Customer Reviews

One of These Nights

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Along with "Hotel California",it ranks as one of the finest 70's rock albums.The fact that the album tracks(Too Many Hands,Hollywood Waltz,Visions,After The Thrill Is Gone,the weirdly gorgeous Journey Of The Sorcerer instrumental)are actually better than the three overplayed-but-still-awesome hits(Take It To Limit,Lyin' Eyes,One Of These Nights)only testifies this record's musical excellance!Its no wonder why it turned The Eagles into a household name!

The Eagles' fourth album One Of These Nights was released in June of 1975.
Like its predecessor, was produced by Bill Szymczyk and has the same band lineup as the previous album.
The opening title track, which was a #1 hit for the band, is a rock song with a funk/soul feel which was described as disco-like but it's not a disco number and featured a dynamic vocal from Don Henley whom sang normal in the first two verses and at the end goes into Barry Gibb mode with the falsetto at the end of the track. Next is bass player Randy Meisner's "Too Many Hands", written by himself along with guitarist Don Felder (a bit of an odd couple, but it's a superb mid-tempo rocker with killer guitar solos from Felder and guitarist/keyboardist Glenn Frey). The countryish "Hollywood Waltz", which was the only song written by Frey, Henley and guitarist Bernie Leadon and was, bless them, a real waltz. Don's vocal was great and has more superb falsetto work from Henley at the end of the track and the song was the first Eagles track to have a synthesizer. The first half ends with Bernie's first of two contributions, the wild but stately 7-minute instrumental "Journey Of The Sorcerer" which was a superb piece of music.
The second half of the album starts with the second single "Lyin' Eyes", which was one of Glenn's best songs and one of few 6 minute tracks to top the charts and is a great country-rocker. Next was "Take It To The Limit", a grand and melodious stop-and-go ballad, sung by Meisner whom gave his best vocal performance on this track. The album's hardest rock song "Visions" had guitarist Felder's sole lead vocal which was co-written with Henley. Next, was "After the Thrill is Gone" which was sung by Frey and Henley and was a superb ballad about breaking up. The album closes with Leadon's second of two contributions, the ballad "I Wish You Peace", which ironically was his last song with the band as he would leave in late 1975.
This album was the band's first #1 album here in the States.
I first got this classic on cassette when I was nine and have the remastered CD and this remastered CD buries the original album!
Highly recommended!

'One of these nights' is the Eagles' best album to date. While most Eagles albums are spotty through out, this one stands strong.
Several hits came out of this record, including "Lyin' eyes", "Take it to the limit" and the title track. Although, there are more than hits included here as well. "After the thrill is gone" is a great song. Don Felder's only lead vocal contribution, "Visions" is one of the album's finer moments. And the slow "I wish you peace" builds to a fitting conclusion for the album.
Even some of the odd, or weak songs are pretty good. "Too many hands", and "Hollywood waltz" get better the more you listen to them. And the instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer" is just different enough to keep your attention.
If there is a true Eagles album to have (not including any of their 'Greatest hits' packages) this is the one. Anyone interested in the Eagles, if you started off here, you won't regret it.

Having listened extensively to every Eagles album, I think that One of These Nights is the deepest, as in the number of quality songs for one album. There are very contrasting styles, such as an R&B feel to "One of These Nights", and a more country feel to "Lyin' Eyes". Still, the Eagles show on this album as good as any other that they are one of the best harmonizing groups ever. Most of the songs of this album demostrate that they can bring all the vocal talents together in a blend that is good enough to showcase what they have, but not too over-the-top as to drown out each other or over-reach the material. On "Take It to the Limit", Randy Meisner shows that he can not only sing lead, but sound great doing it. On many reviews I have read, not much attention is paid to the song "Visions". In my opinion it was one of the best Eagles songs ever recorded, because it is a very unique sound for the group at this time, and they pull it off greatly. "Too Many Hands" has Native American undertones, and "After the Thrill is Gone" is an excellent ballad, sung alternately by Henley and Frey. The main thing that makes this album great is the fact that the Eagles focused on newer material and mastered it, as is evident with the contrasting songs on this album, and the outstanding job the band did on the majority of them.

When I found out that the very familiar "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" radio and TV series theme music was an Eagle's instrumental called "Journey Of The Sorcerer", as soon as I owned a CD player, I went right out and bought this album. The instrumental song is a very interesting, as well as the longest track, on the album. Other songs that aren't radio airplay songs, but I still love them anyway are "Visions", and "After The Thrill Is Gone".

After buying this album, I evenually purchased all six of the Eagles albums from 1972 to 1979. If it weren't for Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide series, I would not have become such a big Eagles fan.

The same year (1975) that their former benefactor and longtime supporter Linda Ronstadt made her big splash, so too did the Eagles with ONE OF THESE NIGHTS. All three of their previous albums were well crafted but not overwhelmingly successful, commercially speaking. This changed everything.

