The problem with assembling an Eagles collection in 2003 is that there already is a perfect Eagles collection: 1976's Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975). Although it spanned a mere ten songs and summarized only the first five years and four albums of their career, it pulled off a nifty trick by making the albums it summarized -- and by extension, the band -- seem better than they actually were. By concentrating on big hits and substituting album track "Desperado" for "Outlaw Man," a single that didn't receive much chart action, the collection captured the band's peak, making a convincing case for the band's strengths while providing a compulsively enjoyable listen. Of course, the Eagles continued to have hits after the 1976 release of Their Greatest Hits, scoring the biggest proper album of their career that very year with Hotel California. After that, egos and infighting hampered the band, leading to just one more album in 1979's The Long Run before a disbandment in 1982, which was followed 12 years later by a reunion, charmingly dubbed Hell Freezes Over, since most pundits predicted that's when the band would reunite. This isn't much new ground to cover for a compilation, as the spotty 1982 The Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 illustrated, but even with a box set like 2000's Selected Works, there was room for a collection that contained all their big hits on one or two discs: hence the birth of Warner Strategic Marketing's 2003 double-disc Eagles collection, The Very Best Of.
There's little question that The Very Best Of does its job well, containing nearly all of the group's charting singles -- including the non-LP seasonal tune "Please Come Home for Christmas" and omitting the purposely ignored "Outlaw Man" along with a couple of reunion-era singles that didn't make much impact -- and filling out the margins with album rock staples such as "Doolin-Dalton," "Ol' 55," "Victim of Love," "In the City," and "Those Shoes." It's a good collection, eliminating the need to own actual Eagles albums by containing all the key songs from each effort, including the highlights from Hell Freezes Over. If there are quibbles, the biggest is that the first disc isn't nearly as compulsively listenable as Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which covers the same ground, with the second being that after Hotel California the collection runs out of steam a little bit, as the Eagles sound more like a collective of solo performers instead of a band -- but that's the run of their career, too. In any case, The Very Best Of is an excellent way to get all the Eagles' songs that matter on one collection. [The Very Best Of was also released as a limited-edition three-disc set with the third disc being a bonus DVD containing the video for the new song "Hole in the World," as well as a making of the video featurette and "Backstage Pass to Farewell 1."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Vanessa Atkins (Project Assistant), Ken Villeneuve (Engineer), Bill Szymczyk (Mastering Supervisor), Don Felder (Slide Guitar), Jeri Heiden (Design), Glenn Frey (Keyboards), Jay Oliver (Horn Arrangements), Bill Szymczyk (Producer), Ginger Dettman (Project Assistant), Bernie Leadon (Vocals), Ryan Corey (Design), Malia Doss (Project Assistant), David Crowther (Assistant Engineer), Cameron Crowe (Liner Notes), Bob Stringer (Assistant Engineer), Timothy B. Schmit (Bass), Bill Szymczyk (Remixing), Eagles (Producer), Cory Frye (Editorial Supervision), Scott Pascucci (Project Assistant), Eagles (String Arrangements), Steven Chean (Project Assistant), Anna Loynes (Project Assistant), Michael Braunstein (Engineer), Jay Oliver (Keyboards), Elliot Scheiner (Producer), Kate Dear (Project Assistant), Bernie Leadon (Guitar), Glenn Frey (Slide Guitar), Kelly Kotera (Engineer), Biff Dawes (Engineer), Glyn Johns (Producer), Randy Edwards (Video Director), Randy Meisner (Vocals), Bruce Hensal (Engineer), Scott Crago (Percussion), Randy Meisner (Guitar), Jeri Heiden (Art Direction), Don Wood (Engineer), Randy Thompson (Project Assistant), Randy Meisner (Bass), Henry Diltz (Photography), David McLees (Project Coordinator), Timothy B. Schmit (Vocals), Ryan Raitt (Video Editor), Don Henley (Vocals), Bernie Leadon (Banjo), Bill Inglot (Project Assistant), James Minchin (Photography), Bill Szymczyk (Engineer), Mike Harlow (Engineer), Tim Scanlin (Project Assistant), Steuart Smith (Guitar (Electric)), Bill Szymczyk (Mixing), Eagles (Compilation Producer), Joe Walsh (Slide Guitar), John Heiden (Project Assistant), Bernie Leadon (Slide Guitar), Elliot Scheiner (Engineer), Jay Oliver (String Arrangements), Phil MacConnell (Assistant Engineer), Mark McKenna (Project Assistant), April Milek (Project Assistant), Karen LeBlanc (Project Assistant), Charlie Bouis (Engineer), James Raitt (Graphic Design), Don Davis (Horn Arrangements), Jay Parti (Assistant Engineer), David Sanborn (Sax (Alto)), Gary Ladinsky (Assistant Engineer), Don Henley (Drums), Glenn Frey (Vocals), Rob Jacobs (Producer), Glenn Frey (Guitar), Hugh Brown (Art Direction), Bernie Leadon (Pedal Steel), Joe Walsh (Vocals), Eagles (Horn Arrangements), Dorothy Stefanski (Project Assistant), Norman Seeff (Photography), Billy Youdelman (Engineer), Jim Shea (Photography), John Halpern (Photography), Randy Edwards (Video Editor), Don Felder (Guitar (Steel)), Bernie Leadon (Mandolin), Kevin Gore (Project Assistant), Joanne Jaworowski (Project Assistant), Jim Ed Norman (Piano), Scott Crago (Drums), Andy Grassi (Engineer), Jimmy Paterson (Assistant Engineer), Mark Curry (Assistant Engineer), Bob Winder (Assistant Engineer), Alan Fletcher (Project Assistant), Ed Mashal (Engineer), Allan Blazek (Engineer), James Meyers (Photography Director), Elliot Scheiner (Mixing), Joe Walsh (Guitar), Gary Peterson (Discographical Annotation), John Beug (Supervisor), Andy Ackland (Engineer), Tom Winslow (Engineer), Jim Ed Norman (String Arrangements), Tom Trafalski (Engineer), Willie Hollis (Piano), Glyn Johns (Engineer), Don Davis (String Arrangements), Ted Jensen (Digital Mastering), Julee Stover (Project Assistant), Don Felder (Vocals), Roger Ressmeyer (Photography), Allan Blazek (Assistant Engineer), Carl Glanville (Engineer), Michael Verdick (Engineer), Sid Sharp (Concert Master), Steve Woolard (Discographical Annotation), Manny Merchan (Video Editor), Dennis Mays (Assistant Engineer), Joe Walsh (Keyboards), Don Felder (Keyboards), Irene Fukunaga (Project Assistant), William Bullen (Video Editor), Steve Churchyard (Engineer), Richard Anthony Davis (Engineer), Don Felder (Guitar), Buddy Thornton (Engineer), Martyn Atkins (Video Director), Howard Woofinden (Video Producer), Randy Meisner (Guitarron), Don Henley (Percussion)
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