On The Border marked a point of transition for the Eagles, a halfway point between their original country-rock sound and the slick pop-rock they would later embrace. The arrival of guitarist Don Felder helped eventuate this shift, even as founding member/multi-instrumentalist Bernie Leadon found himself increasingly alienated by the move away from his rootsier orientation. Midnight Flyer, the smash hit Already Gone,” and Leadon's My Man, an elegy to Eagles influence Gram Parsons, are the remaining traces of the band's old sound.
The title track finds the band flirting with the disco-funk sound they would pursue further on their subsequent album One of These Nights. The Best of My Love is the kind of flawlessly constructed ‘70s radio staple for which the term soft-rock was invented. The band's cover version of the Tom Waits ballad Ol’ 55 was perhaps the furthest from its origins any Waits composition would get until Rod Stewart took on “Downtown Train” many years later.
Tracklist
- Already Gone
- You Never Cry Like A Lover
- Midnight Flyer
- My Man
- On The Border
- James Dean
- Ol' 55
- Is It True
- Good Day In Hell
- Best Of My Love