Episode 6
Scot and Jeff talk to James Poulos about The Eagles.
Introducing the Band
Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest James Poulos, author of The Art Of Being Free: How Tocqueville Can Save Us From Ourselves, contributor at American Affairs, and lead singer/songwriter for Vast Asteroid. Follow James on Twitter at @jamespoulos and buy his book on Amazon here.
James’s Musical Pick: The Eagles
How did James get into them? James discusses the Eagles’ consummate craftsmanship and demands that they be given their due. James identifies personally with the Eagles mythos as one who followed in the footsteps of Glenn Frey as a Detroit boy-gone-Los-Angeles, and suggests they are better understood as a nonpareil singles act rather than as the AOR band they normally get labeled as. James also goes on to praise the spaciousness of their instrumental mix–so unlike the wall of sound of today’s modern dad-rock acts–and the concise nature of their songs. Jeff resolutely declares his Dude-like opposition to the Eagles, citing them as emblematic of the decay of the eclecticism of ’60s SoCal rock scene into the ’70s “El Lay” scene…while admitting that he does like several of their songs anyway.
(N.B. The terrible country-rock supergroup whose name Jeff can’t remember is Stephen Stills’ godawful ‘Manassas.’)
KEY SONGS: “Doolin’ Dalton” (Desperado, 1973); “The Best Of My Love” (On The Border, 1974)
The Early Country-Rock Years
Jeff thinks this might be the best era of the Eagles, but then you might not want to trust him as an avowed non-fan. Eagles (1972) comes in for qualified praise: Jeff can’t stand “Peaceful Easy Feeling” but likes most everything else, saluting its democratic approach to writing credits and the variety that results from that. Scot thinks the Gene Clark co-write “Train Leaves Here This Morning” may be the best song the record.
Jeff thinks the cover of Desperado (1973) is (inadvertently) one of the funniest damn relics of the entire Los Angeles soft/country-rock era (Bernie Leadon awkwardly cradling that shotgun is a particular delight), and thinks its title track’s sole value is as a punchline in a classic Seinfeld episode. Scot can never hear it again without the skip that was on his parents’ original vinyl version.
KEY SONGS: “Take It Easy” (Eagles, 1972); “Train Leaves Here This Morning” (Eagles, 1972); “Witchy Woman” (Eagles, 1972); “Peaceful Easy Feeling” (Eagles, 1972); “Desperado (Seinfeld version)” (Desperado, 1973); “ Published on 8 years, 2 months ago
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