I was recently in Florida on vacation and I stopped into a vinyl store. I've been looking for "The Allnighter" for a while now. I was going through bin after bin when I came across it.

I collected my 6 or so records and went to checkout. The guy who owns the store was ringing me up and said "you can have that Glenn Frey album for free if you'll just take it. No one wants Glenn Frey albums, no one ever asks for them, and no one ever buys them! He said "Don Henley's solo career was so much stronger and had better music. I sell his albums all the time! He was the better singer in the Eagles, too". Now to be fair the guy did have like 3 copies of The Allnighter and even a couple copies of No Fun Aloud. Which is weird because I never come across the former. Still, that's no excuse for his comments dogging Glenn!

I at first almost got testy with the guy as I've been in a mood lately, but I decided to take my free album (sticker price was 6 dollars so it's not like I saved a ton of money by staying quiet), and my other 5 and leave and just play nice. But I mean, come on dude! Yes, Don sold more records but that doesn't mean his solo music was in any way better than Glenn's! Just because someone sold a lot of records doesn't mean their music is great. Justin Bieber sold a lot of records too, and his music is terrible. Granted, Don's music IS great, but still - sales aren't the metric. And he certainly wasn't the better singer, they were equal.

I have to wonder if he must be a Don Felder fan, as most Felder fans have a bone to pick with Glenn still, which is just sad at this point to be honest. He was from Florida, and this store was in Florida. Maybe he's just a Henley fanboy. Who knows.

Of course, who am I to complain about a free album, but it was in the way that he said it. It wasn't "oh, we don't sell his music much so if you'd like a copy, just take it". It was inferred "who the hell buys Glenn Frey records, what's wrong with you?! You poor soul just take it and get it out of my store already please!" Glenn's solo music may not have sold as much, but quality wise I'd put any of Glenn's albums up against any of Don's.

I guess at the end of it all - I get a free copy of an album I've been looking for forever and I was able to show some restraint and not go into battle over defending Glenn, lol. It still irked me, though.

I played the album front to back this weekend and I love it. I think it's his best solo album, IMO. I also love the understated black cover. Same reason I love "The Long Run" album cover. Minimalism, I suppose.