Glenn Frey’s death on 01/18/2016 brought memories of a column I penned some time ago. At the time I was revisiting younger days, re-memorizing the words of every Eagles song I have ever known.
I turned thirty during the heyday of the The Eagles. While they may not have influenced my life in a substantial way (despite having lived in Venice, CA, I never succumbed to the drug and hippie culture), they certainly influenced my musical listening habits. I’m certain the decline in my hearing began during those long hours lying between my 4’ high Rectilinear speakers with 200 watts of bass being pumped out by the venerable Sansui tube amplifier.
Members of The Eagles band came and went throughout the life of the group, but Glenn Frey and Don Henley, the founding members, remained true to the cause, that cause being singing the music that thrilled their audiences and made them one of most widely recognized groups of the era.
Glenn often said he felt his real talent was not as a singer, nor as a guitarist, but as a composer. An accomplished composer he was, but lacking his contributions as a singer and guitarist The Eagles would not have been “The Eagles”.
The Eagles Revisited
By Wren Hawken
Those of you who know a bit about me, know that I'm a workaholic. Sixteen to eighteen hour days are not unusual for me. What you may not know is that many of those hours are spent with my Bluetooth headset piping music directly into my brain. That's right, I've perfected streaming music directly to my brain, bypassing my auditory system. Which is a good thing since I'm basically deaf from abusing said auditory system for 70 years.
As of late I have been revisiting The Eagles. OK, for those of you under 30, think “Hotel California”. It's surprising how often the name "The Eagles" draws a blank stare, but the title "Hotel California" brings smiles of recognition.
It's March 21st, 1977, Capital Centre, Fargo, MD and The Eagles are performing their mega-hit "Hotel California". If YouTube were vinyl I would have worn through this track 100's of times.
Is the performance something out of the ordinary? Probably not, it's typical Eagles. Total commitment to the music. The camera work is very good for the period. Plenty of shots of individual band members without the choppy split second shots so common in today's videos.
Don Felder and Joe Walsh seem to be especially into this performance. The camera is able to capture the choreography of their fingers dancing over the guitar frets.
Regardless of how the music comes to be, it is hard to argue that this is not a demonstration of superior music skills by two of the lead performers of the era. Their closing duet showcases men who obviously love their jobs.
And that talent seems to have survived years of sobriety with a vigor equal to the years of abuse. Joe Walsh has been sober for over 20 years. Older(?), definitely; wiser(?), I think so. But he stills coaxes each note from his guitar with expressions most of us will struggle to duplicate.
Love them or hate them, one cannot ignore their success as musicians.
So on your next trip to California, as the light fades and the air cools, keep an eye open for that distant shimmering light and remember the words of Don Henley, "You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave".
R.I.P. Glenn Frey
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