Eagles Box Set CD

This limited-edition box contains the entire pre-reunion Eagles catalog on nine CDs. Includes the albums Eagles (1972), Desperado (1973), On The Border (1974), One Of These Nights (1975), Hotel California (1976), The Long Run (1979), Eagles Live (1980), plus a bonus disc featuring the seasonal favorites "Please Come Home For Christmas" and "Funky New Year."

Eagles: Don Felder (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitar, steel guitar, banjo, mandolin); Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit (vocals, bass guitar); Don Henley (vocals, drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: J.D. Souther (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jimmy Buffett (vocals); Jage Jackson (guitar, percussion); David Bromberg (fiddle); Phil Kenzie (saxophone); David Sanborn (alto saxophone); Joe Vitale (piano, organ, drums, percussion); Jim Ed Norman (piano); Vince Melamed (electric piano); Albhy Galuten (synthesizer).
Ensembles: Royal Martian Orchestra; Clapetts; The Monstertones.
Warner Strategic Marketing's 2005 box set Eagles is a limited-edition, numbered box set that contains CDs of all of the Eagles' Elektra/Asylum albums from 1972 to 1980 (including the double-live Eagles Live from '80), plus the 1978 seasonal single "Please Come Home for Christmas"/"Funky New Year," all packaged as mini-LPs with reproductions of the original artwork. That's it. No extra liner notes, no rarities (granted, there really aren't many rarities, but 2000's box Selected Works did have a handful of late-'70s oddities, none of which are here), none of their comeback hits from the '90s, so this can't be called a "complete recorded works." Even the remasters here are about five years old, dating from the early 2000s when remasters were snuck onto the market without much fanfare. All this means that the one reason to get this box is the packaging, which indeed is pretty impressive -- not only is the artwork faithfully reproduced, right down to the inserts, but On the Border has a textured cover, Hotel California has the gatefold, Eagles Live has raised type. It's nice, but it's something that only hardcore fans will truly find a bargain at a list price of $129.98. If they're willing to put down that kind of change for albums they've bought two or three times before, they will get a nice package, but most listeners will likely be content with the copies they already have in their collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Housed in a simple, dark-gray box embossed with the band's name and a limited-edition number, this minimal-yet-handsome set contains all of the Eagles' albums between 1972's EAGLES and 1980's LIVE, remastered and encased in perfect miniature reproductions of the original LP sleeves. Although there are no outtakes, alternate mixes, or B-sides to spoil the unity of the albums, collectors should note the inclusion of a ninth bonus disc, containing both tracks of the band's rare 1978 Christmas single. Taken as a whole, the box charts the Eagles' evolution, from the most accessible of the original country-rock groups (EAGLES, the classic concept album DESPERADO) to the kings of Los Angeles soft rock (ONE OF THESE NIGHTS, ON THE BORDER) to their late '70s pinnacle as one of the biggest bands in the world (their masterpiece, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, and THE LONG RUN). By presenting the albums as a whole, this easily supercedes the Eagles' previous compilations, which focused on the hit singles at the expense of equally impressive album tracks.