On the Border
The Eagles' third studio album, the 1974 release ON THE BORDER, was
meant in many ways to rectify the unjustified commercial failure of
DESPERADO, and give this band a harder edge than before. To this end,
they ousted Glyn Johns as their producer after just two tracks were
recorded, bought in Bill Szymczyk to replace him, and added Don Felder
on lead guitar.
But ON THE BORDER is the best of both worlds--yes, the
band gained a harder edge but it also retained some of the more country
elements of before. "Midnight Flyer" is an impressive bluegrass-style
breakdown with Bernie Leadon zipping away on banjo; and Leadon's "My
Man", a tribute to the departed Gram Parsons, features his handy steel
guitar work. A lot of great cuts are to be had here. Ironically, one
of the two songs Glyn Johns produced, "The Best Of My Love", would
become the group's first #1 hit in early 1975; and in yet another ironic
twist, they would hit #1 with this single just two weeks after their
former employer Linda Ronstadt got her #1 single "You're No Good."I admit to being a very devout Eagles/Linda Ronstadt fan, being as I am from the Los Angeles area. But they remain the standard by which many rock and country acts are measured. And as long as there are faux "boy bands" like 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, there will always be a need for the Eagles.
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