Ranking the 5 Best Songs on ‘One of These Nights,’ the Eagles Album That Solidified Their Greatness

The Eagles were kicking into overdrive when they made One of These Nights. Their previous album (On the Border) had included their first chart-topping single (“Best of My Love”). These driven guys weren’t about to let go of that brass ring and this 1975 album, which spawned three Top-10 singles, solidified them as superstars.

As an album, it’s a bit more erratic than both On the Border and Hotel California, the album that would follow it. But the high points are quite impressive, as evidenced by these, the best five songs on the record.

5. “Journey of the Sorcerer”

Let’s get this out of the way so you’re not surprised: “Lyin’ Eyes” did not make our top five (it would have been No. 6). It’s well-written and well-performed, but it’s also a bit too musically lax to get you through more than six minutes. By contrast, “Journey of the Sorcerer” keeps you on your toes throughout its elongated running time. Somehow this instrumental manages to stay true to the band’s country rock roots while also giving you the science fiction vibe the title suggests. As close to prog rock as this band ever ventured. Who knew it would fit them so well?

4. “After the Thrill Is Gone”

Don Henley and Glenn Frey came up with a simple songwriting prompt: Upon considering the song “The Thrill Is Gone” by B.B. King, they imagined what happens next. “After the Thrill Is Gone” actually fits well into one of the overriding themes this band always hit hard, which is the idea that behind the glamour and glitz on the surface, there’s a lot of suffering going on underneath it all. Outstanding vocal performances by both here, as Frey underplays the downcast verses, allowing Henley the room to emote up in his higher register in the middle eights.

3. “Hollywood Waltz”

Here’s one of the band’s more underrated, forgotten tracks. It’s so tailor-made for them you might be surprised that it’s a quasi-cover. Founding member Bernie Leadon’s brother Tom, who was in Tom Petty’s early band Mudcrutch, spearheaded the writing, and then Henley, Frey, and Bernie polished it up from there. Bernie’s mandolin and Frey’s harmonium give this song the ornate but still melancholy touches to match the spirit of the lyrics. The melody is quite fine here, the story is affecting, and Henley’s delicate, sympathetic vocal is just right.

2. “One of These Nights”

The Eagles were so precise in their songwriting and execution that some people mistook it for a lack of passion in what they were doing. A song like “One of These Nights” flies against that notion. You have to be impressed with how they took just a hint of a funk and disco feel and incorporated it into the locomotive thrust of the song. Henley not only sings wonderfully here, but is also up for all the subtle rhythmic shifts on drums. Don Felder provides a slick but tough guitar solo. It all locks into place effortlessly with the songwriting. Just don’t mistake the perfection of it all for a lack of fire.

1. “Take it to the Limit”

For some reason, the extremely talented Randy Meisner always seemed a bit of a square peg in a round hole with the Eagles, even though he was one of the original members of the group. There was something about his songwriting and vocalizing that was always a bit idiosyncratic and askew, compared to the airtight team of Henley and Frey. But “Take it to the Limit” left an undeniable stamp on the band’s history, in large part because of Meisner’s towering lead vocal. Give credit to the backing vocals as well, which, with their responses to the lead, seem to be a nod to the Philly Soul that was prevalent at the time this song was recorded.

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Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns