Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXXX--Eagles: Take It Easy

 Only four days late this week--getting there!

To the best of my recollection, my introduction to this week's featured tune was probably classic rock radio.  I certainly hadn't begun my musical journey when it was originally released, though if you'd asked me before I did my half-assed research for this week, I would have thought it was released a few years later than it actually was.  Funny how time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin', into the future....

I wrote about the Eagles in Vol. CCXXIX, and since then only a couple of new notes.  First, sadly, original member Randy Meisner passed away in 2023, leaving only Don Henley and Bernie Leadon as surviving original members.  Second, in September of 2023 the band announced it was beginning its final tour, entitled the Long Goodbye Tour.  It's still ongoing, so at least they got the "long" part of it correct....

"Take It Easy" was the very first single ever released by the Eagles, from their very first album, the ever so inventively entitled 1972 release Eagles.  The song would peak at #12 (with a bullet!)  on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would climb to #22 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  As has happened a time or two before here on Friday Night Jukebox, I can play this week's tune on my guitar, all by my lonesome.  And, if I do say so myself, it doesn't sound half bad (which can also mean that it doesn't sound half good, either....).

The songwriting for "Take It Easy" was begun by Jackson Browne and later finished by Glenn Frey (the Wikipedia entry cited above has a nice overview of how the song--and some of its parts, especially Winslow, Arizona--came to be).  It's been said that the two had differing views on life (Browne serious, Frey fun) and that the juxtaposition of the two makes the song what it is.  What it is, is a story of a man trying not to let the craziness of life bring him down and just learn how to, uh, take it easy.  The rather well-done lyrics are both a snapshot of life in the early seventies and a nod to the redemption that love can bring to us.  Frey's vocals are a clarion call, Leadon's guitar work is a rumble down the highway, and the band's signature harmonies were most certainly begun here.  A tremendous debut by a tremendous band--and even fifty-three years down the road, as relevant and life affirming as ever.

Lyric Sheet:  "Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona/And such a fine sight to see/It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford/Slowin' down to take a look at me..."

Enjoy:  

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXIII--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Don't Come Around Here No More

 Once again, a week late.  Ah, well....

When this week's featured tune first was released, it was quite a departure from the usual Tom Petty fare and wasn't well received by many.  I was not among them--I thought Petty had walked the fine line between releasing a song that was different (Petty has mentioned this was a goal of the sessions), but still captured the vibe that was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Time has proven those of us who heard its brilliance early on to be correct--it is widely considered to be one of his best tunes....

I wrote about Tom Petty in Vol. CLXIII, and much like Bruce Springsteen a couple of weeks ago, find it hard to believe this is only the second song of his that I've written about as he is truly one of my musical icons.  As with Springsteen, I'm sure there will be a lot of catching up in the years to come.  As for the bio, been there, done that and since his passing in 2017, not much new to add.

"Don't Come Around Here No More" was the first single released from Petty's excellent 1985 release, Southern Accents.  The single peaked at #13 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #7 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Petty co-wrote the song with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.  Stewart actually started the song after spending the night (platonically) at Stevie Nicks' home.  In the wee hours, her former flame, Joe Walsh of Eagles fame, came looking for her and as Nicks booted him from her home, she reportedly told him, "Don't come around here no more."  Stewart came up with a chorus from it, and Petty wrote the rest.

One need only to listen to the opening sitar to know that Petty and the Heartbreakers (though Stewart played the sitar) are going to take us on a very different musical journey with this week's tune.  Petty's trademark scowl marks his foray through the vocals, and the Heartbreakers (if ever there was an underrated backing band...) perform with their usual aplomb, complimenting Petty's scowl with a rousing "Hey!" in their backing vocals and kicking ass and taking names later with their instrumentation.  The song's closing--with Mike Campbell playing a jangly guitar to end all jangly guitars--is just this side of the Eagles "Hotel California" in wondrous glory, and the song captures all the pain and anger in telling a one-time flame to stay the fuck away.  A veritable masterpiece.

Lyric Sheet:  "I don't feel you anymore/You darken my door/Whatever you're looking for/Hey! Don't come around here no more..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emayce

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCVI: Joe Walsh: Life's Been Good

As regular readers (both of you) may recall, I've noted a time or two here on Friday Night Jukebox that sometimes songs are just fun--and this week's tune certainly fits that bill.  What make it extraordinary, though, is that it's a peek inside what fame is like...but with a rather humorous--and humble--take on it.

For a man with his career resume, Joe Walsh's life work surprisingly comes across mostly as workmanlike--which for an artist who had a minor hit with a song called "Ordinary Average Guy" (and it was autobiographical to boot) is probably perfect.  Walsh is obviously best known for being in the Eagles since 1975, but had several hits with the James Gang prior to joining and has had a few solo hits since becoming an Eagle.  He is widely regarded as one of the best guitarists to ever pick up an ax, and in 1998 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his fellow Eagles.  For his solo career, Walsh has released 10 studio albums (four of which hit the top twenty, with one of those hitting #8), one live album, and five compilations.  He's also released 21 singles, four of which have hit the top forty.  Like many a rock star before him, Walsh has had substance abuse issues, but cleaned up in 1993 and has been an advocate for clean living ever since.  Sadly, Walsh lost his three year old daughter Emma in an auto accident in 1974.

