| Screen13 |
06-25-2015 10:42 AM |
After the gut reaction, here's my slightly pretentious overview...
Not dismissing their talent, but being a kid from that time, a lot of The Eagles' sound was really the mark of Rock driving on the MOR. The attraction of this in The States back in the day is mainly due to the fact that it did connect with the average listener who was living in a time when things were kind of going well for the Mainstream (and to be very fair for a few seconds, in a way I rather prefer that to the fantasy visual-land Selfie Generation Popular music and Rock has turned into as of late to escape the intense crap we deal with every day now). It was in a time in The US when the culture was wanting all kinds of smoothness and professionalism - and you can throw in the aftermath of dealing with the Vietnam and Nixon eras, too - and the Music industry was on the side of homogenized FM Rock that sounded good on the stereo thanks to the bulk of the customers wanting well-played music that had no rough edges or progression (ELP tried and failed to co-operate with Love Beach and lost!). It was something that sounded well in the Van with the Waterbed with the 8-Track player blasting the music out, or the Chevy with the hood down and driving Van Nuys Blvd. (or wherever else that was the hot spot) at night, cruising with the music playing and maybe a hooker or two on the street as you live life on your fast lane headed to the Drive In.
In other words, it was clearly not my scene except for the Drive Ins, although I would be watching the movies, of course.
My mention of Metal Machine Music brought me back to the time when I knew deep down in my soul that the Popular FM Rock world was not connecting to me and seeing a Cut-Out tape of MMM was. I never knew what was on it until much later, but somehow I was happy that not every musician was with feather-blown hair and a laid back attitude with a lot of talent but not much soul or energy (although I will admit that Don Henley had took a turn for the better solo-wise...only slightly, but you know what I mean). This was also the album a lot of bar bands took notes from, meaning that in a culture that crowds out originality good and bad, you had to play "The Hits" with this being a must-learn for the time, and you thought that the title track was played on radio to death in The 70's!
They were possibly the best of what they did, only I think to be bettered by the Late 70's Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band, who's sound also took the slick turn for the tame although with a little Midwest grit still keeping things solid. Still, that was the problem for me - it was Pro Music that was certainly was not for those who needed something stronger. Too many people were conditioned for Album Rock and that was a sad thing.
It was the soundtrack to the time, but not my time within.
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