Maps of Music

The Long Run (1979)

Where the lyrics of The Long Run take you, and where it was really made.

The album began as a planned double record, took 18 months to make in five studios, and went on to sell more than eight million copies in the US.

Key places

Bayshore in Coconut Grove (1979)

Recording site Bayshore (Coconut Grove) — The source lists Bayshore in Coconut Grove as one of the studios where the album was recorded. The point is placed at the Bayshore location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Criteria Studios in Miami (1979)

Recording site Criteria Studios — The source lists Criteria Studios in Miami as one of the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks that studio's location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Britannia in Los Angeles (1979)

Recording site Britannia — The source lists Britannia in Los Angeles as one of the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks that studio's location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles (1979)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — The source lists Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles as one of the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks that studio's location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Long Run is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Eagles
• Released in September 1979 by Asylum Records in the United States and the United Kingdom
• First Eagles album with bassist Timothy B. Schmit, who replaced founding member Randy Meisner
• The band's final studio album for Asylum Records and their last during the original tenure, as the Eagles disbanded in 1980
• The next Eagles studio album came in 2007 with Long Road Out of Eden

Background

• Originally intended as a double album, but the band could not come up with enough songs, so the idea was scrapped
• According to Don Henley, the members were burned out and exhausted from a long tour when recording began
• Ten songs made the final album, with contributions from friends JD Souther and Bob Seger
• The title track was partly a response to press articles calling the band passé as disco dominated and punk emerged
• Randy Meisner left after an argument in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the Hotel California Tour in June 1977
• Timothy B. Schmit brought the unfinished song I Can't Tell You Why to the band

Recording

• Recording started in 1978 and took 18 months across five different studios
• Produced by Bill Szymczyk, with the Eagles listed as co-producers
• Joe Walsh contributed In the City, which he first recorded for the movie soundtrack of The Warriors

Cover

• Photography by Jim Shea
• Art direction and design by John Kosh

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
• Founding members were Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner, all first recruited as musicians for Linda Ronstadt.
• They signed to David Geffen's Asylum Records in September 1971.
• The name was reportedly suggested by Leadon, though accounts vary.

Members

• Founding members: Glenn Frey (guitar, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitar, vocals), Randy Meisner (bass, vocals).
• Don Felder joined in 1974 as guitarist; Joe Walsh replaced Leadon in 1975; Timothy B. Schmit replaced Meisner in 1977.
• Frey died in January 2016; Meisner died in July 2023.

Career

• The band has five number-one singles and six number-one albums in the US, and six Grammy Awards.
• Estimated sales exceed 200 million records worldwide; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California are among their best-selling albums.
• The band broke up in 1980, reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, and released Long Road Out of Eden in 2007.
• The band announced a farewell tour in 2023 and held a Sphere residency in Las Vegas from 2024.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone (1979) called it a synthesis of earlier Eagles motifs with cynical new insights, and said it was the band's best work in many years
• The Globe and Mail found the Eagles' synthesis of rock styles sat less well the smoother it got
• The New York Times said the album was neatly balanced among standard Eagles rockers, rather shallow social commentary, ballads and novelty numbers, and noted that the band's mean streak had never been so apparent

Reappraisal

• AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann called it a major disappointment in retrospect, even though it sold several million copies and produced three hit singles
• Ruhlmann named The Disco Strangler, King of Hollywood and Teenage Jail as second-rank songs
• Something Else! critic Nick DeRiso rated The Disco Strangler and Teenage Jail among the Eagles' five worst songs
• Uncut critic Jason Anderson said King of Hollywood matched the meanness of The Disco Strangler
• Rolling Stone rated The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks as the Eagles' 37th best song

Records

• Debuted at number two on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and reached number one a week later
• Stayed nine weeks at number one
• Three Top 10 singles: Heartache Tonight (No. 1, won a Grammy), the title track (No. 8), and I Can't Tell You Why (No. 8)
• First RIAA platinum certification on February 1, 1980, and 7× Platinum on March 20, 2001
• Sold more than eight million copies in the US
• Reached number 1 in Japan in 1979

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was first planned as a double record before the idea was scrapped.
• The original vinyl's run-out grooves carried engraved text: side one read Never let your monster lay down, side two read From the Polack who sailed north, continuing an in-joke trend from One of These Nights.
• The Disco Strangler was built on a four-on-the-floor disco beat and intended as an antidote to disco, with lyrics by Henley.
• The Sad Cafe was inspired by the Troubadour nightclub in Hollywood and by Dan Tana's restaurant, which the band frequented.
• The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks was written as an homage to Sixties frat rock such as 96 Tears by ? and the Mysterians.
• Joe Walsh later resurrected leftover track Rivers (of the Hidden Funk) for his solo album There Goes the Neighborhood (1981).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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