Eagles - The Very Best Of [2003]

The problem with assembling an Eagles collection in 2003 is that there already is a perfect Eagles collection: 1976's Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975). Although it spanned a mere ten songs and summarized only the first five years and four albums of their career, it pulled off a nifty trick by making the albums it summarized -- and by extension, the band -- seem better than they actually were. By concentrating on big hits and substituting album track "Desperado" for "Outlaw Man," a single that didn't receive much chart action, the collection captured the band's peak, making a convincing case for the band's strengths while providing a compulsively enjoyable listen. Of course, the Eagles continued to have hits after the 1976 release of Their Greatest Hits, scoring the biggest proper album of their career that very year with Hotel California. After that, egos and infighting hampered the band, leading to just one more album in 1979's The Long Run before a disbandment in 1982, which was followed 12 years later by a reunion, charmingly dubbed Hell Freezes Over, since most pundits predicted that's when the band would reunite. This isn't much new ground to cover for a compilation, as the spotty 1982 The Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 illustrated, but even with a box set like 2000's Selected Works, there was room for a collection that contained all their big hits on one or two discs: hence the birth of Warner Strategic Marketing's 2003 double-disc Eagles collection, The Very Best Of.

There's little question that The Very Best Of does its job well, containing nearly all of the group's charting singles -- including the non-LP seasonal tune "Please Come Home for Christmas" and omitting the purposely ignored "Outlaw Man" along with a couple of reunion-era singles that didn't make much impact -- and filling out the margins with album rock staples such as "Doolin-Dalton," "Ol' 55," "Victim of Love," "In the City," and "Those Shoes." It's a good collection, eliminating the need to own actual Eagles albums by containing all the key songs from each effort, including the highlights from Hell Freezes Over. If there are quibbles, the biggest is that the first disc isn't nearly as compulsively listenable as Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which covers the same ground, with the second being that after Hotel California the collection runs out of steam a little bit, as the Eagles sound more like a collective of solo performers instead of a band -- but that's the run of their career, too. In any case, The Very Best Of is an excellent way to get all the Eagles' songs that matter on one collection. [The Very Best Of was also released as a limited-edition three-disc set with the third disc being a bonus DVD containing the video for the new song "Hole in the World," as well as a making of the video featurette and "Backstage Pass to Farewell 1."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan Fletcher Project Assistant Allan Blazek Engineer, Assistant Engineer Andy Ackland Engineer Andy Grassi Engineer Anna Loynes Project Assistant April Milek Project Assistant Bernie Leadon Guitar, Banjo, Vocals, Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Slide Guitar Biff Dawes Engineer Bill Inglot Project Assistant Bill Szymczyk Engineer, Producer, Mastering Supervisor, Mixing, Remixing Billy Youdelman Engineer Bob Stringer Assistant Engineer Bob Winder Assistant Engineer Bruce Hensal Engineer Buddy Thornton Engineer Cameron Crowe Liner Notes Carl Glanville Engineer Charlie Bouis Engineer Cory Frye Editorial Supervision David Crowther Assistant Engineer David McLees Project Coordinator David Sanborn Sax (Alto) Dennis Mays Assistant Engineer Don Davis String Arrangements, Horn Arrangements Don Felder Slide Guitar, Guitar, Keyboards, Guitar (Steel), Vocals Don Henley Drums, Vocals, Percussion Don Wood Engineer Dorothy Stefanski Project Assistant Eagles Compilation Producer, Producer, Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements Ed Mashal Engineer Elliot Scheiner Mixing, Engineer, Producer Gary Ladinsky Assistant Engineer Gary Peterson Discographical Annotation Ginger Dettman Project Assistant Glenn Frey Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar, Slide Guitar Glyn Johns Producer, Engineer Henry Diltz Photography Howard Woofinden Video Producer Hugh Brown Art Direction Irene Fukunaga Project Assistant James Meyers Photography Director James Minchin Photography James Raitt Graphic Design Jay Oliver String Arrangements, Keyboards, Horn Arrangements Jay Parti Assistant Engineer Jeri Heiden Art Direction, Design Jim Ed Norman Piano, String Arrangements Jim Shea Photography Jimmy Paterson Assistant Engineer Joanne Jaworowski Project Assistant Joe Walsh Vocals, Keyboards, Slide Guitar, Guitar John Beug Supervisor John Halpern Photography John Heiden Project Assistant Julee Stover Project Assistant Karen LeBlanc Project Assistant Kate Dear Project Assistant Kelly Kotera Engineer Ken Villeneuve Engineer Kevin Gore Project Assistant Malia Doss Project Assistant Manny Merchan Video Editor Mark Curry Assistant Engineer Mark McKenna Project Assistant Martyn Atkins Video Director Michael Braunstein Engineer Michael Verdick Engineer Mike Harlow Engineer Norman Seeff Photography Phil MacConnell Assistant Engineer Randy Edwards Video Director, Video Editor Randy Meisner Guitarron, Guitar, Vocals, Bass Randy Thompson Project Assistant Richard Anthony Davis Engineer Rob Jacobs Producer Roger Ressmeyer Photography Ryan Corey Design Ryan Raitt Video Editor Scott Crago Percussion, Drums Scott Pascucci Project Assistant Sid Sharp Concert Master Steuart Smith Guitar (Electric) Steve Churchyard Engineer Steve Woolard Discographical Annotation Steven Chean Project Assistant Ted Jensen Digital Mastering Tim Scanlin Project Assistant Timothy B. Schmit Vocals, Bass Tom Trafalski Engineer Tom Winslow Engineer Vanessa Atkins Project Assistant William Bullen Video Editor Willie Hollis Piano