In the 1970s in the United States, in many ways, rock and roll music was the Eagles. The group, which featured icons like Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Don Felder, created songs that still ring out today on classic rock stations. But the one thing you can always count on when it comes to the act of creating art is that some will say they don’t like it.
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Despite this, it would seem there are at least some tracks from the Hall of Fame band that will serve to entice and entertain even the most ardent of haters. Here below, we collected three of those songs for people who say they don’t like the Los Angeles-born group, the Eagles.
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“Hotel California”
As eerie and spooky as it is beautiful, this song is as much a warning as it is a work of art. Released on the band’s 1977 album of the same name, this is perhaps the band’s best known song and it continues to receive airplay on classic rock radio stations today. Turn on the dial right now and you’ll likely find it playing. The Eagles know well the allure, drama, excitement, and danger that can come from the City of Angels. That’s what this song is all about and it’s wrapped in a package that you can’t help but sing along with. On the track, Henley,
On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
Head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
“This could be heaven or this could be hell”
Then she lit up a candle
She showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
Thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), such a lovely face
There’s plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year), oh, you can find it here
“Take It Easy”
This track was the band’s debut single way back in 1972. The song, which also marked their first to hit the Billboard Hot 100 (clocking in at No. 12), is also the opening on the band’s self-titled debut LP. Written by Frey and Jackson Browne, the offering, as the title suggests, is about not succumbing to the chaos of life and love, which is a lesson we all can learn and relearn from time to time. On it, Frey sings,
Well, I’m running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load
I’ve got seven women on my mind
Four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me
One says she’s a friend of mine
Take It easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy
“Desperado”
Written by Frey and Henley, this song was released on the 1973 album of the same name. The track, which opens with a heart-wrenching piano riff, was made famous in the 1990s thanks to its part in an episode of the hit TV show Seinfeld. But that aside, the tune describes a cowboy-type figure, who, the song says, should slow down to let somebody love him. It’s part-ode, part-short story and all melodic heartbeat. On the beautiful song, Henley sings,
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)
Let somebody love you before it’s too late
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