Eagles: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)

I found the record Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) in my mom's record stash when I was a kid. I was always going through her records and listening, trying to find my own musical tastes and (unknowingly) building the foundation for what would eventually become my own direction in music. Anybody who has ever had Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) in his hands knows that there isn't a bad song on the record. I, of course, loved what I heard and purchased everything by the Eagles.

If, however, you are one of those people who don't like the deep album cuts and are only concerned with hits and such, this is the Eagles record you want to start with. These songs are essential listening for someone who wants to hear iconic Eagles songs. There's also Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which covers later classics and is also a must-have for the "hits" fan, but the focus here is the first collection.

You'll probably recognize these songs immediately, even if you have been living under a rock. There's not a song here that hasn't been played on the radio countless times. Take it Easy, Witchy Woman, Lyin' Eyes, Already Gone, Desperado, One of these Nights, Tequila Sunrise, Take It to the Limit, Peaceful, Easy Feeling, and Best of My Love are all here. Not a bad song in the batch.

Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is an essential cruising CD. Keep it in your car, listen to it often. It's good driving music, great sing-along stuff, and all-around feel-good music.

I mentioned there's also Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which will also bring you a great deal of listening pleasure, but if you seriously want a great package by the Eagles, you can get both of these collections and a few other singles on The Very Best Of (also known as The Complete Greatest Hits), a two-disc collection that will keep you singing the Eagles on a regular basis.

What Makes a Great Greatest Hits Package?

Greatest hits packages are, for the most part, a way for bands to grab some extra money while they buy time to record a new album. It's easy money. The songs are already written and just need to be repackaged. Greatest hits albums aren't for the hardcore fans at all. They work well for casual listeners, new listeners, or those who simply want the popular songs by a band.

That isn't to say there aren't greatest hits packages that work well for hardcore fans. The smart bands and the record companies figured out a way to target those fans as well. The premise is simple. Include the hits, sure, but add something extra. Remastering tracks is how they started, but that wasn't good enough to bring in the hardcore fans. Next came previously unreleased live recordings, previously unreleased studio tracks, demos, and alternate takes of popular songs. That's when it really got good, at least for me.

Some people just aren't in to that sort of thing. My wife, for instance, likes the original song the way it was recorded, period, end of sentence. She doesn't want to hear another version of a song at all. Me, I love that stuff. All of it. Alternate lyrics, different music and tempos, demo tracks, all of it. Including that stuff is the way you get me to invest my money in a greatest hits package or a reissue of a previously released album.

I love Belinda Carlisle. I'll say that right now. She recently reissued four of her albums, Live Your Life Be Free, Heaven on Earth, Runaway Horses, and Real, as two-disc editions loaded with remixes, demos, and alternate takes. When it comes to different versions of a song, nobody does it better than Belinda. Seriously, I have never heard the same songs done so many different ways as some of Belinda's songs. When you buy her reissues, you don't just get one or two remixes. You get extended cuts and alternate mixes that sound completely different from the originals you're used to hearing. You get your money's worth.

I've already talked about the Thin Lizzy deluxe editions. The Atlanta Rhythm Section, after years of releasing greatest hits albums with the same songs in their original forms, are finally releasing From the Vaults, which will feature previously unreleased material. I'm excited about that one.

ZZ Tops Greatest Hits is cool. Not only does it have the essential hits, there are two new tracks, Viva Las Vegas and Gun Love, plus remixed versions of a couple of the tunes.

A classic greatest hits package for me is KISS's Double Platinum. The record company insisted the band put the album out because the public was so hungry for KISS material at the time. KISS wasn't really into the idea, but they did it anyway. I think it turned out to be an unrecognized gem. Sean Delaney did most of the work on it and many of the tracks are remixed and sound different from the original versions.

Forty Licks by the Rolling Stones is a great package because of all the songs it includes. In addition, there are four new tracks (Don't Stop is my favorite) and some remixed versions of previously recorded stuff.

I could go on and on. There are a lot of greatest hits packages I've bought for previously unreleased material, remixes, extended versions, or even because there were songs on the album that had previously only been available on a movie soundtrack or elsewhere. Case in point, Sammy Hagar's Essential Red Collection, which contains some of his soundtrack cuts, some demos, and some previously unreleased material.

Other cool greatest hits packages (for varying reasons) include Heart's Greatest Hits/Live and The Essential Heart, Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits by KISS, Little River Band's Re-Arranged, Rod Stewart's If We Fall in Love Tonight, Magic: the Very Best of Olivia Newton-John, The Original Bad Company Anthology, Loverboy's Rock 'N' Roll Revival, and Foreigner's The Very Best . . . and Beyond. There are lots more I could name, but I would be writing all night. Basically, if there's enough remixed or previously unavailable material on the album, I'll buy it.

One more trend I've seen lately is the re-recording of the hits, either by the original band, or the original band featuring new members. A good case in point here is Kiss Klassics, which came as a bonus disc in the Sonic Boom CD and featured fifteen kiss classics re-recorded by the 2008 line-up of KISS. While this is a questionable practice by some die-hard fans, I listen to these types of collections out of curiosity. For the most part, though, they are disappointing because they tend to be nothing more than exact duplicates of the original versions, and if that's all you intend to do when you record originals with a different line-up, what's the point?

That's my take on what makes a greatest hits package valuable to die-hard fans.