who also participated on Walsh’s live
album titled You Can’t Argue with a
Sick Mind, taken from a performance at
Wembley Stadium on Midsummer’s Day
- These collaborations helped form
the basis of the relationship between
Joe Walsh and the Eagles, and when
Bernie Leadon left the band in 1975,
Joe Walsh seemed to be the natural
choice as his successor. Walsh initially
met the Eagles when the same company
was managing them, and had been a
regular feature in the Eagles camp for
a while: ‘I met Irving Azoff during the
Barnstorm period and expressed to him
my concern that I wasn’t getting much
help from my management or the record
company, although at that point, he
was in no position to do anything about
it. He was also from the Midwest and
liked my music and my general attitude
about things, and I told Irving that I
wanted him to handle my affairs, so
he became my manager. Around that
time, I was just fed up with a solo career.
Irving met the Eagles, who were kind
of disillusioned with their management.
They also had some internal friction,
and the Eagles asked Irving to represent
them. The guys in the Eagles helped
me with So What, and I went to some
late night jams with them, when they
were working on On the Border, and just
helped out as a guitar player while they
were writing some of that. Later, Bernie
Leadon decided that he didn’t want to
be in the group anymore – they had a
kind of stereotype of “sons of the desert”;
as the sun goes down over the banana
trees and the cactus, you know, and
they secretly wanted to rock ’n’ roll a bit
more. We got together and talked about
it for quite a while and the chemistry
was really there, but they were scared to
death to replace anybody in the band,
and I was scared to death to join a band,
but it worked out.’
The choice of Joe Walsh as an
Eagles guitarist, to many people, was a
controversial one. With previous projects
such as James Gang, Barnstorm and his
rock-focused solo projects, Joe Walsh
was certainly seen heavier-leaning than
much of the material issued by the
Eagles to date. Frey, however, had been
keen to harden up the band’s sound for
a while, and as far as he was concerned,
it was a virtual no-brainer to pull in the
highly talented Walsh. Rarely has a band
found it so easy to quickly find a suitable
replacement upon the departure of a key
guitar player. Walsh’s debut appearance
with the band was in January 1976, on
the New Zealand, Australia and Japan
legs of their world tour. The live results
were stunningly good – in particular the
new guitar interplay between Felder and
Walsh. The overall verdict for anyone who
saw this part of the tour was that Walsh
was good for the band and that the band
was good for Walsh. The new line-up
had enjoyed enormous success in the live
arena, and all they had to try now was a
recorded testimony to the fact. However
that task was still a little way off.
The band was very busy living the
lifestyle of rock and roll excess, in
no uncertain terms. With the band
‘busy’ and no sight of an album in the
immediate future, a step was taken by the
label that would ensure that the EaglesWasted Time
(Henley/Frey)
A great way to end side one of the
original album, this track was more
in the vein of tracks of old by the
band. It works really well, however,
giving the album part of its balanced
feel and overall appeal.Wasted Time (Reprise)
(Henley/Frey/Jim Ed Norman)
And so starts side two, with some
great stuff from the days of vinyl
and 8-track tapes. This track features
a delicate string arrangement and is
the perfect way to open the original
second side.Victim of Love
(Felder/Souther/Henley/Frey)
Recorded as a ‘live in the studio’
track, Victim of Love (allegedly) has
no overdubs. The track was used
as the B-side to the chart-topping
New Kid in Town single, yet many
considered it to outshine the A-side
with its more up-tempo and in-your-
face sound.Pretty Maids All in a Row
(Walsh/Joe Vitale)
Joe Walsh made his vocal debut on
this track, despite many questioning
his suitability for the task. This
track, however, is quite possibly
the best of the relaxed tracks on
the album, and his distinctive vocal
sound has stood the test of time
exceptionally well. The track was
also the B-side to the Hotel California
single, and it must certainly have
generated a pile of cash for Joe
Walsh and Joe Vitale.Try and Love Again
(Meisner)
This was the first song the band
laid down in the studio during
the Hotel California sessions. With
Randy Meisner’s high vocals, it was
another track that harked back to
the days of old. Running at over five
minutes in length, this signalled a
trend the band was to continue on
many of the album tracks. Try and
Love Again has proved a popular
slow-burner that works very well as
a part of the album.The Last Resort
(Henley/Frey)
Here we have another enduring
track with Henley on vocals. The
song features great pedal steel guitar
from Don Felder, and synthesisers
from Walsh and Henley. The song is
a beautiful way to end an absolutely
classic album. The band were such
fans of this track that they also
released it as the B-side to the Life in
the Fast Lane single.