For Those Saying Glenn Frey is Necessary to the Eagles; no Glenn, no legit Eagles

[sodascouts]

I think this might miss the mark for me. There are good cover versions of songs that aren't done by the original singer. I don't have any problem with people covering songs, and in cases like Bob Dylan, I much prefer people to cover his songs. Lots of people cover Eagles songs very well.

But those people don't pretend they ARE the Eagles.

The "Eagles" are now a glorified cover band to me. My only problem is that they are falsely presenting themselves as the real thing when there is no Eagles without Glenn Frey.

[Dawn]

From the beginning this didn't look or feel right. How could the Eagles continue without Glenn Frey? Why would they even want to?

The answers to those two questions -- e.g. "it's healing, it's what Glenn would have wanted, the fans want to hear the songs performed by the band that recorded them not some tribute band" did not work to change my initial uneasiness nor has the passage of time.

The reason is simple.

Either Glenn is irreplaceable or he is isn't. There is no middle ground.

But that reality doesn't work for the brand. The brand needs Glenn Frey to be irreplaceable and replaceable at the same time.

That is what sells tickets and fills the seats.

IMHO it's not about keeping the songs alive. It's about keeping the brand generating tour revenue for as long as possible.

[Freypower]

And that's really the divide isn't it. People who feel like the songs and experience are more important, and people who think the person singing them is more important.

I will say that in some forms of music, the song is more important. In Southern Gospel music, specifically in the male quartet world, the members of groups change ALOT, and it is all about the sound, and the song.
One group that I really enjoy are the Kingsmen quartet. They have probably had 100 members over the 50 or so years the group has been around.
I think precedent is an issue too though. Those groups were changing from the beginning, through the entire life of the group. And they typically don't write their own songs.
And another issue that we don't see with groups like the Eagles, is that these gospel groups setlists change almost entirely over time. The Kingsmen probably only play a couple of songs that are over 10 or 15 years old. They don't do 3 hour marathon performances of all the "hits" because they have many many hits, and release many albums. They have done 12 albums since 2000.
I think like Freypower said, Rock music is very different and very unique in the way the song is associated with the person.

Yes, I alluded to the non-songwriting groups in an earlier posts. For gospel groups as you say, and pretty much for the Motown vocal groups, it didn't matter who the members were. The songwriters ruled. Same with bubblegum groups.

Of course the songs are important, but for authenticity, the person who wrote & sang or played the original is a better option.

Anyway, now the 'Eagles' have even decided that their own back catalogue isn't that important any more. Tulsa Time & Walking To New Orleans? That's the Eagles, is it? Oh, but they're proving they can change. They're reaching out to their audiences, etc etc. Or are they trying to keep Gill interested? How long before he gets more songs of his own?

[Glennsallnighter]

How Long before hes a 'real' Eagle? Poor Glenn must be turning in his grave

[Freypower]

How Long before hes a 'real' Eagle? Poor Glenn must be turning in his grave

He is already a 'real' Eagle. He's in the photos.

[BillBailey1976]

Yes, I alluded to the non-songwriting groups in an earlier posts. For gospel groups as you say, and pretty much for the Motown vocal groups, it didn't matter who the members were. The songwriters ruled. Same with bubblegum groups.

Of course the songs are important, but for authenticity, the person who wrote & sang or played the original is a better option.

Anyway, now the 'Eagles' have even decided that their own back catalogue isn't that important any more. Tulsa Time & Walking To New Orleans? That's the Eagles, is it? Oh, but they're proving they can change. They're reaching out to their audiences, etc etc. Or are they trying to keep Gill interested? How long before he gets more songs of his own?

It's so funny that you mentioned Motown. After I posted that, I thought about how Motown has that same revolving door in groups. I looked up the Temptations. I think they've had like 24 members!!!!

I can see Vince just doing his one solo song for now. I think like has already happened, it will rotate through a few, but I'm not sure they give him more. But.....with these guys nothing is off the table, I don't think.

I can see them, in Eag'less' tour 2, going back to a HFO type show, where there are several solos from Don (Boys of Summer, Dirty Laundry, All She Wants to Do, etc.), and if that's the case, I can see them adding another Vince song or 2.

[chaim]

I don't quite understand this Motown thing. Even though Four Tops didn't write their own songs, I find it strange that they still perform with only one original member -one of the background singers. The other current members were kids when FT had their first big hits.

[sodascouts]

One thing that's been brought up before in debate but that no one on the other side ever addresses is the fundamental flaw of the argument "We must tour to keep the music alive..."

Um... what happens when they're not able to tour anymore themselves?

Surely they don't seriously believe all their music will die then?

"Wait - what's that over there? Thought I saw something. Anyway, about the topic of how we should tour so some teenage fan in Switzerland can hear us...." replies Don Henley. lol

I wish he would get called on it like that. But the sad part is, people don't challenge it. They just swallow it. "Oh, yeah.. keep the music alive... yeah, that's what Glenn would want!"

[chaim]

Yes, I've been waiting for an answer to that. If the music's going to die anyway the day a band called 'Eagles' stops touring, what good does it do in the long run (pun not intended, but acknowledged) to keep it alive a few more years?

[carol7lynn]

The more I read about the GlennFreyLessEagles, the more turned off I've become. They've morphed into a tribute band.

You'd think their time would be better spent creating new music, rather than re-creating "Tequila Sunrises....on their Long Road Out of Eden" for months on end.

Perhaps this is their way of working through their collective grief, not to mention their own mortality. Future is just too scarey. Easier to re-create the past. Safe and secure.

Perhaps........Per Chance...."A New Romance......."

CarolC