Long Road Out of Eden (2014)

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. "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.

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 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?

• 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.
• 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.