Search - The Eagles :: Selected Works: 1972-1999

Form Over Substance

11/17/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This boxed set is a monument to greed. The Eagles WERE a class act, until this travesty. The "selected" music, 53 tracks, is spread over 4 CDs, with many notable omissions. This would have very easily made an excellent 2 CD set. Apparently the Holiday "fast buck" mentality prevailed. The remastering is fine, but what you are really paying for is a fancy cardboard box. The CDs themselves aren't even in regular jewel boxes, but open cardboard sleeves that insure maximum exposure to dust. The enclosed booklet is dominated by pictures, with little meaningful information or insight. If you are looking at boxed sets for gifts, there are many others far more worthy of your consideration. If you need prime Eagles, wait for their remastered individual albums. All of them won't cost much more than this turkey. "Selected Works" is only for those with a lot more money than sense."

I really wanted to love this box set....

07/04/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"but overall it is good rather than great. First what is great is the sound quality of the digital remastering (far superior to originally released cds). Some reviewers complained about the non-chronological ordering of the songs but in my opinion this works really well, gives the set a sort of Eagles concert feel, and for long-time fans who are very familiar with the original albums, the sequencing is fresh and sheds new perspective on certain songs. The booklet of essays and photos are wonderful, as is the inclusion of previously unreleased live material on disc four (great versions of Peaceful Easy Feeling, Victim of Love and Best of My Love). And the set wisely ignores the relatively weak debut album, culling just the three "hits" plus Train Left Here This Morning.However, what is bad about this set is that each disc runs 50-60 minutes (who's brilliant idea was that in an age of 80 minute capacity). This only serves to point out what is NOT included such as Seven Bridges Road, You Never Cry Like A Lover, I Wish You Peace, etc. The Millenium concert disc was particularly disappointing in this regard, since there was room for additional live versions of One of These Nights, Already Gone, Sad Cafe, Witchy Woman (none of which have ever been released whereas Hotel California is on every live release and could have been dropped) and at least one Frey solo song to help balance out the Henley material. Some reviewers complained about the inclusion of Dirty Laundry and other solo numbers, but I personally enjoyed hearing the Eagles play those tunes. Those fans are also forgetting that Walsh and Schmitt both orignally played on Don's first album (and maybe even on Dirty Laundry).Casual fans should stick to the digitally remastered greatest hits volumes, hardcore fans should pick this up, and those in-between should find a used copy at a cheaper price."

Great for casual Eagles fans

hossie | Providence | 11/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I grew up listening to the Eagles in the 70's. Never was a huge fan but they were always in the background and their hits are staples of that decade. I never purchased their individual cd's in the 80's because I had moved on to "modern" rock. With the popularity of career spanning Box Sets of super groups in the 90's, I was actually looking forward to this one simply for childhood nostalgia. Great set but could have used more history on each song such as how they became to be, a discography with album covers, song listings and release dates with Billboard charting info. One glaring omission is Seven Bridges Road and can anyone please explain the Don Henley solo songs for their 4th disc live set? I would have understood the seven bridges cut if pressed for time but they could have easily put another 7 or so songs into this collection. I would not have purchased had I already owned the 2 greatest hits discs (no hidden gems here). The packaging is great though and for the casual fan looking to capture some of the best of FM radio in the 70's, this will do the trick."