Looking for Eagles-style rock recommendations

This is actually a tough one. All the random music I listen to, almost never do I think 'that sounds like The Eagles' - they had a rather unique sound, and it's partly tied to that era. A band where all of the members play multiple instruments at very high levels of talent, all of them can sing, all of them write songs, and all of them put all of that into everything they create. That's a truly rare thing.

Most of the bands that sound much like them are also from that era. Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Allman Brothers are the first two of their contemporaries that come to mind. Fleetwood Mac isn't exactly the same but I have a hunch you'd get into their sound as well. The Marshall Tucker Band, The Little River Band, The Doobie Brothers, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, all have some Eagle-like moments. Honestly that's the problem - most bands manage a track or three that could be compared to The Eagles, but that's not their core sound so it's just a couple of one-offs out of their catalog.

As for modern bands, that sound has fallen by the wayside for the most part, in favor of more modern rock and roll or heavy rock inspired sounds (thanks, Garth). Some bands still remember, though. Check out The Wild Feathers, The Sheepdogs, The Treetop Flyers, Darker My Love, The Bees, Great Lake Swimmers, Vetiver, and Fruit Bats. None of these bands are The Eagles, but they've all got echoes of that era in their music. If you don't mind wandering more into the Blues arena, the one band I can think of with a comparable level of pure raw talent to The Eagles is The Tedeschi Trucks Band. I'd describe them as quietly legendary. If you don't mind a bit more folk and a bit more intensity, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are worth a mention. Again, not The Eagles, but echoes of that era are clearly part of their music.

I've heard this sound called 'Appalachian rock' and 'the high mountain sound' or 'high lonesome sound' but I've no idea where it picked up those names, and it isn't well known enough by music lovers to be a useful search engine term. The more useful moniker is 'california 70s rock and roll' sound. I'd love love love to find more artists working in this vein.

If you want to go heavier (like Led Zeppelin) I can bury you in recommendations. That harder rock sound is very much alive out there with modern bands. Those bands don't do anything like The Eagles' softer, more crooner-oriented tracks, though. All of it is much more 'Get Over It' than 'Tequila Sunrise' or 'Hotel California'. Well, except for The Alabama Shakes. They do rock and blues, fast and slow, and even a touch of classic crooner soul/rock. I have high hopes for them in the future... but the entire band singing element is missing. Maybe a little Lake Street Dive will scratch that itch. With music being subjective it's hard to know, all you can do is listen, and you like what you like, and leave the rest.

Remember Daryl Hall from Hall & Oats? He has a live show from his house with different artists as guests that's up to 80-some episodes and covers rather a lot of musical genres, but most of it in the old-school rock and roll vein. If you troll through their archives I think you'll find some artists that scratch your itch. It's also on youtube but a bit scattered. JamInTheVan isn't a bad place to dig for these sounds either.

Part of what makes The Eagles so hard to classify is that band sounded like whatever the hell they wanted to sound like from song to song, and no sound was beyond their talent. How many people even know that Journey of the Sorcerer is an Eagles track? ;)

@boredop @parliament @arghdos you fellas must have come across some of this sound out there even if it's a bit mixed-in with others. Care to share?

Necro-edit: I actually have an answer for this now! There is one band out there at present that has started moving squarely into Eagles territory, and that's The Texas Gentlemen. They are phenomenal.

Ok -- so a few things to preface this with:

1. I'm not super familiar with the Eagles. I know their general sound, but not much about their overall catalog.
2. /u/Amarok knows about as much as anyone in the newer music realm, IMO. My wheelhouse is much more in the 1970s... so the "newer" bands part isn't going to come from me.
3. Also, avoiding anything (e.g., the Allman's) that Amarok directly mentioned.

That said, I do consider myself reasonably knowledgeable on a little slice of bliss from the 70's that blended psychedelia, country, honky-tonk and rock, which definitely includes the Eagles to some degree.

So, let's dive in:

• Pure Prairie League -- probably the closest match musically to the Eagles I can think of. Plenty of direct crossovers (Don Felder sat in a number of times, Joe Walsh introduced Vince Gill of PPL as he was inducted into the RRHOF, etc.). I don't go much for soft-country rock, but their first few albums (e.g., the S/T debut) are undeniably excellent.

From here, we're going to branch out into the various parts that combined to form the Eagles' sound:

• @Amarok mentioned CSNY, but (understandably -- they were never huge) missed one of the most important psychedelic / country crossovers of all time, that is Manassas. Formed from the insanely talented combination of Stephen Stills and a few members of Gram Parson's bands & the Byrds (Chris Hillman & Sneaky Pete in particular -- we're coming back to all these guys, so don't worry), Manassas's S/T album is a masterful blend of psychadelic, Latin rhythms and pure rock. There's four sides, each with a very distinct sound -- I highly recommend listening to this one all the way though, it is very much more than the sum of it's (very good) parts. There are live shows kicking around on YT, and the follow up albums Down the Road and Pieces are a good listen, if not up to the standard of the debut.

• Speaking of the Byrds, we'd be remiss to not mention Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram Parson's attempt to take his particular blend of Cosmic Americana to a commercial scale. Of course, Gram being Gram, there was never a follow up (in particular he did not get along with Roger McGuinn). Lots of great country (and even gospel) music with a distinct rock bent. Of note: both Hillman & Sneaky Pete show up here as well.

• Continuing down the honky-tonk vein is the real light of Parson's career, the Flying Burrito Brothers. For a brief moment in 1968-69, they were the best psychedelic country band (IMO) that has ever existed. Sneaky Pete is a goddamn wizard on the pedal steel, and with the combination of Hillman's guitar and Gram's writing (and liberal, stunning covers of other country geniuses, e.g., the Hank Williams & Merle Haggard's of the world) they were really on a whole different level. Unfortunately only a few good quality live recordings of Parsons exist, but to really see how good they were, I recommend tracking down a copy of Gram Parsons Archive, Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon (can't find a full stream anywhere :/). These performances made Jerry Garcia pick up a pedal steel again.

• Ok, now let's branch away from the country sort of sound to the late, great, Leon Russell. A great starting spot for him is the debut album w/ the Shelter People. Varying between gospel/soulful, honky-tonkin' and at points rocking outrageously hard, it's hard not to love. Have to give some love to the Homewood Sessions as well, which an astounding capture the brief flight in the sun of something approaching a traveling gospel rock and roll revue.

• In this vein, the importance of J.J. Cale and the Tulsa sound (of which Leon was most certainly a practioner) can't be understated. If you like the "ethereal" sound of the Eagles, check out Cale's album 5. He was one of the first people to really utilize a drum machine (in like, 1974), and the result is a strange combination of a laid back groove, perfect guitar placement and a country / rock vibe. JJ Cale & Leon Russell collaborated quite a bit over the years, and this resulted in another one of those "Concerts no one should ever be without", Live at the Paradise Studios, 1979.

• As a bonus round, let's fire off a scatter-shot of other places to go after the above. Danny Gatton & Lenny Breau's one of a kind, Redneck Jazz Explosion, Waylon & Willie, Wet Willie, Buddy Emmons, Sea Level, probably some stuff you would dig in the Beach Boys as well

Will come back and update if I think of all the various things I'm sure I'm leaving out.

p.s., @Amarok, "The High Lonesome Sound" term originates in the bluegrass world, and (debatably) referred to the high pitch voices that were very common in early practioners of the style, e.g., Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers, and their penchant to write sad, lonely songs about Death.

p.p.s. Duh, already thought of one. If you're not familiar with Joe Walsh's first band the James Gang, ya' should be. His solo stuff has pretty good moments as well.