On the Border (1LP)

Produced by Glynn Johns and Bill Szymczyk during sessions at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles and Olympic Studios in London, On the Border was the first Eagles album to feature guitarist Don Felder in the lineup, but it might well have turned out to be a very different album if the boys in the band hadn’t grown weary of Johns’ efforts to play up the country in their rock.

Johns’ argument was that “The Who is a rock ‘n’ roll band, and you’re not that,” and you can imagine about how well that went down. After spending six increasingly long weeks working with Johns in London, The Eagles flew the coop and returned to L.A., where they joined forces with Szymczyk, and it was during those sessions that Felder was brought into the fold. Granted, he got there pretty late in the game, so he’s only on two tracks – “Good Day in Hell” and “Already Gone” – but it was enough for him to make his mark and earn formal membership in the band.

The album provided them with their first – but certainly not their last - #1 hit single with ‘Best of My Love’, with the album itself reaching number 17 on the US Billboard album chart. On the Border has gone on to be certified 2x Platinum in the US, for sales of over two million copies.