Celebration of "Long Road Out of Eden"!

[AlreadyGone95]

I'm one of the ones who believes that Somebody could've been a Glenn solo song. As I said in my review, it reminds me of THIO or Smuggler's Blues. That being said, there's something that Don Henley said in the documentary(I think it was the doc), that I think fits. During HFO, while discussing the solo songs, he said something to the effect of "most of these songs could've been Eaglrs songs". I think that Somebody would've been a great Glenn solo song, but it's also a great Eagles song, and one of the best on LROOE.

I haven't thought of LROOE being a collection of solo songs, but now that I think on it, it does seem like it. (Exceptions being NMWITW, How Long, WITW, and LROOE). While they could be solo songs, there's something about the group aspect that makes it better. Although, they didn't record together as a group, did they?

As for Glenn, I do believe that he really downplays his talent as a whole, and it's really sad that he does this. From the doc, and the live footage I've seen since the reunion, to me he still thinks along the lines of "we've got Don Henley. Why do I need to sing?... Joe Walsh is our main guitarist" why do I need to play lead?" While that maybe true, his voice is different from Don's, and some people like his voice more than Don's(myself included). As for guitar, having watched the Live in Dublin dvd, I've come to believe that he could (no can) play some great leads if he wanted to.
It's ok to complement others' talents by cutting back on yours sometimes, but not all of the time. Imo, Glenn sells himself short too much, and it's a shame.

[L101]

A comment was made in the BBF thread about Somebody sounding more like a Frey solo song. This has also been said on numerous occasions about ILTWAWD & could, in fact, be said about all Glenn's songs on this album with the exception of How Long (or WDIDWMH because of Don's co-lead). I would submit, however, that Somebody gets closer to the Eagles than his ballads because it has great harmonies by Don & Tim & great guitar & organ work.

So why is this the case, more than for the other members' songs? I think he wanted to reassert himself as a singer & to do that the songs he did had to be primarily vocal showcases. In the case of the lyrics they are extremely personal which was a first for him in terms of Eagles songs. YANA & IYWN are HIS songs in terms of what he's saying, even thought Don called IYWN important.

As a Frey fan while I accept that people feel his songs on this album sound more like solo songs, I think it's a shame that people also seem to like them less for that very reason. It isn't an ideal situation but it is what happened. The entire album to some extent could be described as a collection of solo songs. It's just more obvious for some reason on Glenn's songs.

Out of all the songs sung by Glenn on LROOE, Somebody is really the only one that I think could be a Glenn solo song because as I've said before, it sounds like THIO with the upbeat tempo and how he sounds singing it. I like the song but it just doesn't sound like an Eagles song to me.

I'm not sure where you get the impression that people like Glenn's songs on LROOE less because they think they sound like his solo songs - I for one, don't think that about the rest of his leads, especially NMCD and IYWN.

As for why you think people are less accepting of Glenn's songs as Eagles songs and not feel the same way about the other members songs, that's something for someone else to discuss as I don't believe that to be true (apart from Somebody) and is not something I've ever thought about - I just listen to the album and enjoy it for what it is - Eagles music!!

BTW, I absolutely hate Fast Company and that's a Don lead!!!

[VAisForEagleLovers]

In my opinion, and it is just my opinion, here's why people seem to think it sounds like a collection of solo songs, except How Long... They sang certain songs a certain way in the 70's. Music has moved on. Artists have moved on. Our guys moved on. How Long is from the 70's and they perform it very much like they did when they covered it in the 70's. As long as Eagles music represents the 70's in everyone's heads, nothing they will ever write in the future will ever sound the same. Songwriting is a personal thing even if what you're writing isn't personal. There's a little bit of the songwriters in every song that's written. Like painting. In the 2000's they weren't the same people they were in the 70's. You could lock Don and Glenn and even JD and Jackson in a room for a week and at the end of it you'll have some great songs, but they won't be the 1970's, so they won't sound like the 'Eagles'.

Also, their songs in the 70's painted a picture of life in the 70's, and I'm not sure why they would want to do that now.

I don't follow a lot of other Classic Rock artists that have released new material, but what I have heard doesn't sound like it came from the 70's, either. An artist like Springsteen never went away, really, he's evolved and we've evolved with him, and when he does a newer song, we don't compare it to his material from 1977 (or whenever). Perhaps the Eagles did themselves a disservice by including How Long, because then everyone was disappointed that all the songs didn't sound like it.

