Spent dusk last night, my favorite time of the day, out back listening to Don Henley's new album, Cass County, thinking this is the kind of music I love, the kind that leaves me with a peaceful easy feeling. So with those lyrical images and moody melodies dancing in my head as I drifted off to an all too brief slumber last night, it should come as little surprise that I woke up wanting to revisit Henley's earlier work with his former bandmates. First disc I reached for was, of course, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 from way, way back in 1976. Ten tracks, nine of them previously released as singles including eight Top 40s with the tenth being a favored album cut ("Desperado"). The disc represents the first two iterations of the band, featuring both founding guitarist Bernie Leadon and his replacement Don Felder. I first heard these songs on the radio but I remember this album as being one of my Dad's most played favorites though he had the 4 eight track tapes which these songs were drawn from as well.
A hallmark of all the greatest "greatest hits" albums is their versatility and this one is perfect for road trips, BBQs, pool parties or those quiet times when you are giving your sweet darling the best of your love. If you don't have a copy of the album don't fret, chances are someone you know does as it ranks right alongside Thriller as the best-selling album of all-time in the U.S. with 29 million RIAA-certified sales. Or you could throw the boys a fraction of a penny by streaming it on Spotify, where the album has streamed nearly three million times since being added in June 2013:
Though they would release only two more studio albums before rolling out Greatest Hits Volume 2 in 1982, all ten of its tracks save two would be lifted form those two albums with "Seven Bridges Road" coming from Eagles Live (1980) and "After The Thrill Is Gone" dating back to 1975's One Of These Nights, still my favorite early Eagles album. Both hits collections were superseded by four disc box set Selected Works 1972-1999 in 2000 and the double wide Very Best Of Eagles in 2003, featuring all the songs from those first two hits collections plus twelve (!) additional singles, album cuts and one new forgettable tune. The cover artwork for the later album is an homage to the artwork on Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975.
8-track scans courtesy of
I recently got the Eagle's Desperado album on CD from the local discount used CD/DVD/video-game store. Not a bad snag for under $4. I do indeed own this greatest hits set - it is a solid package.
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