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Rating: Well, a new album from the Eagles. Live music? No. Another collection? No, actually new songs (a good twenty, actually nineteen, since one was already heard and seen in a CD/DVD from a few years ago), for ninety-one minutes of music, in a double CD package. And when was it released? Three months ago. And how come no one is talking about it, writing about it? Boh, evidently they are truly outside the (Italian) collective imagination. What a strange country. First disc:
‘No More Walks In The Wood’: the four Eagles start "a cappella," with only an acoustic guitar for intermittent support. Celestial voices, perfect, undoubtedly showing off with "look how good we are." However, the contrast effect with the brilliant country rock that follows is perfect, benefiting the first two tracks when listened to one after the other.
‘How Long’: the brilliant country rock mentioned is a cover of a John David Souther song, an old buddy of guitarist/pianist Glenn Frey and co-author of several of their hits, professionally a solo songwriter but with quite limited success, unfortunately for him (or good for him) his bank account continues to grow much more thanks to past collaborations with the Eagles than with his personal repertoire. This is scholarly yet impeccable country rock’n’roll, with session musician Steuart Smith's clean and technical guitar dominating with brief solos and textbook counterpoints. Frey sings the first verse, drummer Henley the second, and then the two alternate for the grand finale.
‘Busy Being Fabulous’: Henley sings, and it's still country rock, this time fifty/fifty, not shifted towards rock like the previous track. Pure Eagles-style from the late seventies, as if thirty years hadn’t passed. Well done but pointless.
‘What Do I Do With My Heart’: A syrupy slow song that the crafty Frey targets, for example, at the broad audience of romantic American housewives, perhaps divorced and eagerly searching for a second husband. Frey sings the saccharine lyrics with refined crooner control; the track is nearly unbearable for a large part of the rock audience.
‘Guilty Of The Crime’: the great guitarist Joe Walsh finally appears on the scene: he settles for little for now, another cover, a rock like so many that he pumps up with his classically styled slide guitar, inevitably classy.
‘I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore’: the stunning soprano voice of bassist Tim Schmit dedicates itself to a new country rock ballad, largely predictable and worn out. However, the still long-haired Tim sings so well, so well that in certain passages he not only convinces but almost moves. Not bad, one must listen several times and overcome certain prejudices.
‘Waiting In The Weeds’: Henley elevates the disc with this, which is yes the umpteenth ballad, but with maximum lyricism, soothing yet tense thanks to this man's unique voice, exceptionally warm and moving though somewhat robotic. There is a bridge mid-song where beautiful guitars and mandolins are left to arpeggio, upon which Don enters with a very low vocal register, mastering it like a deity. He is a great singer.
‘No More Cloudy Days’: this is the already known and published song of the lot, for some reason re-proposed in the identical form. Over a rolling rhythm, in a slightly jazzy atmosphere à la Pat Metheny, Glenn expresses himself in a formal but very beautiful melody.
‘Fast Company’: Surprise! Henley in falsetto over a dry and funky groove = Prince at 101%. It has nothing to do with the Eagles' world, but Henley is the one in the group best able to diversify, urbanize, also because he has a very "modern" and versatile voice. This number can greatly amuse or disgust, de gustibus.
‘Do Something’: no, this is perfectly pointless. Schmit is only made to sing sappiness; the old glory of ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’ seems to have branded him for life. This outing, however, has nothing to save; not only compared to the aforementioned superhit of 1979 but also compared to the previous performance four tracks earlier. Thumbs down.
‘You’re Not Alone’: as above, with the difference that this time Frey sings. But where is Joe Walsh? Help! End of the first disc in the meantime, so let's go with the second:
‘Long Road Out Of Eden’: here’s Walsh heavily! In a wide-ranging track (even too much, over ten minutes), there are many compliments to be made: for the electric piano arrangement with tremolo + acoustic guitar in the verses; for the anti-militarist lyrics hissed by a socially and politically awake Henley; for the great guitarist this formation boasts, who first stamps in accompaniment transmitting tension and power and, when finally unleashed, prints a devastating solo with a choice of notes and timing that no one else matches. A new pinnacle of the entire Eagles repertoire, no less.
‘I Dreamed There Was No War’: the beautiful title qualifies it as a logical follow-up to the preceding track, but it is a negligible, brief instrumental interlude by Frey's pen.
‘Somebody’: finally, Glenn, after many syrupy ballads scattered on the first disc, signs a semi-acoustic mid-tempo, robust and convincing in its slight rattling à la R.E.M., singing it with great temperament, dramatic, tense, and therefore urban, more than rustic.
‘Frail Grasp On The Big Picture’: Henley continues to rail against American society and its foolishness. From the standpoint of a successful and billionaire artist, but such is life; he has always been this way, a successful malcontent, never satisfied with the present and always reaching for the next problem. The trend of this piece is akin to Steely Dan, acidic and metropolitan. As of now, not a hint of country rock in this second disc.
‘Last Good Time In Town’: it's Walsh's strong piece, resembling his best work on his own albums, with a blend of rock, irony, showmanship, but also a solid "grip" on the Fender Stratocaster and the usual unmistakable lyricism, even in the singing, performed with his peculiar mocking and hoarse voice. A cheerful and sunny episode amidst tracks all very tense and angry in terms of lyrics.
‘I Love To Watch A Woman Dance’: Glenn Frey, without any mercy, brings us back to adult romantic entertainment atmospheres. A sugary waltz, a cover, by the way. Only the title is beautiful.
