“Wait & See”: Randy’s Lost Song

On November 30th, 1973, the Eagles played to a small crowd of 1,500 at the College Of The Holy Cross Fieldhouse in Worcester, MA. Normally, this show would have been nothing out of the ordinary. The band had just returned from London, where they’d begun work on their third album, On The Border, as well as a small tour of England and the Netherlands. The Worcester show was their first stop on a tour of the East, playing mostly to colleges and universities. Performing for these small college audiences gave the band a chance to work out new material. During this particular show, the band performed five songs that were then-slated for their upcoming album, including a rare 10-minute epic, written & sung by Randy, called “Oh Darlin’ Wait And See.” An audience recording exists of the song, as well as the rest of the concert. Listen to it below.

Concert photos via the College Of The Holy Cross’ Purple Patcher yearbook, 1974.

The Eagles started off the Worcester concert with “Take It Easy,” complete with a cappella “Silver Dagger” intro. The reviewer for the Holy Cross newspaper, The Crusader, felt that their performance of “Take It Easy” sounded “just like the first time you heard it on your car stereo.”

Early in the show, the band performed Tom Waits’ “Ol’ 55,” the first of three new songs that would eventually end up on On The Border. The other two were “Good Day In Hell” and and “James Dean.” It’s quite possible this was the first live performance of these songs. It was clear they were still being worked out. Slide guitar had not yet been added to “Good Day In Hell” (Don Felder was not yet in the band) and “James Dean” seemed unfocused. However, according to the Crusader review, Glenn “proved himself quite capable on piano [on ‘Ol’ 55′] and aptly dedicated the song to all those “who stay up late trying to get laid.” Bernie Leadon performed nicely on pedal steel which, as Glenn pointed out, he’d taken up “only six weeks ago.” Glenn explained: “He’s played dobro so he knows the left hand, and he’s played banjo so he knows the right hand. It was just a matter of sitting down with the instrument.”

During the course of the show, Bernie was described as exuding a “calm professionalism…as he switched effortlessly between guitar and banjo. Don Henley added considerable vocal strength without missing a single drum beat, and stage leader, Randy Meisner stood to the side, calmly surveying the show. Randy’s harmonies, however, were ever-present, and his unobtrusive bass style complemented the other musicians perfectly.” (Crusader, December 7, 1973)

At the concert, Randy wore a green shirt with yellow trim that said “Eagles” on the front and “Carlo Sound” on the back. Carlo Sound was a Nashville company that provided sound for some of their early shows. All of the band members had one, which they wore a couple of days later in Portland, Maine.

AUDIENCE RECORDING

Among the songs Randy sang lead on in Worcester were “Certain Kind of Fool” (with a slightly different ending) and a fast-paced version of “Tryin’.” Note the audience clapping along on both songs.

“Certain Kind Of Fool”

“Tryin'”

Two rare numbers were performed that night in succession. One was an R&B-influenced rocker, written and sung by Bernie Leadon, called “Georgia Peach.”

“Georgia Peach”

“Oh Darlin’, Wait & See”

The other rarity from the Worcester, MA concert was a long, 10-minute epic, written and performed by Randy.

Glenn Frey introduced the song:

“We’re working on a new album called ON THE BORDER, and this is a song from that album Randy wrote called ‘Oh Darlin’, Wait And See.'”

Without this audience recording, we may not have ever known this song existed. We can only speculate as to why it was never included on an album. It’s possible Randy himself wasn’t satisfied with it since he never returned to the song in later years. Nevertheless, we can be grateful for this imperfect recording of it.

Below is a review of the song by Chris Buxton, former longtime record store owner, DJ, rock music critic and historian:

“‘Wait And See,’ a well-crafted, obviously well-rehearsed (but seldom performed), lengthy slowburner, features sky high, soulful lead vocal by Randy Meisner, spaced-out pedal steel from Bernie Leadon, soaring choruses, several extended jam sections, and a tidy, Neil Young-style ending. At some point slated for the On The Border LP, it’s a real shame the song was shelved and lost in the mists of time.”

Years ago, someone attempted to decipher the lyrics on the Eagles Online Central forum. I have provided them here. The only correction I would make is in the second section. Instead of “And you don’t need to run” it should say “And you don’t need to love me.”

Full Concert:

SETLIST
College Of The Holy Cross, November 30, 1973

Silver Dagger
Take It Easy
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado Reprise
Ol’ 55
Tequila Sunrise
Train Leaves Here This Morning
Certain Kind Of Fool
Good Day In Hell
Twenty-One
Earlybird – Shenandoah Valley Breakdown
Oh, Darlin’, Wait And See
Georgia Peach
Witchy Woman
Tryin’
James Dean
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Chug All Night
Out Of Control

Concert review from school newspaper, The Crusader, December 7, 1973: