A Good Day In Hell - The Official ILM Track-By-Track EAGLES Listening Thread

^ My appreciation of GP just grew immensely

kinda unremarkable, faintly touching

Agree with this. It doesn't quite just sit there, like their earlier boring filler; this is good filler, a bit of movement, honest vocal, a pleasant way of passing time.

I dig the easy vibe here way more than the familiar greatest hits stuff. In my mind there's a fantasy alternate greatest hits which is also all easy vibes - this'd be on there.

"On The Border"

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/vYh8Vry9pkE/hqdefault.jpg

http://youtu.be/wRmzajCyToo

This track was inspired by the infamous Watergate scandal and fears at the time of the government overstepping its bounds and infringing on people's privacy. Barely audible at the end of the song, Frey can be heard whispering "Say Goodnight, Dick," a line made famous by Dan Rowan of Rowan and Martin but in this case referring to Richard Nixon's resignation. Nixon would indeed resign five months after the release of the album.

Lead vocals by Don Henley, T.N.T.S. by "Coach", claps by The Clapetts, lead guitar (uncredited) by Glenn Frey

TS: "On The Border" vs. "You Haven't Done Nothin'"

I actually dig this, though, way more than I thought I would. Easily the funkiest thing they ever did, and not unconvincingly so.

"my man" is pretty slight. nice sentiment i guess.

"on the border" is the first thing i've heard so far that sounds like later period eagles.

doesn't really go anywhere though. these guys are just so ploddy they can't help it.

i really dig the sound of the claps. sounds really processes almost post-punk snare type sound.

the lyrics remind me of henley solo stuff that kinda political jive he thinks he's good at.

the last minute or so with the call and response "on the border" and the triplets on the cowbell really pick things up.

good call on "Border" being the first track that conceivably Walsh could've played on. yet there's still a bit of CSNY in the chorus harmonies and the Band in the swapping vocals in the bridge.

this is okay, if a bit plodding and it pales (blanches) compared to the other "phonetapping" Nixon songs of '74, like "Fingerprint File" and Stevie's "Haven't Done Nothing." (and pinging Nixon in summer '74 is shooting fish in a barrel).

ums otm, i love that last minute and half - can't believe the eagles got funky multiple times. the harmonies remind me of grand funk more than csny!

i long thought this actually was from the Joe Walsh era - the intro, especially, sounds like him

Now there's a thread: Out of the Car, Longhair - Songs where another vocalist plays the part of a cop

'On the Border' also sonically mimics the paranoid funk that the Stones were putting out with 'Fingerprint File'. Funk definitely threw a monkey wrench to the rock bands of the day. Even hard rock stalwarts like Deep Purple were entranced with the funk pushing up the bass and getting that real wet drum sound with percussion overdubs at that time. Go check out some of the tunes on the second album by Mk.III Deep Purple with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes to see what I mean.

"Out of the Car, Longhair - Songs where another vocalist plays the part of a cop"

there's got to be a bunch of 'em. "Save the Life of My Child" off Bookends randomly comes to min. "Summertime Blues' probl. the spritual godfather of such songs, though I bet there's some in early country and jazz.

min = mind

Funk definitely threw a monkey wrench to the rock bands of the day.

Hell, even the Who got funky:
http://youtu.be/p91GXWXyngo

rockers getting funky part of the foundation of hip hop. just ask Mountain.

Totally. It's kind of amazing to think that Jefferson Starship were once sufficiently funky as to be sampled by Public Enemy.

Eh, it's kind of retrofitted funk. Almost anything is funky if you loop it. Like the Jungle Brothers sampling Iggy clearing his throat or whatever.

^ funk authority

funkmaster josh

Not into this. It reminds me more of where barroom rock ventured in the late 80s than any actual funk.

