RaR31 – Take it Easy
DIRECTIONS:
Listen to the recording of the tune by clicking the attached mp3 file. This will open the recording in a new window or tab. Listen and follow along with the listening guide in the book.
Read the liner notes below.
Read the information “What to Listen For”
Respond to the Rate-A-Record/Questions by clicking on the assignment link and then click on on the button “Write Submission” (to the right of Text Submission) to record your response. Do not use the comments field.
Take it Easy by The Eagles
The Eagles were not just one of most successful rock acts of 1970s but one of the highest grossing bands of all times. Their record sales are topped only by those of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and their 1976 greatest hits compilation (Greatest Hits 1971-75) has sold 25 million copies to date, placing it in competition with Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the best-selling album of all times.
In the 1960s Los Angeles became the center of a pop music scene that was grounded in folk rock, the fusion of Dylanesque folk songwriting and the rock eclecticism of the Beatles. Many groups began exploring country music as well, a natural by-product of a flourishing and stylistically diverse scene in nearby Bakersfield. The small and somewhat insular group of musicians that explored this fusion of country, folk, and rock came to be known as the “Avocado” mafia.
Though all of the Eagles were part of the “mafia” by 1970, none was a California native. They had all come to Los Angeles with their hometown rock bands with hopes of being discovered and signed to a major label. Don Henley came closest—his group Shiloh released an album on the local Amos label—but all remained in LA after their groups dissolved, and they became part of the local scene.
Bassist Randy Meisner played with a number of bands before founding the group Poco; he left to join the Stone Canyon Band, which backed former teen idol rocker Ricky Nelson. In Poco he met Bernie Leadon, who had also played with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Glenn Frey partnered for a few years with the country-folk songwriter J. D. Souther and toured with Souther’s girlfriend Linda Rondstadt. There he met Henley; the two were just discovering their similar musical interests when Meisner and Leadon were hired to fill out the band for a gig at Disneyland. The four musicians formed the Eagles at the end of the tour.
Though all were saturated with country and folk influences they also drew from rockabilly, surf music, and the San Francisco sound to create a popular rock style that appealed to the American mainstream. After four albums Leadon quit and was replaced by Joe Walsh, who brought a harder-edged sound to the band.
The Eagles broke up in 1982. When asked about the possibility of a band reunion the various members pledged to do so “when hell freezes over.” The band did reform in 1994 and called their first new album called, naturally, Hell Freezes Over.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Amazing vocals – great lead singing with awesome, thick background vocals
Use of banjo
Heavy emphasis on acoustic guitar sounds
A great chorus that everyone loves!
No guitar solo
Top-notch lyrics and writing. Telling a story!
At 2:50 – an amazing stop-time solo break to set up new section of the tune
RATE-A-RECORD/QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
Why was music like this such a great thing for everyone who couldn’t get with the progressive rock movement and all of the other “harder” rock of the times? How does the country music influence create a major effect on the success of this music?
Give it a rating: 0 = Bad, 100 = Awesome. Defend your number.
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APA
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