SO...HOW DO YOU THINK THE EAGLES' VOICES ARE HOLDING UP?

[rick endres]

It's not ALWAYS inevitable, but if you're a professional singer and you stay around a l-o-o-o-n-g time, sometimes you lose something off your voice - usually the top end. I saw Gordon Lightfoot a couple of years ago and it was disheartening. That mellow, resonant voice with the natural vibrato is a mere shadow of what it once was.

On the other hand, Crosby ~ Nash were magnificent - same age as Lightfoot (early 70s), and they still bring it. Same for Crosby, Stills and Nash. Stills isn't quite as mellow as the old days, but he still hits, "it's my h-e-e-e-a-a-a-r-r-r-t" on the Suite with no trouble. And when the three sing together, it's quite heartwarming.

James Taylor just keeps rollin' along.

However, Joni Mitchell has to tune her guitar all the way down from "E" to "C" because chain smoking has shaved several levels off her range.

What about Eagles?

What I heard Monday night was phenomenal - when Bernie joined in and they did 5 parts, it was almost overwhelming.

I bring it up because I recall hearing some accusations that Don was lip synching a section of "Waiting in the Weeds" a few years back - the "flavor of the week" part, which is UP there.

While he didn't sing that song Monday night, the Don Henley I heard would have had no trouble singing "Waiting in the Weeds." He was as powerful as ever. Glenn sounded great (cold and all), and Tim B. showed no after effects of his throat miseries. Joe, frankly, sounded better than I've ever heard him - awesome.

What do YOU think? Do they "still got it?"

[thelastresort]

Although not the greatest method of assessment, I get the impression from videos I see that Glenn's voice is starting to wane slightly; I wonder if the fact that as the LROOE tour progressed some of his songs were cut (NKIT, TS and AG I think all disappeared) says something also. It will happen to any artist in any genre that as their age progresses their voice will be affected to some degree; however a lot also depends I think on the nature of the song. With all respect to Joe, not many of his songs need the same sort of vocal care and time taken over them that the likes of TITTL (for Randy at least) or OOTN etc do, so he may appear less affected than say Don, Glenn or TBS do.

(I'll actually put up a counter argument to the above - Felder's voice now is actually quite decent, certainly better than what we saw of it during the 70s.)

[MaryCalifornia]

Their voices all sounded just like I expected them to - that is, very close to the recorded versions of the songs. They have written some songs with high notes, and Don, Glenn, and Timothy are hitting those notes as well as someone 30 years younger could - I guess I'm saying those were tough notes even when they were in their 20s. Glenn sounded very good on NKIT. Joe's voice hasn't aged a bit. I honestly don't think the 4 of them sung any more bad notes than any other performer who is actually singing that many songs live, with no backing track, for 3 hours. (Bernie sounds good, too. I wish he had another song to sing.)

Timothy has spoken in interviews about the vocal coaching/work he does after his surfboard accident, so we know he actually works on his voice. I don't know about the others and what type of vocal work they do or if they employ coaches. Someone else probably has info on this.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

I think that Glenn's voice was giving him problems, but I feel that the making of After Hours has brought his voice back better than it's been in a long, long time. Anyone listening to that album or the concerts he did promoting it cannot possibly believe that his voice has lost anything. Granted, with his recent cold it lost some strength, but that's about it.

I think that Don's voice sounds MUCH better than it does on the Farewell I DVD, and I thought that for LROOE as well.

I agree that Joe sounds as good or better than ever, and Timothy's voice is as sweet and pure as ever.

Somehow, these guys have cheated Father Time for which I am incredibly grateful. I love reading the tweets during and after a show where long time, casual fans are astounded at how great they still sound.

I know I'm a wee bit biased, but I don't think they sound great for men in their 60's. I think they sound great. Period. No qualifier needed.

[deb828]

I think that Glenn's voice was giving him problems, but I feel that the making of After Hours has brought his voice back better than it's been in a long, long time. Anyone listening to that album or the concerts he did promoting it cannot possibly believe that his voice has lost anything. Granted, with his recent cold it lost some strength, but that's about it.

