The Long Run (album)

The Long Run is the sixth studio album by American rock group the Eagles. It was released in 1979, on Asylum in the United States and in the United Kingdom. This was the first Eagles album to feature Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced founding member Randy Meisner and the last full studio album to feature Don Felder before his termination from the band in 2001.

The Long Run
Studio album by
the Eagles
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1979
RecordedMarch 1978 – September 1979
Studio
GenreRock
Length42:50
LabelAsylum
ProducerBill Szymczyk
The Eagles chronology
Hotel California
(1976)		 The Long Run
(1979)		 Eagles Live
(1980)
Singles from The Long Run
  1. "Heartache Tonight"
    Released: September 18, 1979
  2. "The Long Run"
    Released: November 27, 1979
  3. "I Can't Tell You Why"
    Released: February 4, 1980
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
Smash Hits4/10[4]

This was the band's final studio album for Asylum Records. It also turned out to be their last studio album as the Eagles disbanded in 1980, until 2007's Long Road Out of Eden after the band had reformed in 1994.

Three singles were released from the album, "Heartache Tonight", "The Long Run", and "I Can't Tell You Why". "Heartache Tonight" reached No. 1 on the singles chart and won a Grammy Award. The album was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA and has sold more than eight million copies in the US.

Background

The album was originally intended to be a double album. The band could not come up with enough songs and the idea was therefore scrapped. The recording was protracted; they started recording in 1977, and the album took 18 months to record in five different studios, with the album finally released in September 1979.[5][6] According to Don Henley, the band members were "completely burned out" and "physically, emotionally, spiritually and creatively exhausted" from a long tour when they started recording the album, and they had few songs.[7] However, they managed to put together ten songs for the album, with contribution from their friends J.D. Souther and Bob Seger who co-wrote with Frey and Henley on "Heartache Tonight".[5] (Souther also got songwriting credit on "Teenage Jail" and "The Sad Cafe".)

According to Henley, the title track was in part a response to press articles that said they were "passé" as disco was then dominant and punk emerging, which inspired lines such as "Who is gonna make it/ We'll find out in the long run". He said that the inspiration for the lyrics was also "irony", as they wrote about longevity and posterity while the group "was breaking apart, imploding under the pressure of trying to deliver a worthy follow-up to Hotel California".[7]

Randy Meisner decided to leave the Eagles after an argument in Knoxville, Tennessee during the Hotel California Tour in June 1977.[8] He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who brought an unfinished song to the band, "I Can't Tell You Why". Schmit wrote the song based loosely on his own experiences; both Henley and Frey liked the song and they completed the song together.[9] Joe Walsh also contributed a song on the record – "In the City", which was first recorded by Walsh for the movie soundtrack for The Warriors.[10] Don Felder wrote the tune for "The Disco Strangler" using a four-on-the-floor disco beat as the basis for the composition. Henley wrote the lyrics. Henley intended the song to be an antidote to disco as both he and the rest of the band disliked disco, which was the most popular musical genre at the time.[11] The song "The Sad Cafe" was inspired by the Troubadour nightclub in Hollywood where the Eagles once played, and also by Dan Tana's restaurant that they frequented, while "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" was written as an homage to Sixties "frat rock" such as the song "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians.[7]

The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk, although the Eagles were listed as co-producers.[12]

Album pressing

The original vinyl record pressings of The Long Run (Elektra/Asylum catalog no. 5E-508) had text engraved in the run-out groove of each side, continuing an in-joke trend the band had started with their 1975 album One of These Nights:

  1. Side one: "Never let your monster lay down"
  2. Side two: "From the Polack who sailed north" (may be a reference to the producer of the album Bill Szymczyk)[12]

Critical reception

Reviewing the album retrospectively in AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote that the album was a "major disappointment, even though it sold several million copies and threw off three hit singles," adding that the album "reportedly was planned as a double album before being truncated to a single disc. If these were the keepers, what could the rejects have sounded like?"[13]

Grammys
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1980"Heartache Tonight"Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal[14]Won

