Members: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B Schmit, Joe Walsh

Long Road Out Of Eden was released twenty-seven years after their last studio album, but even after such a long hiatus – when most bands would have lost any kind of musical relevance – this album shows the same four guys crowding the stage, sounding very much like the quartet that were seling out stadia in the seventies.

A little older, and a little wiser, Long Road Out of Eden is a double-helping of new (studio) material.

No More Walks in the Wood (Don Henley / Steuart Smith / John Hollander)
Lead – Frey & Henley & Schmit & Walsh
This haunting and sparse track is the only Eagles number where all band members share vocal duties. It’s also worth noting that the lyrics are lifted wholesale from a poem called An Old-Fashioned Song. 8
How Long (JD Souther)
Lead – Frey & Henley
This is a feelgood song from the early seventies that would have fit nicely into one of the Eagles first couple of albums. Frey and Henley are as good together here as they have ever been. 7
Busy Being Fabulous (Don Henley / Glenn Frey)
Lead – Henley
The first completely new track on the album sees Henley in a bit of a country mood, offering up a slice of thinly veiled bitterness. 7
What Do I Do With My Heart (Don Henley / Glenn Frey)
Lead – Frey
A fairly decent broken-heart tale with Frey at the helm. It plods along, then goes up a notch during the bridge when Henley sprinkles a little something into the mix. 6
Guilty of the Crime (Frankie Miller / Jerry Lynn Williams)
Lead – Walsh
Joe Walsh gets his first vocal on the album, and typically, it is the first time we really hear a guitar. Not his best work, but there is nobody else in the band who could have pulled this off. 7
I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore (Paul Carrack)
Lead – Schmit
Schmit has a voice like silk, and it’s all over this break-up ballad. It’s good, but – quality of the vocal aside – it’s just like a million other love songs out there.  7
Waiting in the Weeds (Don Henley / Steuart Smith)
Lead – Henley
This epic is the first really good track on the album. Henley has that anguished tone that helps to tell the story of loss and pain through a somewhat stuttering lyrical style. 8
No More Cloudy Days (Glenn Frey)
Lead – Frey
This one is an album highlight for Frey, proving again that sometimes the simplest collection of words makes for the better and more memorable songs. The saxophone outro is a nice touch. 7
Fast Company (Don Henley / Glenn Frey)
Lead – Henley
I’m not sure how comfortable I am with Henley’s fake falsetto throughout this track – it takes a little getting used to. Other than that, it feels like a throwback to what they did in the seventies. 7
Do Something (Don Henley / Timothy B Schmit / Steuart Smith)
Lead – Schmit
Schmit’s last lead on the album – like several others on here – has a lot of country sensibilities. It’s all right, but I can’t get too excited about it. Schmit deserves better than this. 6
You Are Not Alone (Glenn Frey)
Lead – Frey
Frey pulls out another ballad… not the Michael Jackson one. This is very simple and short, and not really one of his best either. 6
Long Road Out of Eden (Don Henley / Glenn Frey / Timothy B Schmit)
Lead – Henley
I get the feeling that Henley relishes these long, sweeping commentaries. This is like a modern retelling of The Last Resort from their Hotel California album. Big shoes to fill indeed. 8
I Dreamed There Was No War (Glenn Frey)
instrumental
From the longest track the Eagles ever committed to an album, to one of the shortest… a simple guitar number in the hands of Glenn Frey. 6
Somebody (Jack Tempchin / John Brannen)
Lead – Frey
An excursion into a more uptempo world for Frey. He doesn’t do it often, but this is a welcome change of pace for him. 7
Frail Grasp on the Big Picture (Don Henley / Glenn Frey)
Lead – Henley
I know this is credited to both of them, but both stylistically and lyrically, this has Henley’s fingerprints all over it. This is up there with the best songs on the album. 8
Last Good Time in Town (Joe Walsh / JD Souther)
Lead – Walsh
Joe Walsh gets his hands on another lead vocal, but this one is a more mellow effort by him. It reminds me (and probably nobody else) of Steely Dan. 7
I Love to Watch a Woman Dance (Larry John McNally)
Lead – Frey
Frey is back in comfortable territory, but I don’t like this one at all. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst Eagles songs on any album. 4
Business as Usual (Don Henley / Steuart Smith)
Lead – Henley
This is yet another cracking Henley vocal where he rages at the machine, but he does it so well… so who am I to tell him to spread his wings a little? 8
Center of the Universe (Don Henley / Glenn Frey / Steuart Smith)
Lead – Henley
Henley lets the pace slip a little for this love song. It’s not too bad, but he knows his niche, and I’m sure he knows this isn’t it. 6
It’s Your World Now (Glenn Frey / Jack Tempchin)
Lead – Frey
Frey’s finest moment on this album. This has a friendly flamenco sound that – despite the sadness of the story – gives the song a holiday vibe. 8
Hole in the World (Don Henley / Glenn Frey)
Lead – Henley
It’s impossible, when you know the history of this song, to disassociate it from 9/11. The chorus goes on a little too long at the end, but it’s a very poignant song for a very difficult moment in our history. 8

Overall: 69%
Long Road Out of Eden is a much safer collection of songs than their last couple of albums from the seventies would have suggested. There’s some rust,but I’ll cut them a little slack – they’ve been away longer than most.