“We asked for it”: The three artists the Eagles tried and failed to match
Not that I’m looking to paraphrase Simon Cowell in a hurry, but I genuinely think there is a case to be made about artists either having “it” or not. And by it, I mean the X-factor. While the Eagles weren’t subjected to the humiliation of national televised auditions and instead had a historically influential career in their own right, I always feel like they didn’t quite have a grasp on this intangible essence of genius.
To explain, I truly believe there is an unattainable quality to all of the undying greats. While technical and creative ability are undoubtedly the two primary currencies in musical success, I stand by the idea that some artists just have an indescribable quality that makes them icons. Take Mick Jagger, for instance, no way near as accomplished as his 1970s peers, yet there was a magnetism and a charm to him that was simply impossible to replicate. It’s that same ability that certain actors or comedians are blessed with, a way of presenting the same idea as everyone else, but with an added level of appeal.
Don’t get me wrong, in the right time or perhaps mood, I’m as much a sucker for Eagles as the next person, but I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be one of them? And in essence, that’s the real acid test of whether or not someone has “it”.
They’re mildly inoffensive brand of harmony-laden dad rock sees them both endeared and ridiculed in equal measure. Like an annoying but loveable younger brother, they can be the soundtrack to sunny times one minute and whipping boys of pop-culture humour the next.
Regardless, come 1976, you could say they were at the top of the proverbial mountain, with their seminal album Hotel California set for imminent release and their place within the history books of music confirmed. But famously, their greatness came at the expense of their intra-band companionship. Despite the breezy harmonies and sun-kissed melodies, the mood behind the scenes wasn’t as chirpy, and there was an evident sense of fatigue within the band. In fact, perhaps what separated them from the more charismatic likes of, say, Jagger was that everything in the Eagles felt deliberate, felt fine-tuned and dare I say it, too serious.
A feeling not lost on them, as Don Henley once described, saying, “I admire the Stones, no matter what I think about their music, because they’ve stuck there. I admire Paul Simon and the Who simply because they’ve stuck around and not burned themselves out. It’s hard because you lose a lot of friends along the way.”
Frey added to his bandmate’s point, claiming that “Being an Eagle can be a handicap.” He continued, “But only because of what other people tend to think. Your life is not your own any more, but that’s a concession I’m willing to make.”
There’s a pertinent sense of self-imposed pressure within this interview that, now with the benefit of hindsight, we can see was a foreshadowing of things to come. The obsessive pursuit of perfection combined with the suffocating pressures of notoriety undoubtedly heightened the sense of friction that would eventually bring the band to its end.