Commercial performance

When released in September 1979, The Long Run debuted at number two on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and a week later hit number one. It was their last number one album of the 1970s, and stood for eight weeks in the number one slot. The Long Run was first certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 1, 1980, and reached 7× Platinum status on March 20, 2001.[15] It has sold more than eight million copies in the US.[16]

The album generated three Top 10 singles, "Heartache Tonight", the album's title cut, and "I Can't Tell You Why". Those singles reached No. 1, No. 8 and No. 8 respectively.[5] The band also won a Grammy Award for "Heartache Tonight".[17]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."The Long Run"
Don Henley3:42
2."I Can't Tell You Why"
Timothy B. Schmit4:56
3."In the City"
Joe Walsh3:46
4."The Disco Strangler"
Henley2:46
5."King of Hollywood"
  • Henley
  • Frey
Henley and Frey6:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Heartache Tonight"
Frey4:27
2."Those Shoes"
  • Henley
  • Frey
  • Felder
Henley4:57
3."Teenage Jail"
  • Henley
  • Frey
  • Souther
Henley and Frey3:44
4."The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks"
  • Henley
  • Frey
Henley2:21
5."The Sad Café"
  • Henley
  • Frey
  • Walsh
  • Souther
Henley5:35

Personnel

Eagles

Additional personnel

Production

  • The Eagles – co-producers
  • Bill Szymczyk – producer
  • Ed Mashal – engineer
  • Bill Szymczyk – engineer
  • David Crowther – assistant engineer
  • Mark Curry – assistant engineer
  • Phil Jamtaas – assistant engineer
  • Bob Stringer – assistant engineer
  • Bob Winder – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mixing, remastering
  • John Kosh – art direction, design
  • Jim Shea – photography

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[35] 2× Gold 242,400[36]
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 247,000[24]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] Platinum 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[38] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] 7× Platinum 8,000,000[16]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. "The Long Run". Allmusic. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: E". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). Eagles. Simon and Schuster. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  4. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (November 1–14, 1979): 29.
  5. Giles, Jeff (September 24, 2015). "36 Years Ago: The Eagles Grind to a Halt with 'The Long Run'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  6. DeRiso, Nick (November 7, 2015). "35 Years Ago: The Eagles Limp Away With the Patched-Together 'Live'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  7. Browne, David (June 10, 2016). "Eagles' Complete Discography: Don Henley Looks Back". Rolling Stone.
  8. Andy Greene (July 16, 2015). "Flashback: The Eagles Play 'Take It to the Limit' in 1977". Rolling Stone.
  9. "Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles". Song Facts.
  10. "Joe Walsh: In the City". AllMusic.
  11. Felder, Don (May 9, 2008). Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001). John Wiley & Sons. p. 199. ISBN 978-0470289068.
  12. Big Jay Sorensen (November 22, 2014). "This Week In History: The Beatles' 'Abbey Road,' The Eagles' 'The Long Run' & Bon Jovi's 'New Jersey'". WCBS-FM.
  13. "The Long Run - Eagles - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  14. "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  15. "American album certifications – Eagles – The Long Run". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  16. "Eagles: Biography". Rolling Stone.
  17. "WINNERS: 22nd Annual GRAMMY Awards (1979)". The Recording Academy.
  18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Eagles – The Long Run" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  21. "Officialcharts.de – Eagles – The Long Run". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  22. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  23. "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1979" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  24. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  25. "Charts.nz – Eagles – The Long Run". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Eagles – The Long Run". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – Eagles – The Long Run". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  29. "Eagles – Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  30. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1979". RPM. December 22, 1979. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  31. "Les Albums (CD) de 1979 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  32. 年間アルバムヒットチャート 1979年（昭和54年） [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1979] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  33. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1980". RPM. December 20, 1980. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  34. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 20, 1980). Billboard.com – Year End Charts – Year-end Albums – The Billboard 200.
  35. "French album certifications – Eagles – The Long Run" (in French). InfoDisc. Select EAGLES and click OK. 
  36. "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  37. "New Zealand album certifications – Eagles – The Long Run". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  38. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Eagles; 'The Long Run')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  39. "British album certifications – Eagles – The Long Run". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Long Run in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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