The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits

A wonderful addition of music to my collection. Nice to have music from my past.

The Eagles have a reputation that groups them the greats of rock and country-rock. This reputation comes in spite of the fact that the Eagles released but seven albums in their two incarnations, six of which they released between 1972 and 1979. Their last album was "Hell Freezes Over," an orphan released in 1994.

The first four Eagles albums provided enough material for the first of six collections, titled "Their Greatest Hits." This album covers the Eagles from 1971 to 1975, the pre-Joe Walsh years. In general, their music during these years had a country flavor, flavored with rock influences. I consider the Eagles of these first four albums to be one of the first true country-rock bands. I also think that Don Henley and Glen Frey brought to this genre a style and talent that reminds me of the Beatles in their middle years.

This album captures quite a range. "Desperado" is probably the most overtly country in style. "Witchy Woman" has a rhythm that seems to me to be influenced by Native American music. Other songs move further away from country, but still show their country influences; examples are "Already Gone" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

You can also detect elements of the Eagles that would be more strongly manifested in "Hotel California" and "The Long Run." "Witchy Woman" has a strong electric guitar lead. "Already Gone" also has a dominant lead guitar, which at that time was more associated with rock. The latter song could have gone on "The Long Run," an album that moved the Eagles away from country flavored music.

I think the Eagles are highly regarded because of the quality of the songs created by the group and because of the influence they had on other country-rock groups. They showed others that country and rock could be successfully married and that people would buy such music when it was performed well. They also showed others that the same group could create a song that would be considered rock, and on the same record have a song with strong country influences. Along with a number of other groups in the 60s and 70s, the Eagles were groundbreaking in their own way.

It's easy to look back on this music and put it down because 30 years later it is no longer fresh, new, or original. There have been hundreds of imitators of the Eagles. However, the Eagles were one of the first, and in many ways, were the first. Those who came later imitated the Eagles and performed similar music so many times that after a while the impact of the Eagles appears to have been diluted. In truth, that impact occurred when these songs were released, and are part of the continuing evolution of music. Try to put yourself back in the early 70s when this music was released. It was great then; fresh, innovative, and young. The jungle beat of disco, techno-pop, the discordant chords of Nine Inch Nails were all yet to be, and the Beatles had only broken up recently. I will always remember this music for how unique it was when released.

This particular version of the Eagles' "Greatest Hits" is an import. There are several variations of this album available, so I recommend you research the various versions and their price and then select the version that meets your needs.

If you like what you hear on the radio of the Eagles then you will enjoy this CD. I prefer the albums to this collection, because I think the albums have more music equal to the music on this CD, but this collection is a good introduction to the early Eagles. Enjoy!

wonderful songs esp Take it Easy and Peaceful Easy Feeling, but they are all hits

The Eagles Greatest hits 1971-1975 is one of the highest selling albums of all time as it is great.Everyone who bought this terrific album did the right thing.As far as the music,It is terrific and I will give it 5 stars.Any album which contains classics like Witchy Woman,Desperado and One of these nightsis worth 5 stars.If I were you I would rush to the record store and buy it PRONTO.

Turns out everyone who bought a copy of this album made a major mistake. Thankfully, that mistake can be fixed. All you gotta do is return your copy to whatever record story you bought it at and ask for your money back.
Now what about the music? Well, I gave it one star, so that should be a sign it sucks. Any album with Witchy Woman, Desperado, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Lyin' Eyes, Take it To the Limit, Best of My Love and One of These Nights would be worth one star already, but they lose even more points by ruining a great Jackson Browne song (Take It Easy). Skip this.