While Gene Clark's solo work is where it really started for me, especially his collaboration with Banjo player, Doug Dillard in Dillard and Clark as it was the first instance of a prominent young rocker embracing country music. Then it was Richie Furay with his new outfit, Poco who set about creating an effective template for the burgeoning genre with angelic four part harmonies, multiple lead singers and instrumentalists; it involved a folk pop vocal style overlaying a track with a 50s Rock n Roll intensity, avoiding contemporary forms of rock such as heavy rock or psychedelia. This winning formula reflected the trends of the 70s such as the 50s nostalgia of the decade and the focus on the plight of the individual that was at the core of country and blues.
Most commercial success for country rock before the Eagles and Poco came from folk rock institution the Byrds, Mr Spaceman with it's clear country flat picking, twangy solo was merged with psychedelic subject matter and phasing peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1966; even if country and rock were still an alien concept at this point.
Most commercial success for country rock before the Eagles and Poco came from folk rock institution the Byrds, Mr Spaceman with it's clear country flat picking, twangy solo was merged with psychedelic subject matter and phasing peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1966; even if country and rock were still an alien concept at this point.
The progressive elements of folk music, instrumental in delivering ideas at the forefront of social change pretty much due to it's roots in Europe, meant country music with it's established values and conservatism and more American roots failed to catch on with the boundary pushing rock n roll crowd until the inherent burnout of the 60s and the resulting tumult. The Byrds were trendy in the 60s and may have tried may country configurations, their commercial successes were firmly located in the folk/psychedelia vein such as My Back Pages, revealing where commercial tastes leaned in the 60s. This was also compounded by Gene Clark's country rock endeavours which didn't make a splash commercially either, while the Buffalo Springfield had delved into occasional country sounds but failed to fully take on that mantle. Country was still the antithesis to commercial rock success during the 1960s though the tide would shortly be shifting just a few years later.
As the new decade began countrified rock had it's first related hit with the jangly, mandolin driven Mr Bojangles reaching no 9 on the Billboard hot 100; a cover by the pop, psychedelic jugband known as the Nitty Gritty Dirt band from their 1970 masterpiece double album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy. Mr Bojangles was far more Olde English swing-around-the-maypole folk then country, though it contained enough downhome vocals to be part of the new genre particularly with it's loose restrained beat and cascading acoustics mixing with pop harmonies. While the rest of the album was dominated by arrangements coloured with plenty of bluegrass playing, particularly violin. In 1970, Michael Nesmith's First National band had a hit with "Joanne", having received a lot of radio play, it got to No. 21 on the Billboard Singles Chart.
As the new decade began countrified rock had it's first related hit with the jangly, mandolin driven Mr Bojangles reaching no 9 on the Billboard hot 100; a cover by the pop, psychedelic jugband known as the Nitty Gritty Dirt band from their 1970 masterpiece double album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy. Mr Bojangles was far more Olde English swing-around-the-maypole folk then country, though it contained enough downhome vocals to be part of the new genre particularly with it's loose restrained beat and cascading acoustics mixing with pop harmonies. While the rest of the album was dominated by arrangements coloured with plenty of bluegrass playing, particularly violin. In 1970, Michael Nesmith's First National band had a hit with "Joanne", having received a lot of radio play, it got to No. 21 on the Billboard Singles Chart.
No surprise Joanne was a toned down, open country strum set to a gentle pace if not bearing any harmonies it did importantly not bear the psychedelic elements the band were known for. Stripping away the dated 60s 'trippy' vibe was indicative; no more Mr Spaceman, the acid drenched guitars and colourful nudie clothing would hold back country rock pioneers the Flying Burrito Bros too. The First National Band wouldn't last collapsing after two albums, with a third on the way in 1971, proving with Poco's failure to break into the top 40 charts that even as late as 1971 this genre still hadn't quite bloomed despite having been around three years by now.
The stage was set for a band with a stable core and strong stylistic foundation to set the genre alight, it would require a group that could rely on a central songwriting talent like the distinctive singers/guitarist partnerships of classic British bands. While early country rockers Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen had a hit in 1971 with a cover rather than their own material; recording the most successful version of "Hot Rod Lincoln,". Commander Cody's version reached No. 9 on the Billboard charts and No. 69 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972. The song mixed a clean rock n roll sound with a heavy countrified shuffle and the faint sound of pedal steel
nicely downplayed by the car sound effects and the retro 50s novelty sounds. Meanwhile the New Riders of the Purple Sage had there first two albums chart in the top 40 in 1971 and 1972, as market steadily developed for the genre, centred around college kids.
But now to the song;
This endlessly listenable, timeless song has a refrain based around one of the most common phrases in the English language; Take it Easy. Used so often in common parlance it's really an exercise in writing radio gold, but the fact the progression is so unique; with it's brisk, almost rap styled verses full of bravado broken up by the elongated singing of Easy and the longing ache to 'not let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy' is genius. The long held, backing vocals meld with Frey's gruff exterior like his subconscious or inner angel guiding him; as pointed out by a critic once, the line is more a mantra the protagonist is trying to embody than a straightforward declaration, Frey's vocals subtly give way to some vulnerability and uncertainty.
