When it comes to the Eagles, people from Generation Y tend to go one of two ways.

The “con” camp frowns upon them because the band churned out one corny soft rock staple after another and would be satisfied if they never had to hear “Hotel California” again.

The “pro” side has probably been listening to them since birth; their parents own one, if not multiple, editions of their greatest hits and are tolerant, if not gushing, in response to their trademark brand of county rock.

Rock comebacks have become dicey affairs: For every band that manages to avoid embarrassment, an exponential number have seen their credibility and fanbase decrease as they struggle to stay relevant. The Eagles have tried to do just that in the recent weeks, performing at the Country Music Awards on Nov. 7 and appearing on “60 Minutes” Nov. 25. Crossing generations, however, still proves to be a difficult task.

For a culture that adores classic rock radio, old and young fans seem reluctant to hear new material from bands they profess to love. Perhaps this is a symptom of branding a band “classic” as if to equate “classic” with flawless, a dangerous piece of hindsight that places bands from the “classic era” on a pedestal of reverent irrelevance.

Few bands have benefited from the classic rock radio culture like the Eagles. Eagles: Their Greatest Hits was one of the bestsellers of the past millennium.

After years of profitable touring playing the oldies and several live albums to drum up more sales, the band returns with Long Road out of Eden (Polydor, Oct. 30), its first proper album since 1979’s The Long Run.

Eden, despite being sold only through the band’s official website and in Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, managed to reach number one on the Billboard charts in a week dominated by the return of one Miss Britney Spears. The band elected to sell Eden only through the stores after receiving an offer from the conglomerate. In addition, vocalist Don Henley told CNN that the band wanted to “try something new.” The album also reached the top spot in its debut week in Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Despite its initial success, however, questions still surround the album itself, and whether or not it could reach the quality level of its predecessors.

From the soaring harmonies of “No More Walks in the Woods,” the album’s a capella introduction, it is obvious that the majority of the album makes an effort to sound like it’s full of “Eagles songs.”

To the uninitiated, that means a lot of harmony vocals, punchy and twangy guitars and the occasional ballad to balance out the rockers. Primary singers and songwriters Glenn Fry and Henley make sure most of the material here fits into this mold to varying degrees of success.

The most successful tracks are the least expected. In addition to his usual easygoing, mid-tempo rhythm numbers (“How Long” and “Somebody,”) Fry drops several hopeful slow jams, including the inspiring, banjo free duo of “No More Cloudy Days” and “You Are Not Alone Anymore.” Both tracks are smooth, earnest and virtually schmaltz-free in both their lyrics and music.

Henley tries to make wry political and social commentary (like every track from his solo career) on the 10-minute title track and the funky, biting “Frail Grasp on the Big Picture,” but comes off a little preachy as does “Do Something,” Fry’s attempt at political and personal inspiration.

Henley also fails to chart any new territory with “Too Busy to Think About Us,” his umpteenth song about a woman who has done him wrong. More rewarding is his bizarre, Americana-tinged love song “Waiting in the Weeds,” a seven-minute song that could be a paean to a country or a woman who still enraptures him after years of waiting.

The band’s guitarist/party animal Joe Walsh sticks to his .500 batting average on Eagles albums, dropping the groovy, goofy “Last Good Time in Town” alongside the clunky, forced rocker “Guilty of the Crime” that sounds exactly what you’d expect when a 60-something year old tries to crank up the guitars and rock out.

Timothy B. Schmidt, everybody’s favorite long-haired, high-voiced bass player, drops another heartfelt, soft rocker, the regretful, and understated “I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore.”

The band also spreads its wings with several shared lead vocals, a rarity for the band. The most successful is “Fast Company,” a wry, funky song that manages to seem timeless, fun and relatable to both ends of the age spectrum.

Despite its flaws, Long Road out of Eden contains songs with a large amount of the same ageless appeal that the Eagles had justly earned before their break up and subsequent world tours. Most of the songs on the new record would sound appropriate beside many of the band’s classics, creating a strange situation where fans may actually be happy to hear a classic rock band play some of its new stuff.