If you have to go out, you should go out with a bang. The Eagles did that with this album, which yielded three singles: "The Long Run", "Heartache Tonight", and "I Can't Tell You Why". The three songs may sound similar to some, but the third song was a mellow ballad, the second had a fast beat with solid percussion, and the first song, as much as I enjoyed it, I always thought of as The Eagle in molasses. A good song, but I always thought the song strained to be sped up.

Not to be overlooked on this album is the last song, "The Sad Cafe", which is a swan song for The Eagles much like "The Long and Winding Road" was The Beatles' swan song. The bluesy, sad song ends the 1972 to 1979 run of The Eagles nostalgically. Coincidentally the end of The Eagles coincided with the end of the decade, the eminence of disco and the transition to New Wave and the techno driven pop of the 80s. Looking back, perhaps it was time for The Eagle to move on to other things (though I still don't think so).

The rest of the album is decent, generally listenable. Six of the songs were co-written by at least three people. The other four songs were written by two people. Glenn Frey and Don Henley contributed the most, but I still think that the huge difference between "Hotel California", "The Long Run" and what came before shows the influence of Joe Walsh. After the break up of The Eagles, Glenn and Don were considered sufficiently up-to-date to have their music selected for the then extremely stylish and modern "Miami Vice". Quite a change from the early cowboy boots and rattlesnakes era of The Eagles.

Perhaps this album wasn't their best. I think it would be more fair to say it is not my favorite Eagles' album. But who cares? We all have our own favorites. The question is whether the album is worth owning. I think it is. I prefer this album over the second greatest hits collection that was largely from "Hotel California" and "The Long Run". If you are influenced by the other reviews to be concerned that you might not like many of the songs on this CD, then buy the second volume of The Eagles' greatest hits and pass this one by. I think it is a good album and worth having in my collection.

I was kind of an Eagles fan already when this album was released in 1979, though their only other album I had at that point was "Hotel California". I was a bit surprised at the change of musical style when Long Run came out, and my first impression was that I didn't really care for it. But I was only 19 years old and freely admit now that I didn't know much about music at that time.

About six months after getting the album, my girlfriend and I began experiencing *serious* problems. At that point, this album really came to mean a lot to me, as a lot of the lyrics really hit home even though I was likely interpreting them wrong. I played that album literally 100 times or more during the coming months, and I now say that it was one of the few things I looked forward to at that time in my life. So my opinion is biased.

The quality of this album from beginning to end is absolutely first-rate, which is a given for any Eagles release. There is a change in style from their previous work, and I found that change to be best described as 'edgy' and slightly dark. I love every song on this album. All this said however, it ranks second place with me after "Hotel California" which was a difficult album to improve upon. It's not a quality issue though. Merely a style issue. I do like this album's style quite a lot, but nothing could top "Hotel California". And this style change, though subtle and certainly not a negative aspect, may take some getting used to if you haven't heard this album already.

Also please note that Elektra has just released a "Digitally Remastered For The First Time" edition of this CD. The ones I've seen have a sticker on top of the cellophane stating exactly that, so I would try and get that release if possible. I cannot imagine any lover of music being disappointed with this CD.

"The Long Run" is the last Eagles studio album, and aftermath of three long years of bickering and rivalry among the bandmembers. There was a lot of tension involved in finishing the project, and towards the end of the album one can tell that the Eagles wanted to be released from one another and go their separate ways. The introduction of Timothy B. Schmit helped heal the dying soul within the band. It is ironic that positive songs like "I Can't Tell You Why" and "The Long Run" are on this album. "The Sad Cafe" seems more appropriate for the mood behind making this album. Joe Walsh's "In The City" is a nice contribution but seems out of place with the rest of the songs. "King Of Hollywood" is a dark song featuring Don Henley singing in a much lower range, adding a nice touch to Timothy and Glenn's harmonies. They performed this song during their 1979-80 tour and it sounded just like the studio cut. "Heartache Tonight" and "Those Shoes" are easily recognizable as they are often played on the radio. The remaining three songs I have not mentioned, "The Disco Strangler," "Teenage Jail," and "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" should not have been included on the album. They are mediocre in comparison to the lyrical and melodic efforts of the other tracks. "The Long Run" has a polished production, further explaining the amount of time it took to complete the album. Great album, and highly recommended. Check out Eagles Live too if you want to hear some of these tracks with a harder punch.

The White Album, Let It Bleed, The Long Run. What do these three albums have in common? Unrealistic expectations and the misfortune to follow very popular albums. The Eagles (love them or hate them) had a similar impact in music as the Beatles, Stones & Kinks. They were the monsters of the 70's in terms of sales and airplay.

The remastered edition of The Long Run recaptures the vitality that was apparent on the best songs when it was first released in 1979. Ted Jensen works wonders bringing better depth, clarity and stereo separation to this edition of the CD. Jensen has also done a spectacular job on the other Eagles albums as well. Since the cover art is exactly the same look for the black sticker stating that the album was remastered (or Jensen's credit on the back). Unfortunately, this is a no frills remaster with no bonus tracks (outtakes or unfinished songs would have been nice) or notes from the band (or producer).

The Long Run is definitely a bit spotty coming after the band's masterpiece Hotel California. There are more than a handful of songs that hold up to the best tracks on HC. The Long Run has a wistful quality missing from much of the rest of the album. I Can't Tell You Why stands as one of the band's best ballads. In The CIty fits the album perfect (although it might have worked just as well on HC). Heartache Tonight despite overkill on the radio, is a terrific little rocker from the band. Those Shoes might work if not for the annoying overuse of talkboxes by Walsh & Felder. The novelty wears thin after the first listen. The Sad Cafe stands as one of Henley & Frey's finest moments as songwriters. It captures sense of loss and regret for the innocence of our past. It's one of the finest closers on an Eagle album.

This is things get dicey. The Disco Strangler doesn't work. It's a noble attempt to try something a little different but it fails. King Of Hollywood tries to engage the listener the same way that The Last Resort or Wasted Time did. Again, while it's a fine song it just doesn't equal the quality of either of those songs. Teenage Jail has a lot of fury but little substance. The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks works well as a joke but there are only so many jokes you can listen to more than one or two times. The new wave touches are nice and give the song more substance than is really there.

The Long Run demonstrated that the band had reached their creative end. With dissent in the ranks and the alienation of Henley & Frey (not to mention Frey & Felder or Walsh & Henley later on) put an end to a fine American band. While I enjoyed Hell Freezes Over, it was mostly a retrospective and as a result provided a sense of closure for a band that petered out too soon.

Reportedly the band is considering recording another album and doing another tour. While it won't recapture the heights of the band at their peak perhaps, it may allow the band to finally end on a much more solid grace note.

Let me start by saying that I have known this recording intimately since it was first released. I still have a mint LP copy and the first release of this on CD from 1984 (solid puuple Elektra silkscreen CD label). So like any audio enthusiast I bought this "remastered" edition (I also bought the Dec 2005 remastered Japan version in the mini-LP...read that review as well). In a word: disappointment.

Credit Bill Szmyczyk for creating a great (if somewhat muffled...and maybe that was the intent) recording to begin with. The ONLY thing this new incarnation brings to the table is a much louder volume. There is NO sonic revelation, there is NOT a replication of the original complete artwork, there is NO indication on the actual inserts that this is a remastered edition. The only indication is a black sticker on the shrinkwrap. So if you have any of the CD versions out there, DO NOT PITCH THEM TO BUY THIS ONE...you will be disappointed.