Fun Fact:  For those of you who, like myself, at one point in your life had a crush on Stevie Nicks, she has noted that Walsh was the one true love she ever had (so if you, too, can become a drug addled rock guitarist, you might have a chance to date Ms. Nicks).  Unfortunately, their addictions to cocaine drove them apart as Walsh feared they'd both die if he didn't make a break from Fleetwood Mac's reigning queen.

"Life's Been Good" was released as a single in 1978 from Walsh's wonderfully titled LP But Seriously, Folks....  It would become the highest charting single of his career, reaching #12 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was his highest charting solo studio LP, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200.

Backed by a reggae like groove, "Life's Been Good" offers up a series of vignettes that playfully paint a picture of "fortune and fame."  Walsh has noted that all of the stories offered up were true (e.g., he did own a Maserati and he literally lost his license so he couldn't drive) which serves to humanize not only Walsh but also the reluctant rock star.  The full length version (a four minute radio friendly version became the hit single) features some fine instrumentation and lets Walsh showcase his guitar chops a bit.  Walsh has a self-deprecating wit (my favorite kind of wit), but isn't afraid to let us know that (as one might guess) rock stars have a bit of an ego, too--at one point Walsh calls out "Everybody say I'm cool" and the backing vocalists sing out "He's cool!"  This one isn't going to change the world--it's a gentle reminder that not only are our lives humorous, but that they're also not nearly as important as we sometimes make them out to be.

Lyric Sheet:  "Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through/(Everybody say I'm cool)(He's cool)/I can't complain but sometimes I still do/Life's been good to me so far..."

Enjoy:

194,000+ Dead Americans

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXIX--Eagles: Hotel California

I had a hard time coming up with an intro for this week's tune--at first, I thought about noting that I'm 229 songs into Friday Night Jukebox and this is the first Eagles song I've featured even though I've been a fan of theirs since a year or two after I fell in love with rock and roll (and could probably find at least a dozen songs from them that would make a nice post).  I also thought about how some songs--and I was reminded of Bob Seger's "Night Moves," probably because the two songs were released within a year or so of each other--musically, instrumentally, vocally, and lyrically come as close to perfection as one could hope for in a pop song.  And I thought about mentioning that this week's tune would probably make my all-time top ten.

So I just went with all three.

As with a number of other bands featured here on FNJ, it's a bit hard to fit the Eagles storied career into a synopsis of a paragraph.  They formed in 1971 when Glenn Frey and Don Henley met and were kinda/sorta part of Linda Ronstadt's backing band, and were eventually joined by Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner (Leadon and Meisner would eventually depart, Don Felder would join the band as a fifth member and Joe Walsh replaced Leadon) .  The band had a hit album right off the bat, followed it with somewhat of a dud, and then went stratospheric, with their next album cracking the top twenty, and their final four studio LPs reaching #1.  The band had a hell of a heyday from 71-80, but success and familiarity eventually bred contempt and they went through an ugly breakup.  Against all odds (Henley at one time had said the band would get back together when hell froze over), the band reunited in 1994 for arguably the most successful reunion ever and has been together ever since.  The Eagles have sold over 100 million records (all the more impressive when you realize they've only released seven albums in their history), have the number one and the number three best selling albums of all-time, had seven #1 albums and five #1 singles on the Billboard charts, have won six Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.  Sadly, original member Glenn Frey passed away in 2016 due to a number of health issues, but the band continues apace and is still touring.

Fun Fact:  In 1999, the Eagles were honored by the Recording Industry Association of America for having the best selling album (Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1975) of the century.  Really kind of makes those weekly best selling music lists pale in comparison....

"Hotel California" was released in 1977 on the oh-so-aptly titled LP, Hotel California.  The single would reach #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and win a Grammy Award for Record of the Year (Single).  The album would eventually become the third best selling album of all-time.

To be perfectly honest, I could write a recap paragraph of "Hotel California" based just on the over two minute guitar solo that closes the song (at six and a half minutes, "Hotel California" is a bit longer than your average number one single).  The guitar play between Don Felder (who wrote the music) and Joe Walsh is, in my humble opinion, the greatest guitar solo in the history of rock and roll, and fulfills what Jimi Hendrix once claimed about rock and roll:  that it was about the filling the holes in the elbows and the knees.  Throw in the foreboding lyrics (idea from Glenn Frey, actual words by Don Henley), Henley's knowing vocals, its theme of a journey from innocence to experience (Henley's take on the song), and its melody that has been described as "Mexican Reggae" and you have a glorious journey into the heart of American decadence.  In the end, it is a masterpiece of American rock and roll, and a stunning representation of the boundaries of pop music being pushed to their absolute edges.

Lyric Sheet:  "And still those voices are calling from far away/Wake you up in the middle of the night/Just to hear them say...Welcome to the Hotel California..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee