections of what got radio play, and often don't represent the artist's best work. Never has that been less true than it is here, though. This is a great greatest hits package because it also is representive of the best work the Eagles did between 1971 and 1975.

The Eagles recorded a total of only six studio albums before disbanding to pursue solo projects after the release of 1979's THE LONG RUN. This album draws from what is commonly noted as being the pre-Joe Walsh era--the first four albums, including THE EAGLES, DESPERADO, ON THE BORDER, and ONE OF THESE NIGHTS.

Originally, banjo/mandolin player and founding member Bernie Leadon was crucial to the band's sound. However, with the addition of Don Felder on guitar, the band moved toward a more mainstream California rock sound.

All of the songs on this collection are strong, particularly TAKE IT EASY, LYIN' EYES, DESPERADO, and the rare Eagles song from this period that doesn't feature lead vocals by either Don Henley or Glen Frey, the bassist Randy Meisner sung TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT.

I've had this album in one format or another since I was 12 years old, and I keep coming back to it for whatever you listen to music for.


A greatest hits that could have taken it to the limit   January 24, 2000
 47 out of 51 found this review helpful

Having read David Fuller's review, I couldn't agree more...buy the gold disc! Worth every penny!

This album has, as of November 1999, become the biggest seller of all time: 26 million copies worth. Thriller is in second place at 25 million. And it's easy to see why. This perfectly captures the Eagles early years of country rock, before the Eagles turned all out rockers with Joe Walsh and Hotel California.

In fact, the ten selections are well sequenced flowing nicely together. Henley's vocals are judiciously split four per side. Each album is evenly represented on both sides of the LP.

The gold disc boasts superior sound, remastered directly from the two track stereo tapes. Curious is the fact that the track times are two seconds longer on each track. Compression on the orginal LP and CD perhaps? The jacket depicts the 3-D effect on the eagles skull, and features all the orginal graphics, including the LP labels.

One reviewer wished this CD could have been expanded. A couple of interesting facts: One, there were two singles from Desperado, Tequila Sunrise is on this, but Desperado was not a single. I'm glad it is on this. It is a track deserving of being on a greatest hits. However, the other single was Outlaw Man! Interesting!

Second, On The Border had three singles. Two of them are on this, but James Dean is not.

Lastly, we have a missing B-Side. The flip side to Take It Easy is a song penned by Henley-Frey called Get You In The Mood. To my knowledge, it is not on any Eagles album. I do not have much information on this 3:52 obscurity.

What we need is a comprehensive Eagles singles anthology. Let's hope we will get that, I mean the 30th anniversary is coming shortly. That's a hint!


The Eagles Soar   January 8, 2001
 29 out of 37 found this review helpful

The Eagles 1976's release Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 has recently become the biggest selling album of all-time topping Michael Jackson's Thriller. The album has moved a staggering 26 million copies and the fact that people are still consistently buying it 24 years after its release is a testament to the timeless nature of the songs. The songs are mostly in the country-rock vein from the wistful "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to the two-timing tale "Lyin' Eyes" to the supple number one hit "Best Of My Love". There are some harder number like the evil & dark sounding "One Of These Nights" and the smoldering "Witchy Woman". The band's success can be tied into the fact that Glenn Frey & Don Henley are extraordinary songwriters, the band are perfectionists in the studio, so their songs are painstakingly produced, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner and later Don Felder all are excellent musicians and they make picture perfect harmonies. An essential album.


they get better the more you listen to them   December 2, 1999
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

I always heard how great and influential the Eagles were all my life so about a year ago i bought this CD and it had some of the songs that i liked on it such as One Of These Nights and Take It Easy, but after i listened to the whole album the first time i didn't see what all the fuss was about. I didn't think they were the best singers that i've ever heard or anything so i wondered why they were such legends. But the more i listened to it, the more i liked it....especially while i'm taking a long drive. Then i began to see why they were so good, its because of the great lyrics that they had and at the time it was a different style of music. Now they're one of my favorite groups of all time and they're not bad singers either. 2 of the 3 lead singers went on and had great solo careers. I liked it so much that i bought Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2


Hotel Catatonia   March 6, 2001
 11 out of 31 found this review helpful

The fact that this album is the biggest selling catalog item to date really says a lot about how much the United States cherishes mediocrity in music. And no American artist is more cherished than the Eagles.

Taking their cue from far superior bands (The Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, The Band, etc.), the Eagles were certainly country-rock's first and most successful mercenaries, sucking all life from the genre, and, at the same time, making Gram Parsons turn over in his grave (though not technically, thanks to Phil "The Human Torch" Kaufman).

If you want a truly great album, try "The Guilded Palace of Sin" by the Flying Burrito Brothers. Believe me, it's so much better than this tripe. The Eagles have far more money than they know what to do with already. Their thoughtless, condescending, mindless songs make up a shameful catalog that should be burned in effigy (as well as physically).