Are the Eagles Overrated?

[DukeX]

No, but some of the other bands you listed are.

Not really.

Or are they? What's the defining parameter again?

I think Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix are overrated.

Not really.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by DCCougar

Maybe, but you had to be there at the time. They were major.

I was there...saw them four times.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by M19

Eagles are certainly in my top 25, but not in my top 10.

Funny, but to my tastes, I think "Desperado" is their (an) iconic album, and their best. It's also likely their least popular.

Nope, that dishonor goes to “On the Border”. It was received in a lukewarm fashion by the critics and the fans.
That’s the album that caused the Eagles to abandon the country/pop thing and move toward a more mainstream and harder pop rock sound.

[reeve21]

The Eagles were my favorite band for a while when I was just getting into popular music in the early 70’s. Loved the vocals, probably because they sing every song about an octave higher than what is comfortable for me

After a couple of years I kinda moved on to bands like Poco, Little Feat, Allman Bros. and Grateful Dead, and a whole lot of jazz. I like improvisation and that is not their main thing. Joe Walsh can certainly jam but he never seemed like a good fit to me.

The Eagles have been my wife’s favorite band for over 40 years. It’s a good thing I still like (if not love) them because we listen to a whole lotta Eagles around here

I agree with Bob Womack’s comments. Their influence goes a lot deeper than counting the number of hits. Springsteen didn’t have many hits, either, and his songs get covered by everybody. I don’t think The Eagles are overrated.

[edcmat-l1]

If the Eagles were nothing more than a 1 hit wonder Hotel California plants them firmly among R&R royalty.

[GCWaters]

A band that I dearly love, their entire catalog....”Hotel California “ is a top 10 album for me...

[Acousticado]

Imo, not overrated at all. A terrific top-tier band.

[catdaddy]

At the time that the Eagles came together the burgeoning new genre of "Country Rock" was starting to catch fire. With Gram Parsons joining the Byrds for their Sweetheart of the Rodeo album getting things rolling, soon there were artists like Mike Nesmith, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco defining the new sound. Later The Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Firefall, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and others followed the trend.

For me personally, I always preferred The Burrito Brothers' and Poco's interpretation of Country Rock to what the Eagles were doing. They both seemed to hold faster to the country roots of the genre than the Eagles. Interestingly, both Bernie Leadon from the Burritos and Timothy B. Schmidt from Poco decided to jump ship and join the Eagles. Clearly Bernie and Timothy found enough musical substance and perhaps the lure of better commercial success with the Eagles to be irresistible.

I believe some of the reason for the Eagles commercial success was their outstanding musicianship, but also the fact that they gradually (from Desperado to Hotel California) incorporated more pop/rock and less and less country into their sound. Kudos to the Eagles for reading the market correctly. Although I only own one Eagles album (Desperado) and much prefer listening to my old Poco and Flying Burrito Brothers albums today, I don't think the Eagles are overrated in the slightest.

[Mandobart]

They were my favorite band back in the 70's, when I was in junior high and high school. I learned to play guitar mostly by learning their tunes, and Neil Young's. Later I got into Gram Parsons, then John Prine.

These artists, that came to be known as Americana in 1995, were to my thinking more authentic than the Eagles, who seemed to be chasing the charts more than artistic expression or connection with their listeners.

Compared to the vocals and musicianship I hear in today's Bluegrass and Americana artists (Fruition, Yonder Mountain, Milkdrive, Slocan Ramblers, etc.) I think all of the commercially successful bands from my youth are overrated.

[Nymuso]

Eagles? Over rated? Not hardly!

[slopeshoulder]

I think they are mostly responsible for putting the Country Rock genre on the radio. The early lineup of the band was it for me. When they added Felder and Walsh they changed things up a bit. Not better or worse, just different. Over rated........I think not.

[Bob Womack]

I was reading a section of Richie Furray's book, Pickin' Up the Pieces. where he talked about the fact that his band, Poco, were touring their backsides off. One day as they were traveling to the next gig, "Take it Easy" by the Eagles premiered on the RV's radio. All these Southern California country bands knew each other and traded members as they tried to get established. But when the members of Poco heard the Eagles first big hit they kind of looked at each other and said, 'Well, that's that. We'll never get that big.'

Bob

[The Watchman]

The Eagles were the point at which rock became the dominant force in "pop" music. That is, they weren't out to make innovative and musically important albums: they were there to unapoligetically make hits and sell records and concert tickets. None of that sensitive singer-songwriter stuff or the save-the-world with love crap. Just well-crafted songs played well. Big part of my teen years, but I never worshipped them. Still play many of their songs.

[edcmat-l1]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Eagles? Over rated? Not hardly!

Pure blasphemy. OP should be flogged.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by edcmat-l1

Pure blasphemy. OP should be flogged.

I never said they were overrated. I was asking the forum.
Touch a nerve, did we?