Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Eagles Live

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Length
  
77:10

Release date
  
7 November 1980

Label
  
Asylum Records

Artist
  
Eagles

Producer
  
Bill Szymczyk

Genre
  
Rock music

Eagles Live httpsimagesnasslimagesamazoncomimagesI5

Released
  
November 7, 1980 (1980-11-07)

Recorded
  
October 20, 1976 – July 31, 1980

Eagles Live(1980)
  
Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2(1982)

Similar
  
Eagles albums, Rock music albums

Eagles Live is the first live album by the American rock band Eagles, a two-LP set released on November 7, 1980.

Contents

The Eagles effectively disbanded on July 31, 1980, after a concert in Long Beach, California that served as a fund-raiser for then-Senator Alan Cranston's campaign, and where bandmates Glenn Frey and Don Felder nearly came to blows backstage. However, the band owed Elektra/Asylum Records one more album and fulfilled that obligation with a release of performances from the Hotel California and The Long Run tours. The Eagles rejected a $2 million offer from the label to record two new songs for the album.

Eagles Live was mixed by Frey and Don Henley on opposite coasts in Los Angeles and Miami, respectively, and as producer Bill Szymczyk put it, the record's harmony and instrument fixes were made "courtesy of Federal Express." The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said it is "perhaps the most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history." "Seven Bridges Road," a Steve Young cover, was released as a single and became a top-40 hit. The song was a showcase for the band's close harmony singing, as the first and last verses feature vocals from all five members.

Album composition

The album provides a balanced document of the band's musical history, recorded in two phases. Five of the tracks were recorded in October 1976, during three performances at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The other 10 tracks were recorded in July 1980, from three shows in Santa Monica, California and one in Long Beach. Not including the brief musical interlude of "Doolin Dalton (Reprise II)," of the 14 vocal songs on the album, five lead singers are featured: Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, original bassist Randy Meisner, and his replacement Timothy B. Schmit. Songs from each Eagles studio album except one (On the Border) are included, as well as two Walsh solo tracks and one cover song: the acoustic harmony-laden "Seven Bridges Road."

LP notes
  • The album cover is the image of a band-equipment storage chest used during a concert tour. It includes two elements hinting at the Eagles' breakup (which was not officially announced until May 1982): The number 86 on both sides and "MIA" written on air-freight stickers on the back.
  • The record labels were custom, showing a bird's nest filled with eggs and hand grenades.
  • Original pressings of this double-album had text engraved in the run-out grooves on each side, as had been the band's tradition since their 1975 album One of These Nights:
    1. Side 1: Is it illegal to yell "Movie!" in a firehouse?
    2. Side 2: "Hello, Federal? ... Ship it!"
    3. Side 3: Not Tonight, thanks ...
    4. Side 4: ... I've gotta rest up for my monster
  • The run-out groove of the fourth side did not fade to silence as was customary. Instead, the crowd noise continued into the final-loop groove. Thus, for those listening on manual turntables, the applause would not end until the listener removed the stylus from the disc.

    • Personnel

    Eagles
  • Don Felder – guitars, vocals
  • Glenn Frey – guitars, keyboards, vocals
  • Don Henley – drums, percussion, vocals
  • Randy Meisner – bass guitar, vocals (1976 shows)
  • Timothy B. Schmit – bass guitar, vocals (1980 shows)
  • Joe Walsh – guitars, keyboards, vocals
    • Additional musicians
  • Jage Jackson – rhythm guitar, percussion
  • Phil Kenzie – saxophone
  • Vince Melamed – electric piano
  • The Monstertones – backing vocals
  • J. D. Souther – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Joe Vitale – piano, organ, drums, percussion
    • Production
  • Bill Szymczyk – production
  • Ted Jensen – mastering engineer

    • Songs

    1Hotel California7:01
    2Heartache Tonight4:34
    3I Can't Tell You Why5:18

    References

    Eagles Live Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA