Eagles members vocal quality over time

[YoungEaglesFan]

My only concert experience with the band was at the classic east. Though I thought the band sounded I always wondered how they sounded throughout time. For people who have seen the Eagles multiple times or just anyone how would you say each members voice has held up over time? To me, I'd have to say Tim's voice is the closest to his heyday but that's just my two cents

[MaryCalifornia]

Timothy for sure has lost a bit. I heard him in an interview say when he hears his old recordings, his voice sounds so clear and pure. He def can't sing like that anymore - when it was easy for him. For some reason I always think he sounds better when he's not performing with the Eagles - he's in a rut with them and it HAS to sound the same every show. I think Joe and Don sound good. Glenn did too, at the end. They have good days and not-as-good days. They have to try a lot harder.

[New Kid In Town]

I agree Mary. I think they have all struggled with their voice at times but they were all in their 60's - not 20 somethings anymore. Overall they still sounded great for guys their age. Many their age sound nothing like they did in their 20's or have basically lost their voice. I also think Glenn doing AH really helped his voice. His probably changed the most. Probably due to his smoking and RA, which affects every muscle in your body.

[BillBailey1976]

I think as a whole the band sounded best during the HFO time frame. I have seen them live then and on HOTE, and from that, plus listening to older stuff, that's my opinion.

[Annoying Twit]

I think if you have a voice like Tim's, you can loose a bit and still be stupendous. He sounded great in the live LWKUA the other day. To my ears at least.

[Delilah]

I’ve never seen the band live but I have seen Don H, Don F and Joe at their solo shows. I will see Timothy in December. While their voices are holding up, certainly better than some of their peers, there is no question there has been varying degrees of “decline” compared to past recordings, live and studio.

Don H still sounds good but he tends to waver a bit at the end of his lines. I suspect some of the recent changes in the setlist have to do with relieving Don of having to sing lead so much.

Don F simply does not sound the same as he did in the 70s, particularly in “Visions.” He can still carry a tune and even hit some high notes, but there is a kind of deepness and strain to his voice now that wasn’t there before.

Joe’s voice has undergone the biggest change, IMO. While he has always had a special quality to his voice that made his songs stand out, he no longer has that controlled edge. His voice now is shakier and more forced.

Considering these guys are entering their 70s and are (former?) smokers, I think they are doing pretty well. But certainly their peak singing years were when they were in their 20s and 30s.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I’ve never seen the band live but I have seen Don H, Don F and Joe at their solo shows. I will see Timothy in December. While their voices are holding up, certainly better than some of their peers, there is no question there has been varying degrees of “decline” compared to past recordings, live and studio.

Don H still sounds good but he tends to waver a bit at the end of his lines. I suspect some of the recent changes in the setlist have to do with relieving Don of having to sing lead so much.

Don F simply does not sound the same as he did in the 70s, particularly in “Visions.” He can still carry a tune and even hit some high notes, but there is a kind of deepness and strain to his voice now that wasn’t there before.

Joe’s voice has undergone the biggest change, IMO. While he has always had a special quality to his voice that made his songs stand out, he no longer has that controlled edge. His voice now is shakier and more forced.

Considering these guys are entering their 70s and are (former?) smokers, I think they are doing pretty well. But certainly their peak singing years were when they were in their 20s and 30s.

It surprises me that considering the perfectionists they were in sound quality they smoked as much and as long as they did. None of them had a smokers voice at all but still surprising. I didn’t know Felder still played visions. I’d like to see him perform that

[UndertheWire]

I could be wrong, but I have this idea that both Don and Glenn stopped smoking in the late 70s but Glenn took it up again around the time he was Miami Vice.

I know Don can still hit the notes, his voice often sounds pinched these days and he can sound like he has false teeth (maybe he has!). I like his voice best from the early seventies. In one of his 80s interviews, he said that he was deliberately choosing a key where is voice was strained and I use that to explain why I don't like his vocals on the "Building the Perfect Beast" album.

For Glenn, my favourite period for his voice is during his solo years, probably from 1982 to 1993. He was both smooth but also stretching his voice in ways he didn't with the Eagles.

Timothy still sounds great.

[OntheBorder74]

I could be wrong, but I have this idea that both Don and Glenn stopped smoking in the late 70s but Glenn took it up again around the time he was Miami Vice.

I know Don can still hit the notes, his voice often sounds pinched these days and he can sound like he has false teeth (maybe he has!). I like his voice best from the early seventies. In one of his 80s interviews, he said that he was deliberately choosing a key where is voice was strained and I use that to explain why I don't like his vocals on the "Building the Perfect Beast" album.

For Glenn, my favourite period for his voice is during his solo years, probably from 1982 to 1993. He was both smooth but also stretching his voice in ways he didn't with the Eagles.

Timothy still sounds great.

Im not sure if Don has false teeth maybe some work done but to me he sounds the most like he did in the early days. He has held onto that strained vocal sound since the Eagles began. I agree Glenn was at a peak during the 80s when his voice was so smooth on the soul numbers, but the power of his voice in the early years of the Eagles, when he dominated and belted out songs like Outlaw Man and Out of Control, noticeably diminished. I never felt his voice had the 'fullness' or 'body' it originally had and was much thinner. Just an opinion based on what I hear granted there are exceptions to that.

Timothy in in my ears is only now just losing that range but to have had it for so many decades I think is commendable after all as you grow older everything is going to decline including your throat and your vocal quality/range.

They kept a great standard for many years :)

[MarthaJo56]

Did Glenn quit smoking at any time?

[MarthaJo56]

Im not sure if Don has false teeth maybe some work done but to me he sounds the most like he did in the early days. He has held onto that strained vocal sound since the Eagles began. I agree Glenn was at a peak during the 80s when his voice was so smooth on the soul numbers, but the power of his voice in the early years of the Eagles, when he dominated and belted out songs like Outlaw Man and Out of Control, noticeably diminished. I never felt his voice had the 'fullness' or 'body' it originally had and was much thinner. Just an opinion based on what I hear granted there are exceptions to that.

Timothy in in my ears is only now just losing that range but to have had it for so many decades I think is commendable after all as you grow older everything is going to decline including your throat and your vocal quality/range.

They kept a great standard for many years :)

The style of music changed as the years went by, too. But to me the voices stayed the same. I think I like the younger/earlier voices.
Glenn sounds so much better with his true voice, which is, to me, that nasally Midwest, Detroit accent. My late ex-husband, who was from Iowa, had the same accent, was a musician and sounded just like Glenn. Especially on 'Take it Easy".
Later, they were all getting that old-person warble in their voices. Don Henley has it the least..

[NightMistBlue]

I definitely hear the false teeth thing with Don H. At the concert I saw in July 2015, it was very obvious at the start of the show but seemed to get better as the evening went on. I don’t mean this in a nasty or critical way. Goodness knows, all kinds of egregious crap happens to humans as we age. Good for Henley for soldiering on despite his back pain and whatever else he may have going on.

[FreyFollower]

Did Glenn quit smoking at any time?

I believe that I read on here that he quit in the mid-'70s, but resumed in the '80s when he began acting and directors wanted him to smoke for the roles he played. Later on, as I read elsewhere, he was an occasional smoker.
Anyone feel free to correct me!
Smoking or not, many singers lose their voice by their '50's----I think they all held up well!

[Brooke]

I loved Glenn's and Don's young voices. Glenn's was soft, smooth and sweet and Don's was smoky, rough, and sexy. :sigh:

I think over time both of their voices changed a lot. They still sounded good, but not as good, to me.

[BillBailey1976]

I really like Glenn's voice on the Long Run era (Not the Long run songs, but stuff recorded around that time, like Eagles Live, and other bootleg stuff). The "Eagles Live" version of Take It Easy is so much better than the album cut. Glenn's voice is not as soft. Has a bit of an edge to it. I love it.

It almost sounds as if Don has a lisp sometimes. That might be the false teeth thing that's been mentioned.