I think that Don's voice sounds MUCH better than it does on the Farewell I DVD, and I thought that for LROOE as well.

I agree that Joe sounds as good or better than ever, and Timothy's voice is as sweet and pure as ever.

Somehow, these guys have cheated Father Time for which I am incredibly grateful. I love reading the tweets during and after a show where long time, casual fans are astounded at how great they still sound.

I know I'm a wee bit biased, but I don't think they sound great for men in their 60's. I think they sound great. Period. No qualifier needed.Well said, VA!

P.S. Trying out an avatar--if you know someone else has this one, let me know and I will change it. Thanks everyone!

[bluefeather]

agreed VA

[shunlvswx]

I think their voices sounds good today. Either your voice gets better with age or worse. I think it got better. They will probably never sound like they did when they were in their 20s, but it's amazing that they can still hit those high notes especially Don. Even if they had to lower the key.

[rick endres]

Interesting - thanks for the comments.

The only song I know for sure that they lowered the key was "Boys of Summer." It's not uncommon for some guitar based groups to tune down 1/2 step from E to Eb (or D# if you prefer). Not that noticeable but really helps the voice. Neil Young tunes down to D for several songs now.

[Grego]

I saw them in Las Vegas in March 2013 and again recently in New Orleans February 23. They sounded slightly better vocally in Las Vegas imo. But as has been mentioned Glenn and Don were fighting colds. Glenn struggled a little with higher notes but he was obviously sick. He would run for kleenex during songs. Don's voice seemed just slightly hoarse,to me, near the end of the show
but he nailed the high notes on OOTN! The guys were troopers and put on a great show despite fighting colds!

[Freypower]

I have not seen the band since 2010, but I saw Glenn four times last year & he sang superbly throughout.

[Glennhoney]

..I am presently watching a 2012 CSN concert and their harmonies are AWFUL...it actually hurts my ears...so disappointing....Compared to the Eagles...well there is no comparison..

[GlennLover]

They were great in Montreal too. Right, GH? :nod:

[Zanny Kingston]

I think their voices are holding up extremely well. They have done a lot of shows on this leg of the HOTE tour and for three hours a show no less.
I can only imagine the vocal strain that could cause!

I was concerned about Timothy's voice when I saw him last summer but that was put to rest when I saw him in Columbus he sounded great.

Of anyone, I think Glenn's singing voice seemed "thinner" to me. That may have been because he was not feeling well. Being sick and having a schedule like that is really tough, he may just need to go home and rest in his own bed for a couple of weeks. Overall though, I think they sound fantastic.

I also believe that the perfectionist tendencies that seem to exist in that band would drive their decision to stop touring if they felt their performances did not meet their standards. I really hope that does not happen for quite some time!

[tjh532]

I also believe that the perfectionist tendencies that seem to exist in that band would drive their decision to stop touring if they felt their performances did not meet their standards. I really hope that does not happen for quite some time![/QUOTE]

I haven't yet heard them live, so I hope they keep going so I get the chance to see them. That being said, I think this would be the reason they decide to stop touring. They are notorious for their perfectionist demands of themselves when playing live. I think if they felt they weren't able to 'bring it' anymore then they would hang it up. It's not like they need the money - haha

[VAisForEagleLovers]

ITA that they'll end their touring when their voices aren't up to their own standards. From what I've heard on this tour, that's a long way away. Thank God.

[Glennhoney]

..Their harmonies are still incredible...that's what gets to me...and they were oh so wonderful in Montreal....xo:)

[sodascouts]

With the exception of Tim, They've said themselves that they can't sing as high as they used to on a consistent basis, which is probably why we don't get the key change in "Already Gone" anymore (I speculate). Another example: Back when they played Heart of the Matter, Don flattened out the melody on "I'm learning to live without you now" because it was hard to hit that higher note on "live" consistently. However, I think they've made the changes necessary to the keys and melodies so that they still sound great live. That's more than I can say for many singers of that generation.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Yep - I have to agree that all of these guys are still performing vocally at a pretty consistently high level. They have all had some moments over the past few years, but they've all still 'got it', IMHO.

