Randy Meisner

[westen44]

In trying to look up info about Randy Meisner, I was somewhat surprised there doesn't seem to be much out there.  When is the last time someone came up with a bass line like the one to "Hotel California" anyway?  I love what he does with that.  Can't get enough.  So, my hat is off to Randy Meisner, someone who is better than many others who get more attention (as far as I'm concerned.)

[uwe]

Meisner was a more adventurous, even reckless bass player than Schmidt is today or even with Poco ever was (who got he job with the Eagles on the back of his undeniable great Bee Gee'ish falsetto backing vocals, that said Meisner was no slouch vocally either, that is him all through Take it to the Limit including the high parts at the end Glenn Frey always skips when he performs the song today). But Meisner - like Leadon - was getting pesky with Henley and Frey, the two Eagle-Führers. So he had to go. Don Henley (who sour-facedly criticized Meisner "for moving too much on stage, it distracts from the seriousness of our music") can be a very nasty person if he sets his mind to it, make no mistake, ole grumpy bears a grudge with the world. There is a comparatively recent compilation of Meisner's various recordings all through the eighties and nineties out there, only a few years old. Patchy and sometimes demo'ish (or in horrible 80ies production) in places, but also with highlights.



The proceeds from Take it to the Limit alone (he co-wrote it with Frey) will keep Randy fed I'm sure, he certainly hasn't been a workaholic since he left (was kicked out of) the Eagles nest.

If truth be told, I find the mock reggae bass on Hotel California (mostly a chordy root, fifth and octave back and forth), avoiding the beautifully descending thirds of the chords which the guitars play instead, Paul McCartney would have preferred it the other way around I'm sure, you can very nicely play a chromatic sequence of B, A#, A, G#, G, F#, E and F# to the Hotel California verse, but Randy choes not to) a bit "white boy does reggae or at least how he hears it". Robbie Shakespeare he ain't. But who am I to criticise, zillions of people love the song and its groove so he must have done something right.

That said, his successor (whose solo albums I own, but certainly not for the "so-well-behaved-it-almost-isn't-there" bass playing) is to me the archtypical "I play bass because someone in the band has to". Hey, wait for it ... that is why I started out on bass too, the Eagles were just not so convinced about my backing vocals capabilities ...  

I prefer the bass melody intro to One of these Nights (the song Bernie Leadon hated with a passion as "disco"). Until I learned that it wasn't played by Meisner but by Glenn Frey (Meisner wasn't even in the studio when the track was laid down)!   With the Eagles (as with Kiss, The Beatles or The Stones) everybody tends to play everything so you never know whose recording track it actually is. But Hotel California was indeed played by Randy sources say (but I wouldn't be surprised if Don Felder who wrote the music to that song - now here is one lucky guy who will never have to work again! - already had something like it on a demo, it sounds a bit like something a guitarist finding his way on a bass would come up with, especially the "chordiness" of the bass line and the lack of thirds).

[westen44]

I think what appeals to me on "Hotel California" is that unexpected reggae sound to the bass.  It's like nothing I would ever have done, and that also makes it appealing.  Lately, especially, I have a tendency to like stuff different than what I would do or could do.  That's probably why when a guitarist friend and bassist began playing "Hotel California" a few weeks ago for a benefit, I really got into the song, especially the bass.  I've never considered myself a true Eagles fan, but with one gigantic exception.  I've always been intrigued by the "Desperado" album and have listened to it endlessly over the years.  Strangely enough, it seems to be one of their albums that had the least success.  Of course, "Hotel California" wasn't on that and that's probably why when I heard my friends playing the song, it grabbed me unexpectedly.  I hadn't been much used to listening to that Eagles song, or really any other Eagles song that isn't on "Desperado."  And let me just say this isn't just about Randy Meisner or "Hotel California," per se, but also about my bassist friend (a female) who is freaking awesome on bass. 

[patman]

I was always in awe of the intro to "One of these nights"   I wish I would have come up with it.

[westen44]

I was always in awe of the intro to "One of these nights"   I wish I would have come up with it.

It was one of my favorite Randy Meisner bass lines.  Of course, now I know he didn't even play it.  LBO, the place where myths are shattered and misconceptions are set straight. 

[Hörnisse]

He even played Guitarrón on "New Kid In Town".  I prefer the second track on One Of These Nights.

[uwe]

It was one of my favorite Randy Meisner bass lines.  Of course, now I know he didn't even play it.  LBO, the place where myths are shattered and misconceptions are set straight.  

