It has been said that, for their third album On The Border, the Eagles stopped working with producer Glyn Johns because he continued to push them towards their country rock roots, but they wanted to record a rock album.
This seems odd, because this effort embraces the sound that defined their debut effort, though there are times when the chains break and a more rock-influenced style bursts through. It almost is as if producer Bill Szymczyk knew how to merge the two worlds into one album and keep everyone happy.
If anything, Szymczyk is more responsible for the Eagles keeping a country-rock sound (not minimizing the individual songwriting efforts) than Johns; the two tracks salvaged from the recordings they made in England with Johns were more adult-contemporary ballads than anything else, and gave us their first big hit, “Best Of My Love.” (The other track from the Johns sessions, “You Never Cry Like A Lover,” honestly is a bit of a throwaway track.)
That country-rock influence? Oh, it’s still present—”Midnight Flyer” is proof of this, as is the follow-up song on the album “My Man,” Bernie Leadon’s tribute to his late bandmate Gram Parsons. Even their cover of Tom Waits’s “Ol’ 55” has more than a little country influence to it. And, while the Eagles were desperately trying to move out of that classification, it still fit their music like a glove. These are not bad songs at all; if anything, they built on the strengths of their previous two efforts. (Waits’s original version is still especially powerful, but if this song is the gateway to discovering Waits’ discography, all the better.)
This isn’t to say that their efforts to move towards rock were unsuccessful. “Already Gone,” the album’s opener, is proof positive that the Eagles could handle this genre just as well. Featuring lead guitar work from new member Don Felder, it helped expand the sound of the band well. Likewise, “James Dean” has a catchy riff that will hook the listener in.
“Best Of My Love,” is the linchpin that holds the two worlds together. It’s not country, it’s not rock. It’s a gentle ballad that shows the absolute power the Eagles held in their musicianship and songwriting. It doesn’t matter that, as of this writing, the song is 51 years old, it’s still one of the most powerful tracks they ever laid onto tape.
The other strength that On The Border shows well is how blessed the Eagles were with numerous members holding down lead vocals on different songs. “Is It True” and “Midnight Flyer” showcase Randy Meisner’s abilities, and Leadon makes the most of his one appearance as lead throat on “My Man.” The title track showcases all four original members’ vocal talents, but the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by Glenn Frey and Don Henley—not that there’s anything wrong with that.
On The Border continued the upward path of success for the Eagles, and is a strong follow-up to Desperado, while not following its formula to the letter. There are plenty of songs that never found their way to radio waiting to be discovered (or, perhaps, discovered again), and while I love the best-of release that would come out a few short years later, this is a refreshing change of pace from only hearing the radio-friendly songs.
