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Thread: Celebration of "Soul Searchin"

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    Moderator Ive always been a dreamer's Avatar
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    Default Celebration of "Soul Searchin"

    Today In Eagles History says that this is the 21st anniversary of the release of Glenn's Soul Searchin' album. Although I don't consider this to be Glenn's best solo work, I still think it is a pretty good album. For me, the standouts on the album are the title track and True Love. I will rate the songs as I usually do, and as usual for me, I like all the songs. However, I think this album is a bit uneven, and there are actually some songs that I like but don't love.


    So, the ones that I absolutely love are:

    True Love (amazing vocals here)
    Soul Searchin' (just plain love this song!)
    Working Man (it rocks - although I love the slow version as well)


    The ones that I like a whole lot are:

    Can't Put Out the Fire (almost made my "absolutely love" list)
    Livin' Right (fun and catchy and one that I bet is among Cindy's favorites)
    I Did It For Your Love (The ballads on this album are very pretty, albeit a little bland for my taste. Overall, I just don't think they are as good as the ones on No Fun Aloud.)
    Some Kind of Blue (see I Did It For Your Love comment)
    It's Your Life (see I Did It For Your Love comment)


    The ones that I like:

    Let's Pretend We're Still In Love
    Two Hearts (not one of his best, but not as bad as Soda is gonna say it is )

    "People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
    Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016

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    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    I was just thinking about this in the car yesterday (knowing that the anniversary was coming up). I agree it's no Strange Weather, and that it's uneven, but it has some standout tracks. I'm going to go into more depth about my favorites in another post, but here's the breakdown for me:

    My favorites:

    I Did It for Your Love - so tragic, so emotively sung!

    Some Kind of Blue - along the lines of the above. Poor heartbroken Glenn!

    It's Your Life - pretty tune and lovely sentiment.

    (More on these in the next post)


    The ones I think are very good, but are not my favorites:

    True Love - his vocal is very strong - he really belts it out - and I LOVE that full stop that revs back up at the end! I don't like it as much as the ballads because, while his vocal is very well-done, I don't get the same emotional power as I do from the ballads. I'll tell you what, though, the music is great, the vocal is great, there's nothing to dislike. It's just not my fave.

    Soul Searchin' - Lovely instrumentation and arrangement, and I especially love the use of a choir. What a good idea - it makes the song go to the spiritual level. Such a great sentiment - "You know you can't change the world, but you can change yourself." My only quibble is the echoing back and forth part which I think goes on a bit too long and thus slows down the song somewhat, but I can understand why he chose to do it that way. It's not even a quibble so much as something that they might have done differently, but the way that he did it works as well... wonderful song.


    Good, but not "very good"

    Let's Pretend We're Still in Love - I think the tune is very catchy. I especially like the bridge. In fact, that bridge really shoots the song up for me. His vocal there has that feeling I love. It starts off a little slowly but it keeps getting better.

    Livin' Right - A bright tune, good use of the horns. It just sounds like a commercial for a gym; no wonder it was used as one!

    Workin' Man - This tune is not really bad but it doesn't have the beauty of my favorites nor the catchiness of the stronger tunes. I do appreciate the celebration of the working man sentiment. I find the mournful B-side version much more effective, though - there's an obvious downside to being a working man as well.


    Just OK:

    Can't Put Out This Fire - the song overall has a bright tune, which is rather incongruous with the lyrics. However, even if the music is a bit peppy for the lyrics, it's catchy. I like the verses - they seem genuine to me, and I really like how he sings "You know breaking up is harder than it sounds / People leave but love still hangs around." So true! What brings this song down are its choruses. The central metaphor is trite lyrically and honestly the lyrics seem to describe a man who is sexually obsessed when his ex rather than in love! "Love is like a burnin' flame, keeps on getting higher / Every time I think of you, fills me with desire / And I can't put out this fire" - does that sound like "I miss you, baby" or "I miss having sex with you, baby"? Let's just say I don't get the same kind of heartbroken romantic angst as I do from listening to Some Kind of Blue.


    Yikes!


    Two Hearts - This song has the honor of being my least favorite - by far - of all of Glenn's solo work. The "melody" of the entire verse only has one note hit over and over with a couple notes thrown in at the beginning and end, then they take it up a bit and do it again. Seriously. I play piano at a third grade level, and I could go to a keyboard and bang that out in seconds. The choruses are better but can't save the song, and I don't like the way it ends either. The lyrics are tres lame as well, rhapsodizing about two teenagers running off to knock boots behind their parents' backs a la Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now." I love listening to Glenn sing so much that I can't say I HATE this song... I reserve that sentiment for songs far crappier. Still, I hit "skip" here every time. Did he owe the songwriters a favor?

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    OK, more on my favorites! They all share a couple commonalities: lovely melody, emotion-laden vocal. But to get into more detail...

