The Eagles were one of the most calculated bands in the history of American rock, and were undoubtedly one of the smartest as well. They didn’t invent country-rock, but they certainly put it on the map with their early singles, easily outstripping musically purer bands like Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers in the commercial arena. Glen Frey, Don Henley, and company knew exactly what they were doing, and while Gram Parsons may have championed a seamless blend of country, rock, and soul that he termed “Cosmic American Music,” the Eagles actually pulled it off and landed it on the charts to boot. This was a band that not only represented the drug-fueled hedonistic lifestyle of mid-’70s Southern California, they also had the balls to comment on and be socially critical of that same lifestyle in their songs, the musical equivalent of having one’s cake and eating it, too. Their legacy is immense, and it’s virtually impossible to listen to a contemporary country station without hearing traces of the Eagles everywhere. Think “Lyin’ Eyes” and you’ll get the picture. No, this band knew what it was doing from the very first, so it should come as no surprise that the group’s first new album of studio material since 1979’s The Long Run, the double-disc Long Road Out of Eden, is such a savvy example of precise content, exact timing, and shrewd marketing that it ended up being the top selling album in 2007 from a U.S. group.

First, there’s the music itself, which is crafted to seamlessly mirror the group’s past, and in fact, the first single from the new album, a version of J.D. Souther’s “How Long,” was in the Eagles’ live set list way back in the early ’70s, and it sounds like nothing less than “Take It Easy” part two. It’s interesting, too, that the first two singles off of Long Road Out of Eden were issued initially to country radio, showing that the Eagles had a clear view of what their fans were listening to and where to target new fans. Rock fans have never been kind to aging rock stars as a general rule, while country fans, on the other hand, are famous for their undying loyalty. Then there’s the decision to exclusively release the album through Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, a move that helped not only keep the price down on what could have been a pricey double-disc set, but also targeted with uncanny precision the kind of audience the Eagles were aiming at, and it wasn’t hipsters and rock critics. So what to make of all this? Long Road Out of Eden isn’t a great album, but it does work pretty well as a sly facsimile of the group’s history. It isn’t expensive, so purchasers get a lot of bang for their money, and by partnering with Wal-Mart, the Eagles got to step outside the money-grabbing maze of major label record companies and keep most of the loot for themselves, not to mention solving the problem of national distribution. It’s all pretty shrewd and fiscally smart. And it worked. The Eagles sold a gazillion copies of Long Road Out of Eden, had a hell of a payday, and still got to sing songs about runaway greed in a culture willing to feed on itself until death. Take it easy, indeed, but make sure you’ve got a good marketing plan.