Glenn's voice

[OntheBorder74]

Thanks Soda glad to be here, love Glenn Frey, my favourite eagles and favourite singer and happy theres a place for my Frey fixation

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Welcome OTB74 from a fellow Frey fan! I love the Eagles, and Glenn is definitely my favorite. I love his voice, it touches a place in me that makes my world a better place while listening.

[UndertheWire]

Welcome OTB.

I was won over to the Frey side by LROOE and followed up by buying all the solo stuff. I like his voice best in the early 90s recordings - it has an appealing huskiness. I also love some of the sweeter notes on After Hours, such as the word "Now" in "Shadow of Your Smile" and the word "Funny" in "Here's to Life".

It does feel strange when peole seem to dismiss Glenn compared with Don Henley and I'm wondering why I feel differently. Especially as Don's was the voice I loved in early Eagles material.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

It does feel strange when peole seem to dismiss Glenn compared with Don Henley and I'm wondering why I feel differently. Especially as Don's was the voice I loved in early Eagles material.

I've wondered the same! There's times a song by Don comes on and I just listen and think, 'Wow, what an incredible voice.' Then I hear a song by Glenn and I can't really describe it. I can't describe why I feel like I'm experiencing a piece of heaven when I sniff a bouquet of lilacs, and not a bouquet of lavender. I can't describe why I prefer the ocean over the mountains. Don has an amazing voice and I could listen to it all day. However, I'd rather hear Glenn's. Of course, when I can hear both at the same time I'm a happy, happy person!

[GlennLover]

I don't know why I prefer Glenn's voice either. When I first heard their songs on the radio in the 70's the songs Glenn sang were usually my favourites even though I loved all of their songs.

[sodascouts]

Same here. I've told this story elsewhere, but I was drawn to Glenn simply by listening to The Very Best of the Eagles and discovering that I enjoyed his leads better. I'd bought that album after seeing Don and Stevie perform together in Chicago in 2005, so I actually came in preferring Don and switched over! That's not to diss the other guys, but Glenn's voice made me feel more deeply than the others, it's as simple as that.

Thus, my Glenn fandom only kicked into gear less than 10 years ago. Hopefully, I've made up for lost time, though.

[DJ]

Even though Randy was my favorite singer, I prefer Glenn over Don most of the time. Glenn seems to be able to sing just about anything, not high octives but everything else. Don seems like he really strains his voice at times and his low octive doesn't go low enough. Although I do enjoy Don's voice, Glenn's vocal range is better, in my opinion.

[Freypower]

I've wondered the same! There's times a song by Don comes on and I just listen and think, 'Wow, what an incredible voice.' Then I hear a song by Glenn and I can't really describe it. I can't describe why I feel like I'm experiencing a piece of heaven when I sniff a bouquet of lilacs, and not a bouquet of lavender. I can't describe why I prefer the ocean over the mountains. Don has an amazing voice and I could listen to it all day. However, I'd rather hear Glenn's. Of course, when I can hear both at the same time I'm a happy, happy person!

That's a nice way of putting it; ocean rather than mountain, or as I call it Velvet Throat over Golden Throat. Also I concur with Soda's statement about Glenn's voice making you feel more deeply. The first time I heard NKIT in a public place the intimacy of it just blew me away & I never got over it.

People know how I love the After Hours songs. I was listening to Route 66 last night. He sounds so relaxed, so loose there. His phrasing & diction are perfect.

[UndertheWire]

I found this in a review of the Portland show:

Frey’s voice is not one of those classic, amazing voices, certainly not appreciated by all rock critics. To me, though, it’s like the sound of your best friend calling from across the street, urging you to hang out and go find some fun. Who doesn’t love the sound of their best friend calling?

[Freypower]

Well, no. I'm sorry, but he's better than that. That is a classic example of damning with faint praise. 'Oh, he doesn't leave you awestuck with the power of his voice the way Henley does. He's just your buddy looking for a party'.

Glenn's voice has always been overlooked by the critics; that is absolutely correct. And perhaps because his delivery isn't melodramatic & (when singing with the Eagles) he doesn't call that much attention to himself, perhaps the quality of the actual voice is easy to miss. But it's there, for heaven's sake, in NKIT & Lyin' Eyes & Tequila Sunrise. It's there. It's also there in the occasional uptempo song he sings with the Eagles.

How I wish some of the people who dismiss his voice so cavalierly would either listen to After Hours or had seen the After Hours tour.