“My voice isn’t designed for that”: The artists Glenn Frey thought could outsing him
Anyone who ever thought about being a professional singer owes it to themselves to take notes listening to Eagles. Even if every singer in the group didn’t possess the same golden voice that Don Henley did, the way they blended their vocals together on their harmonies is a thing of beauty, practically serving as the embodiment of California sunshine even if they didn’t have any lyrics. That comes from years of practice, but even Glenn Frey had the foresight to realise when he was completely outmatched vocally.
Because listening to Frey’s songs, he’s not exactly trying to be one of the best rock and roll singers who ever lived. His entire appeal seemed to be the fact that he was an everyman who happened to lead one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and even if he had a better knowledge of song structure, it was a lot easier for bar bands around California to scrape together a version of ‘Take It Easy’ rather than go through the high notes of ‘One of These Nights’.
That’s not to say that Frey couldn’t have his more exciting moments in front of the microphone. ‘Heartache Tonight’ is still one of the most guttural tunes they have ever made, and even if some of the chorus lines are fairly simple, hearing him reach into the stratosphere for the very end of ‘Already Gone’ is still a bit rough for someone who isn’t quite prepared for falsetto vocals.
But all of Frey’s competition was about something bigger than singer-songwriter tracks. Even if everyone owned a copy of Hotel California around 1976, people like Robert Plant had already been showing artists how to reach for higher notes with Led Zeppelin, and even in the world of heartland rock, Frey was still a footnote compared to what his mentors like Bob Seger had been doing.
Despite Seger having that signature rasp to his voice compared to Frey’s soaring range, that gave him much more character than what the Eagle had to offer on ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’. Also, it’s hard not to mention someone like Bruce Springsteen in that camp as well, who practically carved out his own niche of singing on tracks like ‘Jungleland’ or ‘Adam Raised A Cain’ by sounding like he was trying to summon up a rock and roll spirit whenever he opened his mouth.
Frey could certainly appreciate what those artists were doing, but he figured that he would leave that brand of vocals to them rather than try to match anything, saying, “Rock songs are harder for me to write and sing. It’s a reach for me to get into that range where guys like Seger, Henley, and Springsteen can just shout at the top of their lungs. My voice isn’t really designed for that.”
Then again, the ballads do serve Frey’s voice just fine. Even though it was unfortunate not to hear Randy Meisner taking the vocal leaps on tracks like ‘Take It To The Limit’ in their later years, there was no way anyone else in the group could make a song like ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ sound so authentic, much less keep the entire story interesting over six minutes of music.
Frey could still make some kickass music when he wanted to, but a lot of the biggest moments of the band’s career came from him knowing his place in the group. Anyone can try their best to do every single thing whenever they pick up a guitar, but after being the leader for years, Frey found himself as the perfect glue that connected the band’s softer side with the pure swagger of ‘Life in the Fast Lane.’