‘Business As Usual’: a guitar riff with echoed repeat starts, none other than U2. In this case, the Eagles are completely transformed, Henley railing against the same society that, it seems reluctantly, has made him rich and successful. The paradise/trap, the "Hotel California" game is (or acts?) more relevant than ever. A great big rocker with "modern" sounds.
‘Center Of The Universe’: Steuart Smith nails a great acoustic arpeggio; Henley and Frey add the vocal line and lyrics, a beautiful and vigorous ballad.
‘It’s Your World Now’: a little Mexican thing by Frey that goes nowhere.
The End. By reversing the position of only a couple of pairs of tracks, one could have listened to a perfectly Double Face "Long Road Out Of Eden": the tradition, continuity, the country rock on the first disc; the diversification, stylistic differences among the four souls of the group, the power on the second. In my opinion, as you may have gathered, the latter is better.Tracklist and Lyrics
01 No More Walks in the Wood (02:00)
No more walks in the wood
The trees have all been cut down
And where once they stood
Not even a wagon rut
Appears along the path
Low brush is taking over
No more walks in the wood
This is the aftermath
Of afternoons in the clover fields
Where we once made love
Then wandered home together
Where the trees arched above
Where we made our own weather
When branches were the sky
Now they are gone for good
And you, for ill, and I
Am only a passer-by
We and the trees and the way
Back from the fields of play
Lasted as long as we could
No more walks in the wood
03 Busy Being Fabulous (04:20)
I came home to an empty house
And I found your little note
"Don't wait up for me tonight"
And that was all she wrote
Do you think I don't know that you're out on the town
With all of your high-rollin' friends?
What do you do when you come up empty?
Where do you go when the party ends?
And you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
I don't know what you were dreaming of
Somehow you forgot about love
And you were just too busy being fabulous, uh-huh
A little time in the country
A day or two to slow down
A bottle of wine and a walk in the moonlight
Maybe some foolin' around
But you think time is just a magazine
And money's just a thrill
I've waited so long for you to change your way of livin'
Now I realize that you never will
'Cause you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
Lookin' for something you'll never find
You'll never know what you left behind
'Cause you were just too busy being fabulous, uh-huh
You tell a joke and everybody's laughin'
That's something you know how to do
You've always been the life of the party
But now my baby, the joke is on you
'Cause you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
Running after something that never comes
What in the world are you runnin' from?
And you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
To drink the wine from your winner's cup
To notice the children were growin' up
And you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy, too busy
aaah aaah
Too busy
m m
Aw, baby
07 Waiting in the Weeds (07:46)
It's comin' on the end of August
Another summer's promise almost gone
And though I heard some wise man say
That every dog will have his day
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long
I don't know when I realized the dream was over
Well, there was no particular hour, no given day
You know, it didn't go down in flame
There was no final scene, no frozen frame
I just watched it slowly fade away
And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for my time to come around again and
Hope is floating on the breeze
Carrying my soul high up above the ground and
I've been keepin' to myself
Knowin' that the seasons are slowly changing
You know you're with somebody else
He'll never love you like I do
I've been biding time with the crows and sparrows
While peacocks prance and strut upon the stage
If finding love is just a dance
Proximity and chance
You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade
And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the dust to settle down along the
Back roads running through the fields
Lying on the outskirts of this lonesome town
And I imagine sunlight in your hair
You're at the county fair
You're holding hands and laughing
And now the ferris wheel has stopped
You're swinging on the top
Suspended there with him
And he's the darling of the chic
The flavor of the week is melting
Down your pretty summer dress
Baby, what a mess you're making
I've been stumbling through some dark places
Now I'm following the plow
I know I've fallen out of your good graces
It's alright now
And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the summer rain to fall upon the
Wild birds scattering the seeds
Answering the calling of the tide's eternal tune
The phases of the moon
The chambers of the heart
The ebb and dart of small gray
Spiders spinning in the dark
In spite of all the times the web is torn apart
And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the time to come around again and
Hope is floating on the breeze
Carrying my soul high up above the ground and
I've been keeping to myself
Knowing that the seasons are slowly changing
You know you're with somebody else
He'll never love you like I do
10 Do Something (05:12)
I've been walkin' through the fields
And on the streets of town
Trying to make sense of what you left me
Everything that I believed in
Has been turned upside down
And now it seems the whole wide world's gone crazy
But when I feel like giving up
And I'm ready to walk away
In the stillness, I can hear
A voice inside me say
Do something
Do something
It's too late for saving face
Don't just stand there takin' up space
Why don't you do something
Do something
Do Something
It's not over
No, it's never too late
You were always on my side
Love was all we had
Now I sit and watch our life unraveling
I pick up the morning paper
All the news is bad
How did we get on this road we're traveling
But when I feel like giving up
And there's nowhere left to go
That's the time I dig down deep
The only thing I know
Do something
Do something
Don't leave it up for someone else
Don't feel sorry for yourself
Why don't you do something
Do something
It's not over
No, it's never too late
Run away
You can't run away
For your honor
For your pride
You'll sleep better
Knowin' you tried
To do something
Do something
It's too easy not to care
You're not ready for the rockin' chair
Get up and do something
Do something
Don't wait too long
Even if it's wrong
You've got to do something
Do something
It's not over
No, it's never too late
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