I remember a few years ago when I went to one of Don's solo shows. It was the last show of the tour and when he took the stage, he could hardly speak. I thought to myself 'he's never gonna be able to make it through this show'. As the night went on, his voice got stronger and stronger. And before long, he sounded great. A similar thing happened the other night at the D.C. show. When Glenn spoke the first time, his voice was very noticeably hoarse. But when he sang, he sounded fine, and his voice seemed to get better and stronger as the show went on.

Honestly, I have no idea how they do it. When I'm hoarse, I can barely get a sound to come out of my throat speaking, much less singing. Of course, I'm not much of a singer even when I'm not hoarse. :blush:

[shunlvswx]

I'm surprise that the years that Don, Glenn and Joe smoke cigarettes (I don't know if they still do) didn't damage their voice too much. I know some singers who did smoke their voices aren't the same. Maybe it did mess up their voices with the high notes, I can't tell.

Don can still hit that high note at the end of LR and OOTN.

[ktdids]

Shun, let's hope they've all stopped smoking by now, if not to save their lives let alone their voices!
I think their voices have all held up really well. They're older, their voices are bound to change even a little. They have a comfortable range that they can work all the songs in, and deliver a quality show.
Do I wish they sounded like they did on their albums from their youth? Sometimes maybe. I would be really interested in hearing King of Hollywood now, only because Don sounds so different on that song, going for that lower register in his voice. I wonder if he can still go down in his register as comfortably as he hits some of the higher notes, especially if the higher notes stress his back I'm sure.

[shunlvswx]

Shun, let's hope they've all stopped smoking by now, if not to save their lives let alone their voices!
I think their voices have all held up really well. They're older, their voices are bound to change even a little. They have a comfortable range that they can work all the songs in, and deliver a quality show.
Do I wish they sounded like they did on their albums from their youth? Sometimes maybe. I would be really interested in hearing King of Hollywood now, only because Don sounds so different on that song, going for that lower register in his voice. I wonder if he can still go down in his register as comfortably as he hits some of the higher notes, especially if the higher notes stress his back I'm sure.

Oh that was Don singing King Of Hollywood. I don't know why I always thought that was Glenn singing. I had to listen to the song.

[sodascouts]

They both sing throughout, but Don is doing the low part.

[shunlvswx]

Thanks. I just listen to it and I was shocked that Don can sing that low. He's singing the verses right? I do hear somebody in the background, but I didn't know that was Glenn.

[ktdids]

I was floored the first time I really listened to it, and had to mentally process that Don was doing the low and Glenn was adding on the high parts. It's not a favorite song for some people, but the vocals just do it for me all the time.

[Brooke]

I saw them last October and I thought they sounded fantastic. I do think their voices have changed somewhat, but not enough that they don't sound wonderful. Especially Glenn and Don. I really don't think Tim's has changed much at all, but I think Joe sounds better than ever.

I agree if they didn't think they sounded good, they would quit. It's just them. They would want to go out on a good note, I'm sure! (pun intended!)

I do think Don sounds a little whiny once in a while and sometimes he doesn't have that smokey, raspy sound that I loved back in the day. (It went with his hair in your av, Rick! (One of my all time favorite pics of him there!) And I don't think Glenn sounds like he did back then either. He just sounded so young back then! But either of these things are not bad. They both still sound wonderful! And I agree that Glenn's doing the After Hours album helped him out a lot. Maybe he agrees with that since he has added back in some of the songs he cut.

[WalshFan88]

I think they are holding up quite well for all of them.

Henley's always been my favorite vocalist but all of them still sing great and can mostly hit the notes on the records, which I like.

[SoaringRockyMountainWay]

I think all of them still sound amazing. I was very impressed when I saw them.