Eagles Music Group

This won't give Michael Jackson a peaceful easy feeling: The Eagles have snatched a piece of the crown from the King of Pop. The band's 1976 album, "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975," has been certified for sales of 24 million copies by the Recording Industry Assn. of America, pulling it into a tie for first place on the all-time U.S. sales list with Jackson's once-thought-uncatchable "Thriller."

The Eagles "The Long Road Out of Eden" (ERC) *** At a party this weekend on the edge of Santa Monica, one Gen X-er corralling his kids in the backyard said to another, "I've hated the Eagles all my life." Elsewhere in the city, pals just a few years older were probably clinking their mimosa glasses in celebration of the band's first studio album in 28 years.

The Eagles "How Long" (ERC) The crisp, countrified electric guitar lead, chugging rhythm strumming and snappily percussive back beat tell you even before those signature harmonies come soaring in that the Eagles are back. When you're reviving a brand, it's smart to emphasize core values, and that's exactly what Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh place front and center in this initial single from their first studio album in 28 years, due in October as a Wal-Mart exclusive.

Looking forward and back at the same time, venerable California rockers the Eaglesplan to distribute a dozen songs from their new boxed set for free over the Internet. The four-CD boxed set, "The Eagles: Selected Works 1972-1999," goes on sale Nov. 14 at a list price of nearly $60.

When the Eagles alight at Irvine Meadows for four shows in late May, they will be feathering a nest co-owned by their manager, Irvine Azoff. But Azoff said Thursday that his partnership interest in the 15,000-capacity amphitheater is not the only reason the reunited band will be playing most of its Southern California dates in Irvine (a fifth show is booked at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in San Bernardino County).

City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky has publicly revealed for the first time the message he will advance and the core of supporters he will call on in his campaign for mayor of Los Angeles, an election that could be the city's most divisive since Tom Bradley was elected in 1973.