The title track, like "Witchy Woman" from the debut album, has a somewhat sinister and macabre feeling to it. Bernie Leadon's own intergalactic bluegrass number "Journey Of The Sorcerer" is an underrated piece. So too is Glenn Frey's classic "Lyin' Eyes" (which Linda herself should record). The album is topped off by Randy Meisner's "Take It To The Limit" and Leadon's "I Wish You Peace." Leadon was to leave the Eagles shortly thereafter; he would have very little contact with them again until they were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

It's no secret why ONE OF THESE NIGHTS went to #1 on the charts. It was one of the best albums released during a year in which they and Linda were among the only rock barriers against the disco onslaught. Buy it; you won't be sorry that you did.

One Of These Nights is the last album to feature original member Bernie Leadon. As he was the truest country rocker in the band, it is also their last album to feature country rock songs. The album opens with the title track, which signaled the direction they would be going in. The spooky bass and ringing guitars helped make it their second number one single. "Too Many Hands" is a searing rocker while "Hollywood Waltz" contains a beautiful Don Henley vocal and as the title suggests a country waltz sound. "Journey To The Sorcerer" is a Bernie Leadon banjo instrumental that is just a hair too long, but still fascinating. "Lyin' Eyes" is the band's apex in the country-rock vein and is more country than rock. Randy Meisner's best song with the band is the soaring "Take It To The Limit". "Visions" is a solid song while "After The Thrill Is Gone" is a quiet number about love's lost. Mr. Leadon must have known his days with the band were numbered as he closes out the album with the lamenting "I Wish You Peace". One Of These Nights started the Eagles dominance on the charts from '75-'80 and became their first chart-topper.

I have the 1999 remastered version of this CD, which is a large improvement over the 1990 version. Starting with the title track through Lyin' Eyes, the improvements seemed more distinctive than the final four tracks, but all sound very "clean": a wide range of audible frequencies, while still filtering out any hiss and any other limitations of the original, analog master. The ambiance of the recordings are preserved very well, and I can feel as if I am in the studio with the guys, listening to some of the instruments: Don Henley's hi-hat tapping stands out much better on the title track, as do his crash-cymbals that and other tracks; Randy Meisner's bass stands out better, without overwhelming the other instruments. The latter is important, since most low-frequency instruments--if I'm not mistaken--received emphasis of dynamics starting about the time that this album was recorded. There are many other instrumental highlights, but those--as the rhythm section--are imperative to preserve. The guys' vocals stand out well, with good channel separation. The middle-instrumental section of "I wish You Peace" seems to grab me in a certain way on a cold, rainy day during the winter holiday season, when I am alone...not sure why!
As advice, for anyone listening to this album with a large number-frequency equalizer: keep the treble sliders higher than the bass, and the middle-frequency sliders roughly in the middle; fine adjustments may be necessary, depending on each song. A good surround-sound receiver (Pro-Logic®/Dolby®) is recommended. Without further detail, the best of audio equipment (headphones, input output plugs, etc), help make this remaster of OoTN sound excellent!

This album established the Eagles' primacy on the airwaves and the arena circuit. There's no need to discuss the three singles that also appeared on the first Greatest Hits, you've heard 'em, you know whether you like 'em. Me, I'm in for all three, with the title track and its intro being one of the Eagles' best moments.

Apart from the hits, if I were cherry-picking tracks for download or compiling my own best of the Eagles, "Journey of the Sorcerer" would be the first one on the portable mp3 player. A six or seven minute instrumental, something unique in the Eagles' catalog, and it maintains interest for the duration of the track.

The album's weakness is that the rockers just don't hold their own. Of the six non-single tracks, "Visions" and "Too Many Hands" are the two rockers, and unfortunately they're the two weakest tracks on the album. The remaining three ballads make this the mellowest of the Eagles' albums. None are on a par with the ballads from the "Desperado" album such as "Bitter Creek", "Saturday Night" or "Tequila Sunrise" but they hold their own.

In spite of any shortcomings, for my money this was the last solid Eagles album. When the CD era came along I surprised myself by snapping up the first four Eagles albums almost immediately; I'd always enjoyed those Eagles albums on vinyl but never particularly thought of myself as a fan. But sometimes our actions reveal our priorities and when the CD era arrived I found that my appreciation of the Eagles had grown over time.

The Eagles released three albums after this before breaking up (the first time) - "Hotel California", "The Long Run", and the live album. If you have the affordable "Greatest Hits Volume Two", you've got all you need from those more rock-AOR days. But do yourself a favor and check out the first four Eagles albums, with "Desperado" and "On The Border" being the crowning glories. "Greatest Hits Volume One", with its ten song limit, just can't do justice to the Eagles' best years.

Since we've all heard bad music we know its difficult to produce good listening tunes with the right arrangement, lyrics, and singers. The Eagles hit their stride with this album which defined their signature sound. They blend rock rhythms with a bit of country style lyrics and beats. The guitars are the heart of many of the songs giving many of the tunes a more country sounding edge. It's easy to listen to one song after another as there are so many great tunes.