The last great Frey and Henley co-write

[Delilah]

Glenn and Don are often considered one of the best songwriting duos in popular music. The first song they wrote together, Desperado, is usually ranked at or near the top of the Eagles catalog. What was the last really great song they co-wrote without anyone else receiving credit?

Here is a compiled list:

1. Desperado
2. Tequila Sunrise
3. Good Day in a Hell
4. One of These Nights
5. Lyin Eyes
6. After the Thrill is Gone
7. Wasted Time
8. The Last Resort
9. The Long Run
10. King of Hollywood
11. Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks
12. Get Over It
13. Hole in the World
14. Busy Being Fabulous
15. What Do I Do With My Heart
16. Fast Company
17. Frail Grasp on the Big Picture

Out of these 17 tracks, Henley sings lead on 11 and co-lead on 4. I know he took over a lot of the leads as time went on but this is a bit of an eye-opener considering the songwriting credit is split 50-50 on these songs.

Anyway, my choice is The Last Resort. Not that the other songs that followed aren’t good, they just don’t measure up to this one imo.

Thoughts?

[maryc2130]

I also vote for The Last Resort. I think the quality of the songs they wrote together drops off after that, although there are a few of them I like.

I'm not surprised about those statistics on Don and lead vocals. It seems he's always been most interested in singing llead vocals on the songs for which he wrote the majority of the lyrics.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I would probably have to say The Last Resort or The Long Run as being the best. If you put a emphasis on lyrics than it’s the last resort but I think the Long Run is an overall better song. They had some good moments since then but the word great is just a bit too strong.

[New Kid In Town]

From what I read Glenn did most of the arranging of the music. Hence "The Lone Arranger" nickname. Also, Glenn had that thing about wanting Don to sing lead from OOTN onward(A mistake in my opinion). Also, he was classically trained on the piano from ages 5 to 13 and suited for his role as the arranger of their music. I read somewhere that Don, Joe and Bernie all had some piano lesson but not anything as long as Glenn. JMHO, but I think they did more of the writing(lyrics) together in the early years. Don did confirm in the RS memorial issue that Glenn also wrote/ contributed lyrics for HC.


YEF - I have to disagree. I don't dislike either song. However, I think TLR is too long and goes on and on. The LR is ok, but I personally would not but it as one of their best songs. Just MHO, but I would say Desperado, Tequila Sunrise and Wasted Time would be my top three.

[YoungEaglesFan]

From what I read Glenn did most of the arranging of the music. Hence "The Lone Arranger" nickname. Also, Glenn had that thing about wanting Don to sing lead from OOTN onward(A mistake in my opinion). Also, he was classically trained on the piano from ages 5 to 13 and suited for his role as the arranger of their music. I read somewhere that Don, Joe and Bernie all had some piano lesson but not anything as long as Glenn. JMHO, but I think they did more of the writing(lyrics) together in the early years. Don did confirm in the RS memorial issue that Glenn also wrote/ contributed lyrics for HC.


YEF - I have to disagree. I don't dislike either song. However, I think TLR is too long and goes on and on. The LR is ok, but I personally would not but it as one of their best songs. Just MHO, but I would say Desperado, Tequila Sunrise and Wasted Time would be my top three.

I’m not exactly sure what this thread means, but I took it to mean what was Don and Glenn’s last best co-write. That’s why I said TLR and LR. Those wouldn’t be in my top 5 if we were talking all time.

[New Kid In Town]

I’m not exactly sure what this thread means, but I took it to mean what was Don and Glenn’s last best co-write. That’s why I said TLR and LR. Those wouldn’t be in my top 5 if we were talking all time.

Sorry YEF, you are right. It is about the last best co-write. Sorry, I am tired- I had a crappy night sleep last night ! I agree, neither song would be in my top five either.

[Delilah]

I'm not surprised about those statistics on Don and lead vocals. It seems he's always been most interested in singing llead vocals on the songs for which he wrote the majority of the lyrics.

Yes, the song lead distribution got me to thinking that in addition to the “we had Don Henley” justification, maybe Don was able to argue his case for singing those leads b/c he wrote most of the lyrics.

I would probably have to say The Last Resort or The Long Run as being the best. If you put a emphasis on lyrics than it’s the last resort but I think the Long Run is an overall better song. They had some good moments since then but the word great is just a bit too strong.