'This is Grown Man Music', as one youtube commenter correctly pointed out.
Take it Easy pretty much set the template for the Eagles, a detached observer full of angst singing smooth country inflected vocals over a gentle multilayered acoustic and electric shuffle with gigantic stacks of downhome backing vocals derived from Doo Wop and The Temptations. This all mixed to a winning formula, The Eagles had an immediately identifiable sound that kept the country ingredients to the absolute minimum, a mix that had just as much Memphis Soul, old style chugging RnB and doo wop as country and bluegrass.
They took the basic elements of acoustic guitar, the Pedal steel sounding B Bender guitar, twangy rural vocals and performed it with economy; delivering it with a smooth sheen, a pop sensibility, dressed with a vague country twang completely analogous. They didn't sound local to any particular state naturally as they are from all over the country and so did not represent any natural locale other than the melting pot of Southern California, their style represented a fictional paradise, an idealised land they would soon take apart on as their career progressed. Some have often said the Eagles remove the freedom of bluegrass and country western music, only emphasising the occasional laidback southern vibe dialling down any banjo or B Bender and creating a slicker, urban version of country rock; I've always felt most Eagles song's could be classed more easily as country flavoured power pop.
No matter what, the Eagles took the laidback folk attitude of the Laurel Canyon singer songwriter circle they inhabited in the Troubadour merging it with country music's dark commentary and a soul music sense of arrangement. The Eagles were born in the guise of a major mainsteam rock band closer to the mould of Zeppelin and Sabbath who mixed rootsy pop with heavy rock than the wackier courtry rock pioneers with their light-hearted names of Flying Burrito Brothers, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Air Men and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Their name was more straightforward signifying a strong and meaningful group on the cutting edge similar to the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and other ambitious groups as opposed the playful oddity of Poco's short name. This is fitting as Glenn Frey brought a razor sharp fuzz guitar, stripped of the psychedelic connotations of the late 60s country rockers like First National Band and New Riders of the Purple Sage, to create a harder straight-edged focus closer to the edginess of the folk singer songwriter or the directness of outlaw country stars then country music's quirky bluegrass base.
Musically the signature sound of the Eagles Greatest hits was also established with Henleys' 'well-behind-the-beat' shuffle contrasted with Freys' very on the beat eight note acoustic strumming.
While Bernie adapted the B string Bender to a fairly commercial playing style with relative ease;it's twangy yet fluid lines complement Frey's crystal clear acoustic strum over say Roger McGuinn's extensively jangly electric 12 string which it was often partnered with in the Clarence White era Byrds. The B Bender along with Bernie's endless banjo runs finding space and adding instrumental colour to the airey arrangements recorded in Olympic Studios,London using Revox echo heads. Then Meisner's smart bass lines bubble underneath it all alongside Henley's equally sparse drums keeping it rooted in order to allow the space for the guitars of Leadon and Frey to cascade much like their easygoing harmonies.
In 1972, in the first six months after Take it Easy, two similar sounding singles would be released; both based around acoustic strums and harmony stacks country lead vocals Pure Prairie Amie and the Doobies Brothers' Listen to the Music. The latter featuring a banjo and a lyrical plea to 'meet me in the country'; it in fact bettered Take It Easy by one place by reaching no 11 on the billboard chart. Listen to the Music with it's laidback hippie vibe delivered another direct message delivered in a short and simple phrase. With it's stacked harmonies and an acoustic chord progression proving country music had locked onto a viable rock persona containing less bluegrass and psychedelia then many of the early pioneers of the genre originally thought. The Eagles didn't invent this sound, Poco did, but they definitely had the songwriting prowess in Henley, Frey and their many collaborators not to mention their stable core of Randy Meisner and Don Felder to keep country rock a major and long lasting success after it's long difficult birth was finally over.
Take it Easy and the Eagles came just before a wider acceptance of country into the mainstream music industry when the country pop artists broke through into the pop charts in the mid 70s with hits by Dolly Parton, Glenn Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris,Charley Pryde etc. Possibly this mainstream country success was afforded by the great struggles by the country rock artists who lingered and persistently fought to usher in the anti-commercial genre throughout the late 60s and early 70s, groups like The Byrds latter lineups, Poco, Dillard and Clark, Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The First National Band and of course the Eagles who made it to the top of the mountain and flew the highest.
The stage was set for a band with a stable core and strong stylistic foundation to set the genre alight, it would require a group that could rely on a central songwriting talent like the distinctive singers/guitarist partnerships of classic British bands. While early country rockers Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen had a hit in 1971 with a cover rather than their own material; recording the most successful version of "Hot Rod Lincoln,". Commander Cody's version reached No. 9 on the Billboard charts and No. 69 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972. The song mixed a clean rock n roll sound with a heavy countrified shuffle and the faint sound of pedal steel
nicely downplayed by the car sound effects and the retro 50s novelty sounds. Meanwhile the New Riders of the Purple Sage had there first two albums chart in the top 40 in 1971 and 1972, as market steadily developed for the genre, centred around college kids.