IMO, No More Walks In The Woods has the classic Eagles sound. No one else on this earth could sing that like they sing it. No one else can do those harmonies with those voices, yet most of their fans completely dismiss the song and don't even mention it, good or bad, when discussing the album. Like it's not even on there.

Sorry for the length of this, but I feel like people are holding them to a standard they can't possibly achieve. A standard they didn't even want to achieve. From the interviews at the time, it seemed to me that what took so long to get LROOE even started was because they spent time trying to be something they were a long time ago and weren't any more. It wasn't until they made the decision to quit trying to capture a sound from the 70's that they were able to move forward.

When even hardcore fans dismiss the entire album as merely a collection of solo songs, is it any wonder they have no wish to put themselves out there again and put together another album?

[L101]

I really like the album and yes, I feel the songs have evolved a lot from their sound in the 70's. But because of their harmonies, whatever they sing, they will always sound like the Eagles. Songs like LROOE, WITW and even BBF to me are the 'new' Eagles sound - they have come into this century and have left the 70's sound behind. Springsteen (who I also love) has evolved well though some of his newer songs are best forgotten but he has still retained his Springsteenness......

I never thought it sounded like a collection of solo songs until I started reading reviews of it in the last year or two, it might be a bit disjointed in some ways, song arrangement etc but its still good (and its better than having no new Eagles music).

but I feel like people are holding them to a standard they can't possibly achieve. A standard they didn't even want to achieve. From the interviews at the time, it seemed to me that what took so long to get LROOE even started was because they spent time trying to be something they were a long time ago and weren't any more. It wasn't until they made the decision to quit trying to capture a sound from the 70's that they were able to move forward.

I do agree with you here VA - I just wish they had the faith in their new music to have included some of the songs (How long for example on the HOTE tour even though the album is not as well known as their older releases. So at the end of this rant, I really like LROOE and I am glad that they decided to move forward from their 70's sound - it just shows that they never stop creating and that's good for everyone!!

ETA - As for NMWITW - that is the other song that I don't like - yes it has the famous Eagles harmonies and they sound great on it but that song just bugs me and as I normally listen to the CD in the car, I have to skip it, as it leads to road rage

[AlreadyGone95]

I follow alot of 70s/80s rock bands that still release new music. Whrn Fleetwood Mac released their Extended Play ep back in 2013, fans were happy for the most part. Why? Despite modern production, the songs sounded like they came from 1977. The songs sounded like what people associate Fleetwood Mac as sounding like.

Every band that released a few albums has a "sound" that people associate with that band, usually a sub genre. When Metallica went from thrash metal to hard rock, they pissed off alot of fans. It can be very upsetting to fans for a band to change their sound. However, I feel that musicians should play whatever kind of music suits them.

LROOE would probably be tied for 3rd on my Eagles album list. Despite a few songs that I don't like, it's a great album overall. Imo, it's better than the debut, On the Border, or The Long Run. There's many different types of music on this album, and I like the variety. As I said above, most of these songs could've been solo songs, but the group aspect makes them better.

I think that the changes in production also turn people off. Modern songs sound alot cleaner with digital production instead of analog. Coming from this generation, that doesn't bother me, but I do notice it.

I love hearing new music from the older bands. I'm eagerly awaiting Def Leppard's new album, as well as Iron Maiden's new double album. One of my favorite thrash metal bandsñ Metal Church just released a new album. I'm fixing to listen to it in a few minutes.

I like NMWITW. It's not one of my "5" ratings, but the harmonies are soo good.
I seem to be in the minority of actually liking Fast Company and Fail Grasp, but really disliking ILTWAWD.

ETA: the Metal Church album is actually just a single from the album, so I can sdd that album to my wait list lol

[sodascouts]

I think it sounds like an Eagles song if it has our guys doing harmonies. Their voices together are the Eagles sound for me.

I think it sounds like a solo song if you can only hear one voice. That's my issue with "Learn to Be Still." I realize it's completely subjective.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we didn't know who wrote what - if we didn't know that a certain track was Frey/Tempchin, or a certain track was Henley/Smith, but took them all at face value. Would we still reach the same conclusions about what sounds like an "Eagles" song? Who knows.

[Jonny Come Lately]

As widely recognisable as Eagles harmony vocals are, I'm not sure that they alone can determine whether a song sounds like an Eagles song or a solo one. For example, a song like the title track from The Long Run has relatively little in the way of harmony vocals, with Don Henley singing most of the song on his own, yet I would certainly say it sounds like an Eagles song, with the other band members shining as instrumentalists (Walsh and Felder's slide guitars stand out, but the song is driven by Tim's bass line and Glenn's rhythm playing). By contrast, ILTWAWD sounds like a Glenn solo song even though the other band members provide backing vocals on it, and I feel this is because the music just doesn't sound like the Eagles. If it had been given a musical arrangement akin to, say, Saturday Night or Centre Of The Universe, I think it would have seemed much more like an Eagles song.

