Peaceful easy feeling (The Eagles) (LP 1072)

The Eagles  Don Kirshner's Rock Concert '74 with Guests (CD,  RoxVox, 2016) *** 

Genre: Country rock 

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Take It Easy

Gear costume: James Dean

Active compensatory factors: Not quite a bootleg, more a 'legendary radio recording' according to the cover, this is the audio version of what would have been broadcast on TV. So the recording suffers in the process. To be fair, you know that going in with these kinds of things.

As such it's okay but not a vital document for The Eagles. Instead Linda and Jackson steal the show in some regards. Looking Into You is terrific (no clip of this available unfortunately).

Having said that, this is my favourite period of the band - before they went mega. The more authentic country rock thanks to the presence of Bernie Leadon appeals to me more than the soft adult rock and Joe Walsh years.

The hits are rendered professionally - Peaceful Easy Feeling, Take It Easy, and Desperado (with Linda taking centre stage) but the songs from One The Border - Ol '55, Already Gone, James Dean are my favourites from the concert.

Where do they all belong? Back to the vinyl for the next round of albums.

Don't look back, you can never look back (Don Henley) #126

Don Henley The Boys Of Summer/ A Month Of Sundays (Geffen Records, GEF 29141, 1984)

Don Henley is a multi-talented member of the singing drummer fraternity. He shot to fame as part of the Eagles, of course, but for me his End Of Innocence album is better than most Eagles' albums. The album before that (Building The Perfect Beast) contained the A side of this single.

It was really the video that won me over initially and the, albeit critical, reference to Grateful Dead fans (Deadheads). That video is something! It has a feeling of authenticity even though it's clearly a Hollywood style production. I like the theme of the song too - the examination of rear view living.

I aim to be here now but the lure of a nostalgic gaze is a real one for us all.

Hidden gem: The B side eventually made its way to the CD versions of the parent album so no rarity value.  The song is Don's attempt to do a Springsteen or a Mellancamp but it still sounds like a rich boy singing a song to me. The A side however - now that's a song!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1yqje_don-henley-boys-of-summer_music