When it comes to releasing mega-selling albums, few can outgun country-rock titans the Eagles. Sales of their ‘Greatest Hits (1971-1975)' package and 1976’s 'Hotel California' read like population figures for medium sized countries, while their current History Of The Eagles tour will take in four nights at London’s O2 Arena next week.
But, how did a largely faceless, consistently unfashionable and often derided group ride a wave of criticism to achieve such overwhelming success? First of all, calling the biggest-selling American band of the ‘70s 'faceless' needs clarifying, especially when their achievements include shifting over 150 million records worldwide, winning six Grammy awards and having six number one albums over the course of a remarkable 43-year career. My point is that, although an undoubted superstar act with an instantly recognisable moniker, plenty of music fans would struggle to name or identify the group’s members.
Of course, this is partly down to the fact that they dispensed with the idea of a bona fide frontman, with each Eagle singing lead vocals on an alternating basis. It also doesn't help that the lion's share of the crooning is done by drummer Don Henley. Although his rasp is a rich, distinctive thing of honey-soaked beauty, imagine the Rolling Stones with Mick Jagger tub thumping away out of view, and that contextualises its strangeness.
Furthermore, one Rolling Stone writer once accused the group of “loitering on stage” during their live shows, and it's true none of them possess the archetypal rock star charisma, stage presence or over-the-top showmanship necessary to be the public face of the band. In the world of rock ‘n' roll, this only makes the Eagles phenomenon all the more extraordinary.
Rewind to 1972 and the musical landscape was very different, with radio the unchallenged king when it came to breaking bands. The Eagles’ debut arrived and instantly fitted those airwaves like a sublimely tailored glove, capturing hearts the world over with super-accessible, free-wheeling anthems laced with a broad sonic and lyrical appeal.
Their songs were never going to have a genre specific audience like heavy metal or punk, and even when venturing into tougher territory on the likes of the hard groovin' Life In The Fast Lane, they still didn't offend the eardrums. It caused many to dismiss the Eagles as bland easy listening, but that underestimates their talent and ability to move people.
Without exaggeration, few acts can match their magical harmonies, as evidenced on the breezy Peaceful Easy Feeling, the sweet sorrow of New Kid In Town and romantic melancholy of Lyin' Eyes. When the voices of Henley, bassist Randy Meisner – and later Timothy B. Schmidt - and guitarists Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder or Bernie Leadon intertwine, they seemingly tap into the universal frequency of the soul.
They aren't short on musical chops either, with the closing solos on the epic, reggae-tinged fever dream of Hotel California featuring a sizzling guitar duel betwixt Felder and Walsh that is simply one of the greatest six string passages of all time.
The Eagles took those abilities and married them to strong, emotionally resonant material, exploring timeless facets of the human condition in a soulful, personal way. By chronicling the burn of love, loss and betrayal, alongside romantic nostalgia, sadness for the passing of time and a yearning for peace, solitude and happiness, they forged a popularity that's spanned decades.
But, like all hugely successful acts, what made them loved also made them hated, with detractors claiming they diluted the authenticity of country music with their corny themes and contrived slickness. The band's Rolling Stone biography sums this up: “No other band did as much to translate the explosively creative, politicised rock of the 1960s into the massively popular, de-politicized rock of the 1970s as the Eagles.”
It's a view that was shared by some of their peers, with revered former Byrds man Gram Parsons publicly deriding the pop-rock sheen they brought to country music, describing them as a "plastic dry-fuck”. Even though Parsons influenced the Eagles, he felt they were safe, sentimental and lifeless, as opposed to being socially and politically meaningful.
Although he died in 1973 and never saw the band’s evolution - including Henley taking up a number of causes during his solo career and the group going on to develop more of a social conscience - Parsons’ early critique did possess an element of truth.
The band's self titled debut hardly broke new ground, with songs like Take It Easy, Nightingale and Chug All Night typifying the devil-may-care attitude and old fashioned values that fuelled their mass appeal. Likewise, their sophomore effort, 'Desperado', a pseudo-concept album based around fictional tales of outlaws, had more in common with John Ford's gun-slinging westerns than the reality of the world around them.
Whenever an artist finds a large audience, though, there's usually an expansive reach to their songs that comes from them being easy on the ear canals. That watered down aesthetic may have been partially responsible for the distaste towards the Eagles, but what snobs fail to realise is that commercialism, and an outward lack of experimentation, don't always denote a meaningless form of expression.
Critics undervalue the need people had for the Eagles in the ‘70s, because while activism and protest worked for some, others just wanted good old fashioned escapism. The socio-political climate they emerged in shaped the band’s fortune as much as any note they ever played.
Towards the tail end of the ‘60s, and throughout the ‘70s, the American dream was on the ropes, pummelled to within an inch of its life by high profile assassinations, the fallout from the Vietnam war, Watergate and the deaths of icons like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.
Such dissatisfaction and upheaval wasn't a uniquely American phenomenon either, and the Eagles’ soothing style tapped into a growing need for respite, temporarily washing away the stains of turmoil by focusing on the familiar and the intimate, reflecting and easing pain and despair with bruised, but not defeated, optimism.
The impact of such sensibilities can't be underestimated, as it earned the band a special place in their fans’ hearts that exists to this day. In 2013’s History Of The Eagles documentary, Frey claims he was told that people didn't just listen to the Eagles, they did things to them: road trips, breaking up with girlfriends, quitting jobs and changing their lives.
Even after they split in 1980 - before reforming in 1994 - they remained a constant companion as classic rock began to dominate radio station playlists. Their music transcended its origins, as well as boundaries of race, nationality and the generation gap, to become an ongoing soundtrack at crucial points in their fans’ lives.
That deep rooted connection even allowed the group to overcome the storm of Felder’s acrimonious sacking in 2001. It was an unpopular decision that clearly robbed the group of one of their major strengths, while the public mud-slinging that followed revealed an ugly glimpse of troubled waters beneath the smooth surface. But, their followers largely looked beyond such unpleasantness due to the importance of the band’s music and what it continues to symbolise.
As they've grown older and faced ongoing challenges, those fans have clung onto the Eagles like a well worn security blanket. From that point of view, their work is more honest and humane than the critics ever realised, rendering their colossal popularity much less of a mystery. Regardless of their flaws, few bands will ever connect with people in the way the Eagles have done.
Eagles Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon June 16 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Wed June 18 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Fri June 20 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sat June 21 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Mon June 23 2014 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Wed June 25 2014 - MANCHESTER Phones 4u Arena
Thu June 26 2014 - LIVERPOOL Echo Arena
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