Although I like LTBS a lot, I have to agree that it would have benefitted from some backing vocals to make the other band members a bit more prominent - Don Felder does get a decent solo to be fair, but the other three don't have any clearly defined role in the song.

I can see why some people think Somebody sounds like a Glenn solo song but to me it definitely feels like an Eagles song - the harmony vocals on the chorus being one thing, but I would also say that the song's rather dark feel is similar to a few old school Eagles songs, Witchy Woman especially, while the slide guitar is another familiar Eagles element (it was used on most of their 1970s albums, particularly once Joe joined - nearly half the songs on The Long Run featured slide playing).

I tend to agree that Glenn's songs from LROOE stand out as sounding more like his solo songs than Don's do and I think this can be traced to their 1980s solo work. Both Glenn and Don made songs in this era in styles which were rather different to anything they had done in the Eagles, with Glenn making more romantic ballads (such as The One You Love), in contrast to the more bittersweet folk-rock songs he's associated with in the Eagles and Don making more keyboard-centric pop/pop-rock songs, such as All She Wants To Do Is Dance, which don't really resemble any 1970s Eagles song. There are no examples of the latter on LROOE from Don, with his songs mainly consisting of thoughtful ballads like WITW and cynical rockers like Business As Usual (he wrote and sung songs in both these styles back in the 1970s), but Glenn does have a couple of straightforwardly romantic ballads on the album, most notably No More Cloudy Days and ILTWAWD, which to my mind are much closer to his solo songs than to the likes of Tequila Sunrise or Lyin' Eyes.

I have to say I really love Frail Grasp On The Big Picture - both the music and lyrics really strongly appeal to me. I didn't like Fast Company initially but it has grown on me somewhat - I'm not too keen on Don's falsetto vocals but I like the chorus and the arrangement plus the lyrics are quite good. I think ILTWAWD is a nice song but it just isn't that recognisable as an Eagles song.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

I think it sounds like an Eagles song if it has our guys doing harmonies. Their voices together are the Eagles sound for me.

I think it sounds like a solo song if you can only hear one voice. That's my issue with "Learn to Be Still." I realize it's completely subjective.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we didn't know who wrote what - if we didn't know that a certain track was Frey/Tempchin, or a certain track was Henley/Smith, but took them all at face value. Would we still reach the same conclusions about what sounds like an "Eagles" song? Who knows.

That is very true, Soda!

[Freypower]

Out of all the songs sung by Glenn on LROOE, Somebody is really the only one that I think could be a Glenn solo song because as I've said before, it sounds like THIO with the upbeat tempo and how he sounds singing it. I like the song but it just doesn't sound like an Eagles song to me.

I'm not sure where you get the impression that people like Glenn's songs on LROOE less because they think they sound like his solo songs - I for one, don't think that about the rest of his leads, especially NMCD and IYWN.

As for why you think people are less accepting of Glenn's songs as Eagles songs and not feel the same way about the other members songs, that's something for someone else to discuss as I don't believe that to be true (apart from Somebody) and is not something I've ever thought about - I just listen to the album and enjoy it for what it is - Eagles music!!

BTW, I absolutely hate Fast Company and that's a Don lead!!!

What I was trying to work out why Glenn's LROOE songs sound more like solo songs than the other members' songs. I didn't say that fans of other members were less accepting of Glenn's songs, but they do say 'it sounds like a solo song & that's why I don't like it so much'. They don't say that about the songs sung by the other members on this album.

[AlreadyGone95]

While their harmonies are part of what drew me to the eagles as a kid, it's not the only thing that I think of as "Eagles". Heck, my top 3 favorite songs, Outlaw Man, Life in the Fast Lane, and Already Gone have minimal vocal harmonies.(Already Gone has the most harmonies because of the chorus) Their first 2 albums are really defined by a country rock feel, and they slowly became more rock until The Long Run. The Long Run is an AOR album to me. With LROOE, they combined the country rock and AOR and mixed in some elements unique to each members' solo career. I think that both of Joe's songs could've been solo songs as well. To me, it's a combination the amazing musicianship, talented songwriters, and the harmonies that make a song an "Eagles" song.

As for not knowing who wrote what, in some ways we don't. We don't know who wrote which verse or guitar solo if it's a combined songwriting credit.