The “taskmaster” Glenn Frey called too intimidating for Eagles
It’s tough to imagine the Eagles being intimidated by anyone. Even when they started the band, the members were already some of the most respected and sought-after players in music circles, working and collaborating with artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne before the musicians came together as a band. But when it came to making their third album, they encountered a man who made them shy as intimidation got in the way of creativity.
The Eagles were always more than just the band members. According to Don Henley, the band relied on a “tight-knit community of songwriters and singers”. That included people like JD Souther, Browne, Ronstadt and more. They kept the people they loved and worked well with close as they created a kind of family, raising up their music together.
Technically, Glyn Johns would probably be considered to be part of that unit. The British producer worked with the band from the start, producing their debut self-titled record and their follow-up. Having worked with the absolute pinnacle of rock legends, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and many more, he had an incredible resume to boast. So, while the Eagles were part of that list, it also always seemed to make them feel slightly intimidated or perhaps even a little inferior.
For Glenn Frey especially, his awe at Johns’ accolades created a kind of block to their bonding. “I had a very strained relationship with Glyn Johns,” he admitted, “I think he got along better with all the other guys in the band.” While Frey lived as one of the most respected rockers around, Johns made him cower in comparison. “He was so intimidating. I was always afraid to be forthright and tell him what I thought,” he said as the producer’s power made him shy.
“He was a taskmaster, and that was probably good for a young band,” he said, making sense of their good working relationship across the band’s earlier albums. But something had shifted when it came to making the third and the band shipping themselves off to London to Johns’ studio. It wasn’t that they were in an alien environment, as their previous albums had been made in London, too. But perhaps it was their own maturity and capability as a band, feeling that by album three, they didn’t want quite so much handholding or no longer wanted to go along with what a man they saw as their superior said.
In the end, they changed producers only two tracks into the record, flying back to Los Angeles to work with Bill Szymczyk instead. For Frey especially, it was a necessary move; “I was much more comfortable in the studio with Bill, and he was more than willing to let everyone stretch a bit,” he said. He hears that on their album, On the Border, especially on the song ‘Already Gone’ as he said, “That’s me being happier; that’s me being free.”
It’s strange that the Eagles would be left intimidated by any musician. The band were so prolific that it seems odd anybody could leave the group quivering in their boots, but Glyn Johns was just that man.
