Songs of Summer, #16 - "One of These Nights" (1975)

"We made a quantum leap with "One of These Nights."  It was a breakthrough song.  It is my favorite Eagles record.  If I ever had to pick one, it wouldn't be "Hotel California"; it wouldn't be "Take It Easy."  For me, it would be "One of These Nights." 

-  Glenn Frey

Mr. Frey got it right.  "One of These Nights" is as close to a perfect record as has ever been created, and almost certainly the best work the Eagles ever did - notwithstanding their later success with the mega-hit Hotel California.  It was a force on the radio during the summer of 1975, and we heard it frequently on our semi-annual trip to Los Angeles that year.

I think there were some who, at the time, called it "disco Eagles."  But it was far from that, although it was a sign that the Eagles were figuring out how to stretch themselves and venture away from the formula that had served them so well during the previous three years.  There's all sorts of things to praise - Don Henley's great vocal, the interplay of the guitars, the great falsetto backing vocals by Randy Meisner - it's just a classic, classic record.

"One of These Nights," Eagles, from the summer of 1975.