The Long Run (Eagles album)



The Long Run is the sixth studio album by the American rock group the Eagles. It was released in 1979, on Asylum in the United States and in the United Kingdom. This was the first Eagles album to feature Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced founding member Randy Meisner. This was the band's final studio album for Asylum Records.

When released in September 1979, The Long Run debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and a week later hit No. 1. It was their last No. 1 album of the 1970s, and stood for eight weeks in the No. 1 slot. The Long Run was first certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 1, 1980, and reached 7× Platinum status on March 20, 2001. It has sold more than eight million copies in the US.

The album generated three Top 10 singles, "Heartache Tonight", the album's title cut, and "I Can't Tell You Why". Those singles reached No. 1, No. 8 and No. 8 respectively. The band also won a Grammy Award for "Heartache Tonight". Also featured on the record was "In the City", a song first recorded by their guitarist Joe Walsh for the movie soundtrack for The Warriors.

Critical reception
Reviewing the album retrospectively in AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote that the album was a "major disappointment, even though it sold several million copies and threw off three hit singles," adding that the album "reportedly was planned as a double album before being truncated to a single disc. If these were the keepers, what could the rejects have sounded like?"

Album pressing
The original vinyl record pressings of The Long Run (Elektra/Asylum catalog no. 5E-508) had text engraved in the run-out groove of each side, continuing an in-joke trend the band had started with their 1975 album One of These Nights:


 * 1) Side one: "Never let your monster lay down"
 * 2) Side two: "From the Polack who sailed north"

Personnel

 * Don Felder – vocals, guitars, talkbox, organ
 * Glenn Frey – vocals, guitars, synthesizer, keyboards
 * Don Henley – vocals, drums, percussion
 * Timothy B. Schmit – vocals, bass guitar
 * Joe Walsh – vocals, electric guitars, slide guitar, talkbox,synthesizer, keyboards


 * Additional personnel
 * Jimmy Buffett – backing vocals on "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks"
 * The Monstertones – backing vocals
 * David Sanborn – alto saxophone on "The Sad Café"
 * Bob Seger – backing vocals "Heartache Tonight" (not credited in liner notes)
 * Joe Vitale – congas on "In The City"


 * Production
 * The Eagles – producers
 * Bill Szymczyk – producer
 * Ed Mashal – engineer
 * Bill Szymczyk – engineer
 * David Crowther – assistant engineer
 * Mark Curry – assistant engineer
 * Phil Jamtaas – assistant engineer
 * Bob Stringer – assistant engineer
 * Bob Winder – assistant engineer
 * Ted Jensen – mixing, remastering
 * John Kosh – art direction, design
 * Jim Shea – photography

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

Accolades

 * style="width:35px; text-align:center;"|1980 || "Heartache Tonight" || Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal || Won
 * style="width:35px; text-align:center;"|1980 || "Heartache Tonight" || Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal || Won