Hey, I thought it was disheartening news too. Pretty much like when Kiss Army grunt George C. told me that the ingenious bass run of Sure Know Something was Paul Stanley and not Gene Simmons.



I got over it with time. You will too.   And it's consoling that Gene learned it so well, just like the bass run to Detroit Rock City which Bob Ezrin showed him (lifted off an old Stax recording).

[uwe]

He even played Guitarrón on "New Kid In Town".  I prefer the second track on One Of These Nights.

Yeah, that Bernie Leadon Native American music influence. I really missed that when he left and it is part of the reason why I prefer One of these Nights (the album) to Hotel California (the album). Journey of the Scorcerer was great too in that way.

Ok, whimp revelation time: My favorite Eagles song is Lyin' Eyes for both the music and the lyrics.  

And now that you all know what a ball-less creep I am, I even bought his newest CD! I'm a sucker for Herr Frey's voice.

[westen44]

It's okay that Randy Meisner didn't play quite what I thought.  He still has my admiration.  As for "Lyin' Eyes," that's one of my favorite Eagles songs, too.  Like I mentioned, it's the Eagles "Desperado" album which I have focused on through the years, but certainly there are some exceptions, the songs "Hotel California" and "Lyin' Eyes" being the two primary ones. 

[Highlander]

A fairly big influence on my early playing - On The Border was my third LP...

Always liked this one of his... nice bass line...



Frey singing this one but post 3.00 there's even a bass solo of sorts...? not one of theirs, a cover of a David Blue song...

[Hörnisse]

I've always enjoyed Frey's guitar work.  I like the Hagstrom that Meisner was playing at the California Jam.

https://s-static.ak.facebook.com/rsrc.php/v1/y2/r/5l8_EVv_jyW.swf?v=1232051733902&ev=0

[Pilgrim]

My all-time favorite Eagles tune is "James Dean".  LOVE that tune!!! 

However, it's dangerous for me to play while driving, as it leads me to commit excesses.

[westen44]

When it comes to the Eagles, despite liking the bass and everything else, it was really the vocals that I mostly focused on.  In my early years, I did a lot of vocals in bands, too, besides playing bass.  I'd often sing along to Eagles songs at home as a vocal exercise to keep my voice in shape for high notes.  In time, I became much less interested in singing and much more interested in bass.  Still, it doesn't hurt to sing an Eagles song from time to time, although the high notes aren't as easy as they used to be.  

There is also, of course, the obvious Linda Ronstadt-Eagles connection that can be noted.  I think that may be Leland Sklar playing on some of those
Linda Ronstadt songs, maybe even on the studio version of "Desperado."  As much as I appreciate Linda Ronstadt (I even saw her in concert once,) it's hard to beat the Eagles, though.

[westen44]

A fairly big influence on my early playing - On The Border was my third LP...

Always liked this one of his... nice bass line...



Frey singing this one but post 3.00 there's even a bass solo of sorts...? not one of theirs, a cover of a David Blue song...

"Outlaw Man" certainly does fit in well with the rest of the album despite being a cover. 

[uwe]

Outlaw Man was actually the first Eagles song I ever heard in the early seventies. Loved the chorus immediately and the lyrics seemed ... so bad-ass dangerous. (LOL - Glenn Frey and sounding bad-ass dangerous!) It was on this compilation:



which opened a whole new world of rock to me, every track on that double album was a cracker. I didn't know what to like best, I wore the grooves of that darn thing thru. It's fair to say that those two dozen tracks - only a few of them what you would call heavy rock back then, much less heavy metal today -  shaped my musical taste to this day, the ones I considered then (and still today) iconic in bold type:

Kick Out The Jams - MC5
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
I'm Eighteen - Alice Cooper
Freedom - Jimi Hendrix
Must Be Love - James Gang
Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Bang A Gong (Get It On) - T.Rex
Give It To Me - J. Geils Band
b]Right Place Wrong Time - Dr. John [/b]
D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
Bluebird - Buffalo Springfield
Cindy Incidentally - Faces
Touch me - The Doors
Ramblin' Man - Allman Brothers Band
Only You Know And I Know - Delaney & Bonnie
Domino - Van Morrison
Outlaw Man - Eagles
Starship Trooper - Yes
Radar Love - Golden Earring
Johnny B. Goode - Grateful Dead
What A Shame - Foghat
Stealin' - Uriah Heep
Lonely Feelin' - War
Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image