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Eagles · S1 E6
Asylum Records
David Geffen signs the band before they play a single show. Four guys, a handshake deal, and a flight to London to record their debut
David Geffen's office, Los Angeles, late 1971. Four musicians who have never played a single show as their own band walk in and walk out with a record deal.
Jackson Browne, Doctor My Eyes, live at Glastonbury 2010. The single that put Asylum Records on the map alongside Eagles' debut. Browne and Eagles were the twin pillars of Geffen's label.
The Man Behind the Label
David Geffen builds Asylum Records from the ground up in 1971, signing artists he discovers at the Troubadour bar. Jackson Browne is his first act, Eagles his second. Geffen does not need to hear a demo or see a show; he knows these four from the scene and makes the offer before anyone else gets the chance.
Olympic Studios, London
117 Church Road, Barnes, London. The studio where Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix all recorded. In early 1972, four Californians walk in to cut their debut with the most demanding producer in England.
“I wanted them to play like a band, not like four solo artists sharing a studio. Less overdubs, less fuss. Just play the song properly and let the song do the work.”
— Glyn Johns, History of the Eagles documentary, 2013
TAP TO REVEAL: What radical recording technique did Glyn Johns force on Eagles?
Most of Us Are Sad
From Eagles (1972). A Henley-Frey co-write recorded during those Glyn Johns sessions at Olympic Studios. The sparse, open production captures Johns' philosophy perfectly: just the band playing together, no tricks. One of the earliest examples of the Henley-Frey songwriting partnership, with everything that would eventually define Eagles trying to find its shape.
Which legendary producer recorded Eagles' debut album at Olympic Studios in London?
Asylum Records & Olympic Studios
The album is in the can. Geffen has a release date. But the band still needs a lead single that will introduce them to America. Next: a song Jackson Browne could not finish and Glenn Frey would not let go of.
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