    I Did It for Your Love
    This is my favorite song on the album. It is evocative of those poetically tragic romantic figures, standing on the shore as the wind whips about them and the pouring rain drenches them, brooding, intense, a look of tortured anguish on their face as they long for their lost love - like Darcy after Lizzie rejected him in Pride and Prejudice, like Heathcliff on the moors in Wuthering Heights. A kind of Byronic hero, if you will. Similarly, Glenn's vocal conveys a sense of tragic longing. It has a poignant quality, torn between love and grief. The way he sings "Did everything just to make you smile - somehow I knew it was all worthwhile - 'cause I did it for your love." - it really makes you feel it. The sweeping instrumentation after that part which leads to the bridge gives the song an almost cinematic feeling - the tragic figure brought to life in music just as he is in the movies. Then, at the end of the song, that soft "I did it for your love" - wow. When this song is over, I just sigh.

    Some Kind of Blue
    This has a pretty melody and I like the use of the saxophone as well the subtle backing vocals (I also like that Timothy is on this track). However, as is often the case with these ballads, what I really love about the song is the vocal. It sounds so sincere and genuine. You really believe this guy is heartbroken. I especially like how he sings "It's out of my hands - you've made other plans - but I'm still in love with you, and I'm still some kind of blue." I also think the use of "some kind of blue" rather than just "I feel blue" is a nice twist that keeps it from being trite. Very effective conveyance of emotion, I believe.

    It's Your Life
    The sentiment is a rarity among love songs - the guy wants the best for the girl, even if it means she leaves him. He supports her no matter what. That's such a great message - REAL true, unselfish love. Warms my heart. So many great vocal moments: "I just want to say I believe in you"; "When you've had enough, I'll be there for you" - the entire segment from that moment which leads to that last statement: "God knows I love you, but I understand... it's your life." The arrangement - like the strategic addition of the harmonies in certain places for effect - definitely makes things more interesting. The song is kind of different in that you don't really have a chorus per se, just a thematic structural repetition in the melody. I think it works well. It's the last song on the album, and it leaves you with a good feeling.

    You know, in order to write this up, I listened to the album a few times today - this morning before tutoring, in the car while I headed to a friend's house for a "movie night," and even now as I'm writing it. Soul Searchin' is not a weak album - it just suffers in comparison to his best work, I think.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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    Stuck on the Border Koala's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    I like the album, but it is not my favorite album from Glenn, that's definitely Strange Weather!
    My favorite songs from this album are True Love, LivinŽ Right, Soul SearchinŽand Some Kind of Blue!
    "For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation!"
    (Glenn Frey)


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    Moderator Troubadour's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    Happy Birthday, Soul Searchin'! I'm afraid I don't own this album, but I do love the title track, and Some Kind Of Blue and True Love are great, too. I must check out Two Hearts...

    Soda - your avatar is adorable. Such a cute moment! He looks like he needs a big hug in that video.


    you better put it all behind you, baby, 'cause life goes on
    you keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside--



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    Moderator Glennsallnighter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    I'm going to break with the mould here because believe it or not, Soul Searchin is actually my favourite of Glenn 's solo albums, albeit with the narrowest of margins from 'Strange Weather'. Yes I know SW is probably musically superior and contains more tracks than SS but there is just something about SS that draws me to it and is often my album of choice if I'm looking for something to listen to say in the car.

    My Absolute Favourites
    Lets Pretend We're Still in Love - I love this one. Even though the lyrics are relatively simple and straihgtforward, the sentiment is strong and you can hear the pain of anyone who still wants that person in their life. His whispered 'We're still in love' at the end which never fails to send shives down my spine whenever I hear it says it all.

    True Love
    A catchy energetic song which really builds up in tempo. Its got a real 80's beat to it, particularly when you think he's finished only to hear it start up again. Great for driving.....

    Some Kind of Blue
    My first hearing of this song was actually watching the video 2 years ago when Soda posted it up on the site. I love it even though its a sad commentary on what could have been. Poor Glenn he looks and sings like he could do with a big hug.

    Of course the other songs come in pretty close here and I'd find it hard to place them in any particular order. There's times I wonder too if the album in some way mirrors Glenn 's own life. Not chronologically, but I sometimes wonder where the depth of emotion on many of the tracks comes from. Of course I'm only surmising.....

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOUL SEARCHIN
    'I must be leaving soon... its your world now'
    Glenn Frey 1948-2016 RIP

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    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    Some music!

    True Love (Live Tokyo 1992)


    Livin' Right (Live Tokyo 1992)


    Some Kind of Blue (Live Royal Oak 2000)


    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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    Moderator Glennsallnighter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    Cool Soda! I have them all but they are always worth another look. Thanks.
    'I must be leaving soon... its your world now'
    Glenn Frey 1948-2016 RIP

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    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    Aren't they! I love the videos from this album! I should add that if you'd like to download them and not depend on YouTube, I've had them up for quite a while on my filmography. You can also find summaries and screenshots:

    True Love

    Livin' Right

    Soul Searchin'

    Some Kind of Blue

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  10. #10
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Happy Birthday "Soul Searchin"

    Quote Originally Posted by Glennsallnighter View Post
    I'm going to break with the mould here because believe it or not, Soul Searchin is actually my favourite of Glenn 's solo albums, albeit with the narrowest of margins from 'Strange Weather'. Yes I know SW is probably musically superior and contains more tracks than SS but there is just something about SS that draws me to it and is often my album of choice if I'm looking for something to listen to say in the car.
    Just goes to show you it's all subjective. Whatever touches your heart is what's "best"!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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