But now to the song;
This endlessly listenable, timeless song has a refrain based around one of the most common phrases in the English language; Take it Easy. Used so often in common parlance it's really an exercise in writing radio gold, but the fact the progression is so unique; with it's brisk, almost rap styled verses full of bravado broken up by the elongated singing of Easy and the longing ache to 'not let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy' is genius. The long held, backing vocals meld with Frey's gruff exterior like his subconscious or inner angel guiding him; as pointed out by a critic once, the line is more a mantra the protagonist is trying to embody than a straightforward declaration, Frey's vocals subtly give way to some vulnerability and uncertainty.
'This is Grown Man Music', as one youtube commenter correctly pointed out.
Take it Easy pretty much set the template for the Eagles, a detached observer full of angst singing smooth country inflected vocals over a gentle multilayered acoustic and electric shuffle with gigantic stacks of downhome backing vocals derived from Doo Wop and The Temptations. This all mixed to a winning formula, The Eagles had an immediately identifiable sound that kept the country ingredients to the absolute minimum, a mix that had just as much Memphis Soul, old style chugging RnB and doo wop as country and bluegrass.
They took the basic elements of acoustic guitar, the Pedal steel sounding B Bender guitar, twangy rural vocals and performed it with economy; delivering it with a smooth sheen, a pop sensibility, dressed with a vague country twang completely analogous. They didn't sound local to any particular state naturally as they are from all over the country and so did not represent any natural locale other than the melting pot of Southern California, their style represented a fictional paradise, an idealised land they would soon take apart on as their career progressed. Some have often said the Eagles remove the freedom of bluegrass and country western music, only emphasising the occasional laidback southern vibe dialling down any banjo or B Bender and creating a slicker, urban version of country rock; I've always felt most Eagles song's could be classed more easily as country flavoured power pop.
No matter what, the Eagles took the laidback folk attitude of the Laurel Canyon singer songwriter circle they inhabited in the Troubadour merging it with country music's dark commentary and a soul music sense of arrangement. The Eagles were born in the guise of a major mainsteam rock band closer to the mould of Zeppelin and Sabbath who mixed rootsy pop with heavy rock than the wackier courtry rock pioneers with their light-hearted names of Flying Burrito Brothers, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Air Men and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Their name was more straightforward signifying a strong and meaningful group on the cutting edge similar to the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and other ambitious groups as opposed the playful oddity of Poco's short name. This is fitting as Glenn Frey brought a razor sharp fuzz guitar, stripped of the psychedelic connotations of the late 60s country rockers like First National Band and New Riders of the Purple Sage, to create a harder straight-edged focus closer to the edginess of the folk singer songwriter or the directness of outlaw country stars then country music's quirky bluegrass base.
Musically the signature sound of the Eagles Greatest hits was also established with Henleys' 'well-behind-the-beat' shuffle contrasted with Freys' very on the beat eight note acoustic strumming.
While Bernie adapted the B string Bender to a fairly commercial playing style with relative ease;it's twangy yet fluid lines complement Frey's crystal clear acoustic strum over say Roger McGuinn's extensively jangly electric 12 string which it was often partnered with in the Clarence White era Byrds. The B Bender along with Bernie's endless banjo runs finding space and adding instrumental colour to the airey arrangements recorded in Olympic Studios,London using Revox echo heads. Then Meisner's smart bass lines bubble underneath it all alongside Henley's equally sparse drums keeping it rooted in order to allow the space for the guitars of Leadon and Frey to cascade much like their easygoing harmonies.
In 1972, in the first six months after Take it Easy, two similar sounding singles would be released; both based around acoustic strums and harmony stacks country lead vocals Pure Prairie Amie and the Doobies Brothers' Listen to the Music. The latter featuring a banjo and a lyrical plea to 'meet me in the country'; it in fact bettered Take It Easy by one place by reaching no 11 on the billboard chart. Listen to the Music with it's laidback hippie vibe delivered another direct message delivered in a short and simple phrase. With it's stacked harmonies and an acoustic chord progression proving country music had locked onto a viable rock persona containing less bluegrass and psychedelia then many of the early pioneers of the genre originally thought. The Eagles didn't invent this sound, Poco did, but they definitely had the songwriting prowess in Henley, Frey and their many collaborators not to mention their stable core of Randy Meisner and Don Felder to keep country rock a major and long lasting success after it's long difficult birth was finally over.
Take it Easy and the Eagles came just before a wider acceptance of country into the mainstream music industry when the country pop artists broke through into the pop charts in the mid 70s with hits by Dolly Parton, Glenn Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris,Charley Pryde etc. Possibly this mainstream country success was afforded by the great struggles by the country rock artists who lingered and persistently fought to usher in the anti-commercial genre throughout the late 60s and early 70s, groups like The Byrds latter lineups, Poco, Dillard and Clark, Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The First National Band and of course the Eagles who made it to the top of the mountain and flew the highest.
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