The Eagles were easily one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. That decade was filled with artists who took record sales to extraordinary heights. Albums like Tapestry by Carole King, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Aja by Steely Dan, Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs, and Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton were blockbusters, in most cases also critically acclaimed and defining music of the era.
One could add Hotel California from the Eagles to this list. The album that has often been credited as one of the biggest selling albums of all time was also from the Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), released in 1976. While Dark Side of the Moon is the album that spent the most time on the charts as a best seller, the Eagles’ first greatest hits album and Thriller by Michael Jackson have sparred at number one and two for decades.
It’s been almost 50 years since the Eagles released their self-titled debut album in 1972, making this the perfect time for their first two albums to be reissued in what is perhaps the ultimate audiophile editions. Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs has reissued the first two albums—Eagles and Desperado—as Ultradisc, One Step Pressings. These packages include the album spread over two vinyl discs, playable at 45 RPM for extra fidelity.
The albums are pressed on Super Vinyl, developed by NEOTEC, and the uber pressing plant manufacturer RTI, offering vinyl with the quietest surface. The key to the one step process is that aside from using the normal MFSL process of working from the original analog master tape recording, the album goes directly from lacquer to what’s called “convert” negative, removing the normal process where the lacquer would go through two more steps before being pressed onto vinyl, avoiding two full steps in the normal mastering process. The packages are individually numbered and limited to 7,500 copies each.
These two albums are ideal candidates for such a bespoke audiophile product, as albums from the Eagles were meticulously recorded and defined the lush West Coast sound of the 1970s. Oddly enough, other than the track “Nightingale,” the group’s debut album was recorded at Olympic Studios is London, by British producer Glyn Johns, and Desperado was also produced by Johns in London, at Island Records Studio.
The original Eagles featured four musicians from various locales, who came together amidst the hothouse, early ’70s West-Coast music scene, with ground zero being Doug Weston’s immortal Troubadour club in Los Angeles. Don Henley, from Texas, was in the band Shiloh and Glenn Frey, from Michigan, was in the band Longbranch Pennywhistle. They were tapped by John Boylan, Linda Ronstadt’s producer, to back up Ronstadt for the tour to promote Silk Purse, her second solo album, released in the spring of 1970. Randy Meisner, of Rick Nelson’s seminal country-rock group the Stone Canyon Band and Bernie Leadon of the Flying Burrito Brothers, joined after Henley and Frey, laying the groundwork for the Eagles.
The group’s debut album was an instant hit, led by the album’s opening track “Take It Easy,” co-written by Frey and a budding songwriter and former member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band named Jackson Browne. The song along with “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” personified the mellow, denimed, ’70s West Coast, soft-rock sound. The group’s laid-back fusion of country and rock and creamy harmonies and its emerging songwriting prowess, was evident on its debut and the group would only get better with each new album, while also adding a more rock edge with the guitar gods Don Felder first, and Joe Walsh, second, joining the group.
The group’s debut also showed it had a more rock side as evidenced by the gritty and infectious “Witchy Woman,” co-written by Henley and Leadon. Leadon also co-wrote “Train Leaves Here This Morning” with ex-Byrds member Gene Clark. Meisner also wrote two songs and co-wrote “Earlybird” with Leadon. Frey had two solo compositions, there was one solo composition by Browne and Jack Tempchin, who would continue to work with the Eagles in the future, also wrote a song. Few groups boasted such a lineup of solid singers, songwriters, and musicians who could draw from rock, country, bluegrass, folk, and even r&b so fruitfully, coalescing into one of the most distinctive group sounds in rock history.
The band upped the ante on its second release Desperado, creating a concept album that characterized the group as mythical old west, lonesome LA rock ‘n’ roll cowboys. The title cut and “Tequila Sunrise” became instant hits and showed even further the depth of the group’s songwriting ability, solidifying the Henley-Frey songwriting team as major composers. Browne was back for two co-writes and another formidable songwriter and singer, J.D. Souther, joined the posse for three co-writes.
On both of these albums the production by Glyn Johns was spot-on, as he never put his individual stamps on the records he produced for such other artists as British groups The Rolling Stones, the Small Faces, Traffic, and The Who, along with American artists such as the Steve Miller Band, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, The Band, and Boz Scaggs. He focused on the songs and group harmonies, but when the band cranked up its rock mojo, he faithfully captured that side of its music.
As for the sound and packaging, these releases are the pinnacle of audiophile. Housed in sturdy boxes with cushiony foam with reproductions of all the album art, the Mofi signature polyline sleeves, and flat, quiet vinyl, the releases make it clear that there is simply no way to improve on the package. The sound allows the listener to pick out all of the instrumental and vocal detail, but the distinct blend that defines the music of the era and, in this case, the peerless harmonies of the Eagles of that period, is there in all its glory.
The ’70s was perhaps the best era for sound, as the primitive recording techniques that dominated much of the 1960s were long gone, and artists were given the time to make records in state-of-the art studios, before digital sound would overtake the industry. One would be hard-pressed to find a more appropriate group to be presented on this kind of audiophile reissue, and no doubt these two releases will be collector’s items for musical fans of the ’70s and those obsessed with the best possible sound.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
