Book review: On Track….EAGLES- every album, every song by John Van der Kiste

SonicBond publishing (Publication date 03.03.23)

For the latest in the ‘On Track’ series John Van Der Kiste has the unenviable task of saying something fresh about one of the best selling artists of all time, whose story has already been thoroughly chronicled, not least by the band themselves in the ‘History of the Eagles’ which is something of a benchmark for video biographies in music.

When it comes to the format of these books, the advantage in covering the Eagles, compared to some frankly lesser bands in the series, is their relatively slim body of work, just seven studio albums. As a result he is able to go into greater detail on individual tracks. ‘Hotel California’ gets a particularly detailed look with four pages apiece on the title track and a detailed expose of the lyrical context of his favourite Eagles song, ‘The Last Resort’.

The veteran author writes in a solid and well structured and accurate style, though lacking flair and his paraphrasing of the lyrics can feel a little literal, verging on banal at times.

The most pleasing aspect for me is that he gives their 2007 comeback megalith ‘Last Road Out of Eden’ as much coverage as the seventies albums, bringing out some of its depths in a way which suggests the band have been shortsighted in all but ignoring it on more recent tours.

A ranking of their seven albums and some perfunctory quotes from fellow musicians top off an enjoyable read into the chequered career of one of America’s greatest ever bands, if one unlikely to tell Eagles fans anything they don’t already know. *** 1/2

Review by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)