EAGLES - TAKE IT EASY

Publicació: 1 de maig de 1972

Llistes: EUA: #12

"Take It Easy" és el single debut de la banda de rock nord-americana Eagles, escrita per Jackson Browne i el membre dels Eagles Glenn Frey, que també fa la veu principal. El senzill va assolir el número 12 de la llista Billboard Hot 100 el 22 de juliol de 1972. També va ser la cançó d'obertura de l'àlbum debut homònim de la banda i s'ha convertit en una de les seves cançons de referència, inclosa en tots els seus àlbums en directe i recopilacions. Està catalogada com una de les 500 cançons que van donar forma al rock al Saló de la Fama del Rock and Roll.

"Take It Easy" és una melodia enganxosa i optimista que transmet un missatge de relaxació i resiliència. El protagonista de la cançó corre per la carretera intentant alleujar la seva càrrega emocional. Està envoltat per set dones, quatre de les quals el volen posseir, dues que volen apedregar-lo i una, a qui considera amiga. La tornada de la cançó l'anima a "prendre-s'ho amb calma", o a mantenir la calma i no deixar que les lluites de la vida l’amoinin massa. El protagonista també s'atura a Winslow, Arizona, i coneix una noia en un Ford a la qual vol perseguir, però no es vol enganxar massa per si no surt bé. La cançó serveix com a recordatori per prendre la vida amb calma i no deixar que l'estrès us empoderi.

Jackson Browne va començar a escriure "Take It Easy" per al seu primer disc, però no sabia com acabar-la. En aquell moment, vivia en un apartament al barri Echo Park de Los Angeles, i el seu veí de dalt era Glenn Frey, que necessitava cançons per a la seva nova banda, els Eagles. Frey va escoltar Browne treballant en la cançó, i va dir que va aprendre molt sobre la composició de cançons escoltant el treball del seu veí de la planta baixa, a qui li va dir a que li semblava genial. Browne va dir que tenia problemes per completar la cançó i li va mostrar el que tenia. Quan va arribar a la segona estrofa, a Frey se li va ocórrer una lletra clau: "It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me." (És una noia, Déu meu, en un Ford que frena per mirar-me). Browne va lliurar la cançó a Frey, que la va acabar d'escriure i la va gravar amb els Eagles, que la van utilitzar com a primera cançó del seu primer àlbum, i també del seu primer senzill. Frey diu que Browne va fer la major part del treball de la cançó i va ser molt generós en compartir el crèdit de l'escriptura. Va descriure la versió inacabada de la cançó com un "regal sense el llaç".

Jackson Browne va llançar la seva pròpia versió de "Take It Easy" al seu segon àlbum, "For Everyman", el 1973. Ell i els Eagles van publicar els seus àlbums de debut el 1972; Browne va ser el primer a tenir un èxit, amb "Doctor My Eyes" uns mesos abans que els Eagles aterrissin amb "Take It Easy".

Gràcies a la frase "Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona", els amants de la música han fet d'aquesta ciutat del sud-oest una parada popular en els seus viatges per carretera. Winslow es troba a la ruta 40 al nord d'Arizona, per la qual cosa és un lloc ideal per aturar-se si viatgeu des de Califòrnia fins a Nou Mèxic. Tot i que potser no era la cantonada real on es trobava Jackson Browne, la ciutat va designar la cantonada de West 2nd Street i North Kinsley Avenue al centre de Winslow com "Standin' On The Corner Park". Inaugurat oficialment l'any 1999, el parc s'ha convertit en una destinació turística popular i acull un festival cada any. Un mural amb el nom de la ciutat i una estàtua d'un noi a la cantonada han omplert molts canals de Flickr. Quan el mural va ser danyat per un incendi el 2004, els Eagles van donar una guitarra signada que es va sortejar per ajudar a reparar-lo.

Amb Jackson Browne a la veu principal, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Timothy B. Schmit i Joe Walsh van interpretar aquesta cançó als premis Grammy el 2016 com a homenatge a Glenn Frey, que va morir un mes abans. Els Eagles mai havien actuat als Grammy i es van saltar completament la cerimònia quan "Hotel California" va guanyar el disc de l'any a la cerimònia de 1978.

Sens dubte, aquest és un clàssic country-rocker dels Eagles. Tot i que l'arranjament és força ambiciós, amb dues guitarres elèctriques, banjo, baix i bateria, la cançó es podria mantenir perfectament amb una sola guitarra acústica acompanyant a la veu.

EAGLES - TAKE IT EASY

Released: May 1, 1972

Charted:  US: #12 

"Take It Easy" is the debut single by the American rock band Eagles, written by Jackson Browne and Eagles band member Glenn Frey, who also provides lead vocals. The single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 22, 1972. It was also the opening track on the band's self-titled debut album and has become one of their signature songs, included on all their live albums and compilations. It is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

"Take It Easy" is a catchy, upbeat tune that conveys a message of relaxation and resilience. The protagonist of the song is running down the road trying to ease his burden, and he is surrounded by seven women, four of which want to own him, two that want to stone him, and one, whom he considers a friend. The chorus of the song encourages him to "take it easy," or stay calm and don't let life's struggles get you too worked up. The protagonist also stops in Winslow, Arizona and meets a girl in a Ford who he wants to pursue, but he doesn't let himself get too attached in case it doesn't work out. The song serves as a reminder to take life easy and not let the stress get to you.

Jackson Browne started writing "Take It Easy" for his first album, but he didn't know how to finish it. At the time, he was living in an apartment in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, and his upstairs neighbor was Glenn Frey, who needed songs for his new band the Eagles. Frey heard Browne working on the song, he says that he learned a lot about songwriting by listening to his downstairs neighbor work, and told Jackson he thought it was great. Browne said he was having trouble completing the track, and played what he had of it. When he got to the second verse, Frey came up with a key lyric: "It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me." Browne turned the song over to Frey, who finished writing it and recorded it with the Eagles, who used it as the first song on their first album, and also their first single. Frey says Browne did most of the work on the song and was very generous in sharing the writing credit. He described the unfinished version of the song as a "package without the ribbon".

Jackson Browne released his own version of "Take It Easy" on his second album, “For Everyman”, in 1973. He and the Eagles each issued their debut albums in 1972; Browne was the first to have a hit, charting with "Doctor My Eyes" a few months before the Eagles landed with "Take It Easy".

Thanks to the line, "Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona", music lovers have made this Southwest town a popular stop on their road trips. Winslow is on Route 40 in northern Arizona, making it a great place to stop if you're traveling from California to New Mexico. While it might not be the actual corner where Jackson Browne was standing, the city designated the corner of West 2nd Street and North Kinsley Avenue in downtown Winslow as "Standin' On The Corner Park." Officially opened in 1999, the park has become a popular tourist destination and hosts a festival every year. A mural with the name of the town, and with a statue of a guy standing on the corner have filled many Flickr feeds. When the mural was damaged by fire in 2004, the Eagles donated a signed guitar that was raffled off to help repair it.

With Jackson Browne on lead vocals, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh performed this song at the Grammy Awards in 2016 as a tribute to Glenn Frey, who died a month earlier. The Eagles never performed at the Grammys, and skipped the ceremony completely when “Hotel California" won for Record of the Year at the 1978 ceremony.

Without a doubt this is a classic country-rocker from the Eagles. Although the arrangement is quite ambitious, with two electric guitars, banjo, bass and drums joining in, the song could stand on its own with a single acoustic guitar accompanying the vocals.