Randy Meisner was exhausted. By the time the Eagles hunkered down at Criteria Studios in Miami to record what would become the most famous album of the 1970s, the bassist was basically running on fumes. You can hear that weariness—and the desperate hope that fights against it—all over Try and Love Again by the Eagles. It’s the second-to-last track on Hotel California. It’s often skipped. People want to get to "The Last Resort" or they’re still reeling from the guitar duel in the title track. That's a mistake.
Honestly, this song is the emotional glue of the record. While Don Henley and Glenn Frey were busy dissecting the dark underbelly of the American Dream and the "excess of the 70s," Meisner was writing about something much more vulnerable. He was writing about the terrifying prospect of opening your heart after getting absolutely trashed by life. It’s raw. It’s melodic. It’s perhaps the most "country-rock" moment on an album that saw the band pivot hard toward stadium rock.
The Meisner Magic and the High Harmony
If you're a casual fan, you probably know Randy Meisner as the guy who hit those impossible high notes on "Take It to the Limit." That song eventually became his albatross. The pressure to hit those notes night after night contributed to him leaving the band. But Try and Love Again by the Eagles is his real swan song. It was the last song he wrote and sang lead on for the group.
He didn't just sing it; he lived it. The lyrics talk about "right or wrong, what's done is done." It’s a classic Meisner sentiment. He always felt like the outsider in the Henley-Frey machine. While the "Big Two" were focused on the conceptual architecture of the album, Meisner was sticking to the roots.
The track starts with a chiming guitar intro that feels like a sunrise. It’s Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey weaving together. Walsh had just joined the band, replacing Bernie Leadon, and his influence is all over this. He brought a certain grit, but on this specific track, he keeps it tasteful. It’s melodic. It’s soaring. It doesn’t scream for attention, which is exactly why it works so well.
Why Try and Love Again by the Eagles Almost Didn't Matter
In the context of 1976, the Eagles were becoming a behemoth. Hotel California was a massive undertaking. Bill Szymczyk, the producer, was dealing with five huge egos and a lot of controlled substances. In that environment, a mid-tempo ballad about emotional resilience can get lost.
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The song serves a specific purpose on the tracklist. Think about the flow. You’ve just come off "Pretty Maids All in a Row," which is Joe Walsh’s melancholic contribution. Then you hit Meisner’s track. It provides a final burst of light before the album descends into the apocalyptic "The Last Resort." Without it, the B-side of the record feels lopsided and overly cynical.
Meisner's voice has this specific grain. It's high, sure, but it's got this Nebraska-bred honesty. When he sings "I'm gonna try and love again," he doesn't sound like a rock star. He sounds like a guy at a bar at 2 AM convincing himself he’s got one more shot at happiness.
Breaking Down the Arrangement
Musically, it’s a lesson in restraint. Don Felder and Joe Walsh were arguably the greatest guitar duo of that era, and they could have easily overplayed. They didn't.
- The acoustic guitar foundation provides the "California" feel.
- The lead fills are short, punctuating the vocal lines rather than stepping on them.
- Don Henley’s drumming is surprisingly aggressive here. He hits the snare with a snap that keeps the song from becoming too "soft."
The bridge is where the song peaks. "Sometimes the morning light can be so terribly bright / Especially when you're on the losing end." If that isn't the most Eagles lyric ever written, I don't know what is. It captures that specific Los Angeles hangover—both literal and metaphorical.
The Tragic Subtext of Meisner's Exit
You can't talk about Try and Love Again by the Eagles without talking about the end of an era. By the time the Hotel California tour was in full swing, Meisner was struggling with health issues and anxiety. The story goes that he refused to sing "Take It to the Limit" for an encore in Knoxville, which led to a physical altercation with Glenn Frey.
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Meisner was out shortly after.
This makes the song a bit of a ghost. It’s a remnant of the original country-rock vision of the band—the one started by Meisner, Bernie Leadon, and Frey in the early 70s. Once Meisner left, that element was mostly gone. Timothy B. Schmit replaced him, and while Schmit is a phenomenal singer and bassist, he didn't have that same dusty, high-plains vulnerability that Meisner brought to the table.
The Legacy of a "Deep Cut"
Is it a hit? No. It wasn't a single. You won't hear it on classic rock radio as often as "Life in the Fast Lane" or "New Kid in Town."
But ask any die-hard fan. They’ll tell you. It’s the track they show people to prove the Eagles had more depth than just the radio hits. It’s a song about the struggle to remain hopeful in a world that’s trying to harden you.
The production value is also a time capsule. 1976 was the peak of analog recording. The warmth of the bass, the way the cymbals shimmer without sounding digital or harsh—it’s a masterclass. Szymczyk knew how to space out the instruments so Meisner’s voice had room to breathe.
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How to Listen Like an Expert
To truly appreciate Try and Love Again by the Eagles, you need to stop treating it like background music. Put on a pair of decent headphones.
Listen to the panning of the guitars. One is slightly left, one is slightly right. They’re talking to each other. Notice how the harmony vocals—the legendary Eagles blend—don't come in right away. They wait for the chorus to lift the whole song up. It’s a "wall of sound" technique that feels intimate rather than overwhelming.
Compare it to Meisner’s work in Poco. You can hear the evolution. He took the sweetness of the Buffalo Springfield/Poco sound and added the weight of the L.A. rock scene. It’s heavier, but it hasn't lost its soul.
Actionable Steps for the Classic Rock Fan
If you want to dive deeper into this specific sound and the history of the band, here is how you should approach it:
- Listen to the 2017 Remaster: The 40th-anniversary remaster of Hotel California cleans up the low end, making Meisner’s bass lines in "Try and Love Again" much more prominent. It's a revelation for bass players.
- Track the Meisner Trilogy: Listen to "Certain Kind of Fool," "Take It to the Limit," and then "Try and Love Again" back-to-back. You’ll hear the narrative arc of a man who went from being a confident rocker to a weary superstar.
- Check out the live bootlegs: There are few live recordings of this song because Meisner left so soon after the album's release, but the rare 1977 versions show a band at their absolute technical peak, even as they were falling apart personally.
- Learn the progression: If you’re a guitar player, the chords are relatively simple, but the rhythm is "swingy." It’s a great study in how to play a power ballad without it sounding cheesy.
The song is a reminder that the best parts of a legendary album aren't always the ones on the posters. Sometimes they’re the quiet moments in between the hits where a musician says everything they have left to say before walking away for good.