I was actually a bit confused about why you were all citing funk at all til I picked up on the rising lick after the 7. I can see it just about now - the dirty lead get kind of funky around 2:00, there's some Bowie funk kicking in around 2:50. The last 90 seconds are quite cool but they are not funk, Henley's playing is too stiff (though I do like it)

let's be clear here, its funky FOR THE EAGLES.

the handclaps make it. heartache tonight is still my fave beat though.

would have liked to hear War cover this song. that would have been cool.

still funkin' shit up in 2013

http://youtu.be/PBrMTrPXHs8

"On The Border" is easily one of my favorite Eagles songs. Cool riffs, fantastic utilization of all their voices outside of the usual harmonic context, all the sections work. I know I'll be disappointed when I discover this won't be used in American Hustle 'cause it's too 'on the nose' or something. As ums pointed out, this is also the beginning of cranky politico pundit Henley, who would resurface throughout the rest of the Eagles run, and then fully become his Mr. Hyde in the solo years. I don't hold that against it.

would have liked to hear War cover this song. that would have been cool.

― scott seward, Sunday, September 15, 2013 1:30 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Isley Brothers man! Ernie would shred.

what's with joe [ walsh] and other guitarists making funny faces when they play?
pinoywheelgunner 3 months ago

It's just how it is done. That's all.
It is the way of things.
StephenRedrobe in reply to pinoywheelgunner 3 months ago

Searched for a while for this half-remembered quote xp, lolled when I saw it actually was about these guys. And then I thought *slows down, drops voice* 'well of course it was'.

let's be clear here, its funky FOR THE EAGLES.

― scott seward, Sunday, September 15, 2013 2:28 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I was operating on the assumption that this was the subtext of all the funky comments. It was for mine, at least.

Isley Brothers man! Ernie would shred.

― A Made Man In The Mellow Mafia (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, September 15, 2013 3:23 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM. And the Isleys had an amazing track record of re-working mid-70s top 40 hits (cf. "Summer Breeze," "Fire and Rain"); it woulda been cool to hear them tackle some Eagles.

"let's be clear here, its funky FOR THE EAGLES."

― scott seward, Sunday, September 15, 2013 2:28 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, it's funk in the same way 'Hotel California' kind of does some reggae.

mindblowing

original title for 'hotel california' was 'mexican reggae'

eagles unheralded inventors of reggaeton.

Glenn Frey's people are contacting Daddy Yankee about possibly sampling "Chug All Night" even as we speak.

"James Dean"

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/James_Dean_crash.jpg

http://youtu.be/7guzEuV7j9c

No, no, no. This is appalling.

Releasing this as a single, wtf? That isn't what you do with a song like this - what you do with a song like this is jam it once at a soundtrack then forget about it; if you like it, tape it and learn it, trot it at future soundchecks; then eventually the tape gets around, you can play it as an encore at a fanclub-only show after your reunion, it gets an enthusiastic response. Maybe you can do it again before the next tour. Don't make it a single ffs.

I dunno, it's stuff like this makes me think the only quality control this lot ever did was deciding on a tracklisting for the Greatest Hits.

So far I've been surprised at how little I've been irritated by hearing these tracks again. But this is still just lousy: this the cloddish, rotten, stupid Eagles; the meathead Eagles, the pestilent Eagles. I can picture George W. Bush, driving around Midland in '75, knocking back a few cans of Coors, blasting this awful piece of shit while he tailgates someone. God, even the guitars sound hateful.

Unmitigated shit. The worst track they ever recorded. Fuck rock music.

Even changing it to Ed Gein doesn't help.

the AOR template in that intro. an intro that would start a thousand bands. or at the very least 38 Special.

no offense to 38 Special.

pseudo-scientific formulae and lots of charts prepared to distill that intro into a radio format. and thus post-1974 the million dollar rock radio game threw out anything that didn't adhere to the formula. no more freeform no more r&b no more nothing that didn't sound like the intro to "james dean".

0:00-0:02 are a lot like 0:02-0:04 of Anarchy In The UK, it's not just a template for AOR

Apart from this song being irredeemable shit, the drum mix -- that Henley was intent on controlling, hence the break from Glyn Johns -- is so insanely awful. Why is the hi-hat panned hard right? In what physical placement situation would anyone, ever, hear it like that?

i'd say the first 24 seconds of the song are a fair representation of what was to come.

Dear god in heaven this is gross.

the fade-to-feedback is *also* a template for Anarchy In The UK, what is this?

one guitar riff in the verses is basically just the Beatles' "Birthday." agree the drum mix is whack, but it's just one of many problems with this turkey

it reminds me of country music that i hate. "rockin'" country. did any country people ever cover this song?

not that i hate all rockin' country. just a certain type. are you ready for some football rockin' country.