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The Eagles' return after a 28-year studio silence was always going to be momentous, but nobody quite expected the sprawling, ambitious double album that emerged in 2007. Long Road Out Of Eden arrived like a desert mirage made real – shimmering with familiar textures yet revealing surprising depths upon closer inspection.

The story begins with tragedy and ends with resurrection. Glenn Frey's 2016 passing casts a retrospective shadow over these recordings, but in 2007, the band's reunion felt triumphant. After decades of solo projects, legal battles, and the kind of interpersonal warfare that makes Game of Thrones look like a church picnic, Don Henley and Glenn Frey had finally buried the hatchet. The Hell Freezes Over tour of the mid-90s proved the magic remained, but it took another decade for new material to crystallise.

What emerged was their most politically charged work since the Nixon era, filtered through the wisdom of men in their sixties surveying a changed America. The title track opens proceedings with an eight-minute opus that recalls the cinematic sweep of "Hotel California," but trades that song's decadent nihilism for environmental activism and social commentary. Henley's vocals carry the weight of accumulated years, while the guitar interplay between Frey, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit creates landscapes as vast as the American Southwest that inspired them.

The album's musical palette draws from the Eagles' entire career arc, from the country-rock of their early Asylum years to the polished sophistication of their late-70s peak. "No More Cloudy Days" channels pure Laurel Canyon bliss, with harmonies so pristine they could make grown men weep. It's the sound of old friends rediscovering their shared musical DNA, and it's utterly gorgeous. Meanwhile, "Busy Being Fabulous" serves up a slice of social satire wrapped in irresistible melody, proving that middle age hasn't dulled their gift for crafting perfect pop confections with subtle lyrical barbs.

Joe Walsh's presence looms large throughout, his guitar work providing both textural colour and occasional comic relief. "Business As Usual" showcases his ability to marry serious subject matter with his trademark irreverence, while his backing vocals add grit to the band's sometimes pristine presentation. The integration of newer member Timothy B. Schmit feels seamless, his bass work and harmonies serving the songs rather than drawing attention to themselves.

The album's most surprising moments come when the Eagles stretch beyond their comfort zone. "I Don't Want to Hear Any More" builds from intimate confession to soaring anthem, with Henley delivering one of his finest vocal performances over a backdrop that recalls both classic soul and contemporary Americana. "Waiting in the Weeds" offers perhaps the album's most emotionally direct moment, a meditation on patience and perseverance that feels deeply personal.

At 20 tracks spread across two discs, Long Road Out Of Eden occasionally suffers from its own ambition. Some tracks feel like exercises rather than essential statements, and the album might have benefited from the kind of ruthless editing that made Hotel California such a perfect 43-minute statement. But there's something admirable about the band's refusal to simply deliver a greatest hits sequel.

The production, handled by the band themselves alongside longtime collaborator Rob Jacobs, strikes an effective balance between contemporary clarity and vintage warmth. The drums punch without overwhelming, the guitars shimmer and bite in equal measure, and those legendary harmonies sit perfectly in the mix.

Commercially, the album proved that classic rock royalty could still command attention in the iTunes age, debuting at number one and eventually achieving double platinum status. More importantly, it demonstrated that the Eagles' songcraft remained formidable, their ability to marry melody with meaning undiminished by the passage of time.

Looking back, Long Road Out Of Eden feels like a proper farewell to an era, though nobody knew it at the time. The album's themes of environmental destruction, social decay, and personal resilience resonate even more strongly today. It may not possess the cultural lightning-strike impact of their 1970s classics, but it stands as a worthy final chapter in one of rock's most successful stories. The road out of Eden proved long indeed, but the Eagles navigated it with their dignity and musical gifts intact.