Song Of The Week Oct 6-12: Waiting In The Weeds

Okay folks, I've finally gotten around to getting this ball rolling. For my first "song of the week" I've chosen "Waiting In The Weeds" from The Eagles' recent album Long Road Out Of Eden. The album is pretty cool for me, especially given the huge gap between their last studio album and this one (about 20 years). Even cooler though, is the fact that they're still really good. By their own admission, The Eagles took a serious look at whether they were even going to push ahead with the album, given the fact that other classic rockers have employed reunion-style tactics with less-than-graceful results. Like Stallone's Rocky Balboa, The Eagles are able to prove with Long Road Out Of Eden that they're still able to "go the distance" in a way that is truly respectable.

I've chosen "Waiting In The Weeds" because I figure that people who are casually familiar with the album will have already heard "How Long" and "Just Too Busy Being Fabulous" (two of the obligatory singles from the album). At 7:46, it's by no means a radio-friendly track. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like it. "Radio edits" are a necessary evil for artists seeking airtime and sometimes perfectly good tracks have to go under the knife in order to fit time constraints. "Waiting In The Weeds" is so far over the 3:30-ish target radio time that it's pretty refreshing to hear. The Eagles let this song go as long as it needed to and the result is satisfying, to say the least.

"Waiting" has all the elements you would expect to hear on a great Eagles track: smoky Don Henley vocals, perfect five-part harmonies, delicate mandolin fills, great guitar work, and solid keyboards. The chord progressions on this track are so lovely that the 7:46 song length feels a lot quicker that it really is. Equally nice are the lyrics, especially the second-to-last stanza; the images of ocean tides, the changing moon, the ever-beating heart, and the repetitive egg-and-dart molding portray the plight of an unfortunate lover who is reminded of the constant passage of time by the patterns all around him.

I loved Long Road Out Of Eden, and "Waiting In The Weeds" is a gem among gems. Lie back, close your eyes, and listen to this great story-in-a-song.