When asked what 'American Pie' meant, Don McLean famously replied "It means never having to work again".
Similarly, 'Peaceful Easy Feeling' , recorded by The Eagles, is a song that guarantees Jack Tempchin a comfortable living for the rest of his days. No wonder he calls his website peacefuleasyfeeling.com.
Tempchin has actually written five songs for The Eagles and the fact that he doesn't have to worry about the sales of his solo albums accounts for the fair degree of self indulgence on his latest album wherein the ten songs chart a kind of musical journey in a variety of locations across the globe including Paris, Dublin, Hawai, Hollywood and San Diego.
As you would expect, they are well crafted story songs, slickly recorded by producer Norm Sancho who also plays bass and guitar on most of the tracks.
It opens with a twangy blues number dedicated to the "one note symphony" of the desert (Out In The Desert) and closes with a witty tune of a couch potato who imagines himself saving the planet with a TV remote in one hand and pistol or ray gun in the other. (Couch Rider).
In between is a mixed bag including a couple of cheesy moments with a mellow Latin tinged number about a vision in a white dress (Ghost In The Night) and a sickly sentimental lounge lament (Could Have Been You and Me).
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In contrast, Waiting and Smugglers Blues are upbeat roots rockers - the latter on the "politics of contraband" was co-written with Eagle Glenn Fry with a groove which closely resembles Robert Palmer's 'Addicted To Love'.
Box of Memories tells of spying on a woman tearfully flicking through faded photos and love letters and dreamy nostalgia also pervades East of Eden which features some fine dobro playing by Austin Clark.
The remaining two songs have strong love interest - All the Love is a relatively conventional slow ballad while Something In The Image takes the more contemporary theme of a virtual romance among the pixels.
The languid mood is far too mellow for my taste but the album is a safe bet if your like your rock soft and are among the legion who made The Eagles Greatest Hits the best selling album of all time.
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