I almost went with The Long Run, even though it isn’t a favorite of mine. After all, it was a top 10 hit, a concert staple and a statement about themselves and the band. But I couldn’t see putting it up there with songs like One of These Nights or Lyin Eyes which are not just great but are original creations. At any rate, my favorite part of The Long Run is probably the bass, which is a Timothy part.

[groupie2686]

I would say Busy Being Fabulous...it had a good title, a good story like Lyin' Eyes (although nowhere near as good a song), and good lyrics. I really love What Do I Do With My Heart, but I don't think it falls in the "great" category.

I disagree that they didn't write great songs after Hotel California...apart from BBF, I'd include The Long Run and Get Over It as great songs. Why are we not including Frey/Henley co-writes with other writers? I still count songs like New Kid in Town and Best of My Love, for example, as Frey/Henley co-writes even though they had the assistance of J.D. Souther.

Great idea for a topic, Delilah.

[Delilah]

I would say Busy Being Fabulous...it had a good title, a good story like Lyin' Eyes (although nowhere near as good a song), and good lyrics. I really love What Do I Do With My Heart, but I don't think it falls in the "great" category.

I disagree that they didn't write great songs after Hotel California...apart from BBF, I'd include The Long Run and Get Over It as great songs. Why are we not including Frey/Henley co-writes with other writers? I still count songs like New Kid in Town and Best of My Love, for example, as Frey/Henley co-writes even though they had the assistance of J.D. Souther.

Great idea for a topic, Delilah.

Thanks, Groupie.

The topic is meant to focus on just the Henley/Frey songwriting partnership. When other songwriters are involved, it’s harder to know just who contributed how much, esp. when the song was initiated by the other songwriter. For example, it’s pretty well-known Jackson Browne began and wrote most of Take It Easy but what about James Dean, a song also begun by Jackson? How much of it did he end up writing? JD Souther began New Kid in Town, Felder began HC, etc. When there’s 4 songwriters, it gets a bit crowded...the partnership gets diluted.

However these Henley/Frey collaborations could be a thread topic as well.

Doolin-Dalton (w/ Souther, Browne)
Out of Control (w/ Tom Nixon)
Certain Kind of Fool (w/ Meisner)
Saturday Night (w/ Meisner, Leadon)
DD/Desperado reprise (w/ Souther, Browne)
On the Border (w/ Leadon)
James Dean (w/ Browne, Souther)
Best of My Love (w/ Souther)
Hollywood Waltz (w/ B Leadon, T Leadon)
Take It to the Limit (w/ Meisner)
Hotel California (w/ Felder)
New Kid in Town (w/ Souther)
Life in the Fast Lane (w/ Walsh)
Victim of Love (w/ Felder, Souther)
I Can’t Tell You Why (w/ Schmit)
Disco Strangler (w/ Felder)
Heartache Tonight (w/ Seger, Souther)
Those Shoes (w/ Felder)
Teenage Jail (w/ Souther)
Sad Cafe (w/ Walsh, Souther)
Long Road Out of Eden (w/ Schmit)
Center of the Universe (w/ Smith)

[maryc2130]

Yes, the song lead distribution got me to thinking that in addition to the “we had Don Henley” justification, maybe Don was able to argue his case for singing those leads b/c he wrote most of the lyrics.

I'd even go a step further and hypothesize that the reason Glenn sings lead on "What Do I Do With My Heart" is that he wrote most of the lyrics. Not only does he get the first writing credit, but the lyrics sounds much more Frey-ish than Henley-ish. (Not trying to make any judgments here; I really like the song.) I wonder if Don wrote he lyrics for the part he sings, as I believe he did for "After the Thrill is Gone".

I almost went with The Long Run, even though it isn’t a favorite of mine. After all, it was a top 10 hit, a concert staple and a statement about themselves and the band. But I couldn’t see putting it up there with songs like One of These Nights or Lyin Eyes which are not just great but are original creations. At any rate, my favorite part of The Long Run is probably the bass, which is a Timothy part.

I almost chose The Long Run, also. I do really like the song, but when I think of the great songs, I think of the ones up to and including The Last Resort. (And some others that were not written solely by Henley and Frey).