Long Road Out of Eden (2014)

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Lore & Background

The Long Run was the Eagles' sixth studio album, released in 1979 by Asylum Records in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was the first Eagles album to feature bassist Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced founding member Randy Meisner. This was the band's final studio album for Asylum Records. It also turned out to be their last studio album during their original tenure, as the Eagles disbanded in 1980. The Eagles did not release another studio album until 2007's Long Road Out of Eden. Three singles were released from The Long Run: "Heartache Tonight", "The Long Run", and "I Can't Tell You Why". "Heartache Tonight" reached No. 1 on the singles chart and won a Grammy Award. The album was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA and has sold more than eight million copies in the US. The album was originally intended to be a double album, but because the band could not come up with enough songs, the idea was scrapped. Recording started in 1978 and took 18 months in five different studios before release in September 1979. According to Don Henley, the band members were "completely burned out" and "physically, emotionally, spiritually and creatively exhausted" from a long tour when they started recording.

In Their Own Story

Randy Meisner decided to leave the Eagles after an argument in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the Hotel California Tour in June 1977. He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who brought an unfinished song to the band, "I Can't Tell You Why". Schmit wrote the song based loosely on his own experiences; both Henley and Frey liked the song and they completed it together. Joe Walsh contributed the song "In the City", which was first recorded by Walsh for the movie soundtrack for The Warriors, where it was credited only to Walsh, not the Eagles. Don Felder wrote the tune for "The Disco Strangler" using a four-on-the-floor disco beat as the basis for the composition. Henley wrote the lyrics, intending the song to be an antidote to disco as both he and the rest of the band disliked disco, which was the most popular musical genre at the time. The song "The Sad Cafe" was inspired by the Troubadour nightclub in Hollywood where the Eagles once played, and also by Dan Tana's restaurant that they frequented, while "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" was written as an homage to Sixties "frat rock" such as the song "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians. The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk, although the Eagles were listed as co-producers.

Reader's Guide

When released in September 1979, The Long Run debuted at number two on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and a week later hit number one. It stood for nine weeks in the number one slot. The Long Run was first certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 1, 1980, and reached 7× Platinum status on March 20, 2001. It has sold more than eight million copies in the US. The album generated three Top 10 singles: "Heartache Tonight" (No. 1), "The Long Run" (No. 8), and "I Can't Tell You Why" (No. 8). The band won a Grammy Award for "Heartache Tonight". The album reached number 1 in Japan in 1979. The original vinyl record pressings of The Long Run (Elektra/Asylum catalog no. 5E-508) had text engraved in the run-out groove of each side, continuing an in-joke trend the band had started with their 1975 album One of These Nights: Side one: "Never let your monster lay down"; Side two: "From the Polack who sailed north" (may be a reference to the producer Bill Szymczyk).

Did You Know?

• The Long Run was originally intended to be a double album, but the band could not come up with enough songs, so the idea was scrapped.
• Randy Meisner left the Eagles after an argument in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the Hotel California Tour in June 1977, and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit.
• The song "In the City" was first recorded by Joe Walsh for the movie soundtrack for The Warriors, where it was credited only to Walsh, not the Eagles.
• The original vinyl pressings had text engraved in the run-out groove: Side one said "Never let your monster lay down" and Side two said "From the Polack who sailed north".
• Don Henley said the title track was in part a response to press articles that said the Eagles were "passé" as disco was then dominant and punk emerging.