Back in 1975, The Eagles released their brand new record, One of These Nights, after the great success of their third record, On the Border. Little did the band know at the time, but One of These Nights would be the last record to feature guitarist Bernie Leadon. Following the tour in support of the album, Leadon left due to musical differences with the band. Legendary guitarist Joe Walsh would replace Leadon.
One of These Nights outperformed the aforementioned On the Border and shot up to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 list. The title track of the record also shot up to the No. 1 slot and was the group’s second single to do so. It’s hard to imagine that the success of One of These Nights would be outdone by their next record, the following year, Hotel California.
The previously mentioned title track kicks off the album and clocks in at just under five minutes. Bassist Randy Meisner’s iconic bass opening starts the tune off before the rest of the band jumps in. Drummer Don Henley takes over lead vocals on this tune. This tune would be one of two songs in which Henely is the lone lead singer. It’s easy to see how this tune went to No. 1. Between the smooth harmonies and soft rock tone, it’s a great overall listen. Halfway through the tune, the unforgettable solo of Don Felder cuts through the song perfectly.
Track two, “Too Many Hands,” walks the fine line of country and rock and roll. By the time the band recorded Hotel California, they had perfectly blended that line. Meisner steps up to the microphone for vocals. While Meisner doesn’t have the vocals that Henley or Glenn Frey do, it’s still unique. Henley finds dead pockets in the song to add little drops of drums, which round out the tune. “Too Many Hands” gives off a great Western vibe that taps into the core of the band’s sound.
Sound four is a six-minute and 40-second instrumental piece. Of the nine songs to appear on the album, “Journey of the Sorcerer” is strategically placed towards the center of the album. It feels like it’s a perfect place to break up the record. On the vinyl copies of the album, this tune was the last song of the first side. The song is dramatic rather than rock and roll. A string section accompanies the band. Leadon is also playing not just mandolin but also banjo on this song.
“Journey of the Sorcerer” leads the way to “Lyin’ Eyes.” This song is one of the band’s best ballads that they have ever written. “Lyin’ Eyes” is the only song on the record that features Frey on lead vocals. Henley and Frey cement themselves as a writing powerhouse based on this one song. There’s a level of storytelling that every songwriter wants to achieve and they should always use this song as an example. There’s a reason why the band won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. This is essentially a perfect song. From storytelling, production execution to harmonies – it’s spectacular.
The second ballad, “Take it to the Limit,” appears right after “Lyin’ Eyes.” In November of 1975, “Take it to the Limit” was released as the third and final single from the album and jumped up to the No. 4 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100. It’s extremely tricky to place ballads on an album, but the Eagles decided to stack them on top of each other and create a nice tempo balance. “Take it to the Limit” is much slower than the previous tune. As of this writing, “Take it to the Limit” has reportedly been played 968 times per Setlist.Fm. Meisner’s vocals are much smoother than they were on “Too Many Hands.” There’s no special guitar solo on this track; it’s all about the band on this song.
The album comes to a close with the soft “I Wish You Peace.” Reports say that this song, written by Leadon, was about his then-girlfriend at the time. Around this time, Leadon had been dating Patti Davis, who was the daughter of the then-governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Davis even has a songwriting credit, much to the disdain of Henley. This entire song is a quiet and soft tune. It’s a dreamy way to end the record. The string section that was heard throughout the album returns. It’s rather interesting how the second side of the album is stacked with ballads. But it somehow worked for the band.
One of These Nights does a spectacular job at picking up the success of On the Border. When listening to the band’s first four albums in a row, you can feel and see the band’s progression. It all feels like it’s leading up to one mega hit record, fortunately for the band, that came in the form of the previously mentioned Hotel California. But, just from listening to the record, you can see that the Eagles have honed their skills and gotten to a place where the country, rock and pop-rock sphere became their bread and butter. In retrospect, One of These Nights is a very easy listen with not one heavy tune.
Sometimes, One of These Nights gets overshadowed by Hotel California due to the fact that the latter truly thrust them into the mega spotlight and took them to a whole new level of success and stardom. But, there’s a great argument that One of These Nights is equally good and has just as good tunes as some of the songs that appear on their next album. I think casual and moderate fans of the band should start with One of These Nights before diving into some of the band’s other material.
Rating: 9/10
Tracklisting:
1. One of These Nights
2. Too Many Hands
3. Hollywood Waltz
4. Journey of the Sorcerer
5. Lyin’ Eyes
6. Take It to the Limit
7. Visions
8. After the Trill Is Gone
9. I Wish You Peace
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My love for live music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in the Boston, Massachusetts area. I am always looking for the next concert to attend.