The Long Run (album)

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	C+
Rolling Stone	link

The Long Run is the sixth studio album by the American rock group the Eagles, released in 1979. This was the first Eagles album not to feature founding member Randy Meisner, who was replaced by John Miles.

The album was originally intended to be a double LP album to be released in 1978 but was instead released as a single LP. Some of the tracks that were left off the album would be cobbled together to compose the cut "Long Run Leftovers" which appeared on the band's 2000 box set Selected Works: 1972-1999. Some of the bits in "Long Run Leftovers" were resurrected by Joe Walsh on "Rivers (of the Hidden Funk)" from 1981's There Goes the Neighborhood and "Told You So" on 1983's You Bought It, You Name It.

Also, the band recorded a Christmas single during the sessions, the first of which was a cover of "Please Come Home For Christmas" by Charles Brown (released as a single in November 1978). The song's B-side was a Don Henley and Glenn Frey original called "Funky New Year" -- the band's song about the pitfalls of celebrating New Year's Day.

The Long Run took almost two years to complete and saw the Eagles move in a more hard rock direction that they started going in with its predecessor, 1976's Hotel California.

When released in September 1979, The Long Run debuted at #2 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and a week later hit #1 dethroning Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door. It was the last #1 album of the 1970s, and reigned for eight weeks in the #1 slot. "The Long Run" has sold more that seven million copies to date in the US alone (it was certified Gold and Platinum in early 1980 by the R.I.A.A.).

The album generated three Top 10 singles, the chart-topping rocker "Heartache Tonight", the album's title cut, and the ballad "I Can't Tell You Why". Those singles reached #1, #8, and #8 respectively. The band also won a Grammy for "Heartache Tonight". Also on the record was "In the City", a song first recorded by guitarist Joe Walsh for the movie soundtrack for The Warriors. "The Sad Cafe" (about the band's experiences at The Troubador in Los Angeles) and "Those Shoes" also received substantial radio airplay.

Track listing

Side one

1. "The Long Run" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) – 3:42
   • Lead vocal by Don Henley
   • Slide guitar by Joe Walsh and Don Felder
   • Guitar solo by Joe Walsh
   • Organ by Don Felder
2. "I Can't Tell You Why" (John Miles, Henley, Frey) – 4:56
   • Lead vocal and Fender Rhodes Piano by John Miles
   • Guitar solos by Glenn Frey (played by Don Felder in live performance)
   • Organ by Joe Walsh
3. "In the City" (Joe Walsh, Barry De Vorzon) – 3:46
   • Lead vocal by Joe Walsh
   • Slide guitar by Joe Walsh
4. "The Disco Strangler" (Don Felder, Henley, Frey) – 2:46
   • Lead vocal by Don Henley
5. "King of Hollywood" (Henley, Frey) – 6:28
   • Lead vocals by Don Henley & Glenn Frey
   • First guitar solo by Glenn Frey
   • Second guitar solo by Don Felder
   • End guitar solo by Joe Walsh

Side two

1. "Heartache Tonight" (Henley, Frey, Bob Seger, J.D. Souther) – 4:27
   • Lead vocal by Glenn Frey
   • Slide guitar by Joe Walsh
2. "Those Shoes" (Felder, Henley, Frey) – 4:57
   • Lead vocal by Don Henley
   • Talk box guitars by Joe Walsh & Don Felder
   • Solo by Joe Walsh
3. "Teenage Jail" (Henley, Frey, Souther) – 3:44
   • Lead vocals by Glenn Frey & Don Henley
   • Synthesizer solo by Glenn Frey
   • Guitar solo by Don Felder
4. "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" (Henley, Frey) – 2:21
   • Lead vocal by Don Henley
   • Background vocals by "The Monstertones" featuring Jimmy Buffett
5. "The Sad Café" (Henley, Frey, Walsh, Souther) – 5:35
   • Lead vocal by Don Henley
   • Guitar solo by Don Felder
   • Alto saxophone by David Sanborn

1991 bonus tracks

1. "Still Got the Blues (For You)" (Felder, Henley, Frey, Gary Moore) – 4:10
   • Lead vocal by Gary Moore
   • Guitar solo by Don Felder
   • Synthesizers by Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh

Personnel

• Glenn Frey - electric guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, keyboards, vocals
• Don Henley - drums, percussion, vocals
• Don Felder - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, organ, vocals
• Joe Walsh - electric guitars, slide guitar, keyboards, vocals
• John Miles - piano, vocals

Additional personnel

• Jimmy Buffett - vocals, backing vocals
• The Monstertones - backing vocals
• David Sanborn - alto saxophone
• Bob Seger - backing vocals "Heartache Tonight" (not credited in liner notes)

Production

• Producer: Bill Szymczyk, The Eagles
• Engineers: Ed Mashal, Bill Szymczyk
• Assistant engineers: David Crowther, Mark Curry, Bob Stringer, Bob Winder
• Mastering and remastering: Ted Jensen
• Art direction: Kosh
• Design: Kosh
• Photography: Jim Shea

Singles

• "Heartache Tonight"/"Teenage Jail" - Asylum 46545; released September 18, 1979
• "The Long Run"/"Disco Strangler" - Asylum 46569; released November 27, 1979
• "I Can't Tell You Why"/"The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" - Asylum 46608; released February 4, 1980
• "Wasted Time"/"In the City" - Asylum 46608; April 26, 1980
• "Still Got the Blues (For You)"/"King of Hollywood" - Asylum 46608; released April 12, 1990

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1979	Billboard 200	1

Album - Kent Music Report (Australia)

Year	Chart	Position
1979	Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart	1

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1979	"Heartache Tonight"	Pop Singles	1
1980	"I Can't Tell You Why"	Adult Contemporary	3
1980	"I Can't Tell You Why"	Pop Singles	8
1980	"The Long Run"	Pop Singles	7

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1979	"Heartache Tonight"	Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal