Mr E Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Mr E a few years ago this exact subject was brought up, and I also mentioned that "One Of these Nights" was pretty close to being a disco song. Don Felder's rip-snorting lead guitar makes you forget somewhat that in the background there's that unmistakable groove. Most people disagreed with my statement, but there's no doubt what Frey/Henley had in mind when they wrote that song. I've got a Henley interview somewhere where he mentions that his falsetto vocal was a tribute to Smokey Robinson. Marv Really? I always thought they were going for a Bee Gees thing. Great tune no matter what. Someone here (I think it was you) brought up the Eagles recently and I haven't pulled them out in a while and am now on a serious Eagles kick. Man, they were a great band.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Henley was trying to vocalize like Smokey, but the song probably had a bit of Bee Gees influence. It was recored in the same studio (Criteria-Miami) where the Bee Gees did much of their 1970's work. If you can get a hold of the two new recordings that the Eagles have just released through Wal-Mart ("Fast Company" and "Do Nothing"), you'll find that they are STILL a great band. In my opinion, the Henley/Frey writing duo deserves to be ranked alongside the best of all time. They had (still have) a knack for writing great lyrics and tying them to melodies that hook you in without much effort. Add Don Felder/Bernie Leadon/Joe Walsh and Randy Meisner/Timothy B Schmitt into the vocal and musical mix, and you had four-part harmony/playing that was pretty tough to beat.Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 I can't think of the Eagles without recalling the hilarious lyrics from Mojo Nixon's tune "Don Henley Must Die" (done not long after Henley's second solo record, I think):He's a tortured artistUsed to be in the EaglesNow he whinesLike a wounded beaglePoet of despair!Pumped up with hot air!He's serious, pretentiousAnd I just don't careDon Henley must die!Don't let him get back togetherWith Glenn Frey!Don Henley must die!Turn on the TVAnd what did I see?This bloated hairy thingWinning a GrammyBest Rock Vocalist?Compared to what?But your pseudo-seriousCrafty Satanic blotDon Henley must die!Put a sharp stick in his eye!Don Henley must die!Yea yea yeaQuit playin' that crapYou're out of the bandI'm only kiddingCan't you tell?I love his sensitive musicIdiot poetry, swellYou and your kindAre killing rock and rollIt's not because you are O L DIt's cause you ain't got no soul!Don't be afraid of funLoosen up your ponytail!Be wild, young, free and dumbGet your head out of your tailDon Henley must die!Don't let him get back togetherWith Glenn Frey!Don Henley must die!Put him in the electric chairWatch him fry!Don Henley must dieDon Henley must dieNo Eagles reunionThe same goes for you, Sting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 If you can get a hold of the two new recordings that the Eagles have just released through Wal-Mart ("Fast Company" and "Do Nothing"), you'll find that they are STILL a great band. In my opinion, the Henley/Frey writing duo deserves to be ranked alongside the best of all time. They had (still have) a knack for writing great lyrics and tying them to melodies that hook you in without much effort. Add Don Felder/Bernie Leadon/Joe Walsh and Randy Meisner/Timothy B Schmitt into the vocal and musical mix, and you had four-part harmony/playing that was pretty tough to beat.Marv Yeah I think i will pick that up... I lean toward the early lineup, though the newer lineup is great too.... I got the original Melbourne DVD and thought it was excellent.... with the possible exception of Joe Walsh's "Hey everybody I got a CAMERA in my HELMET" speech that went on a bit long.... I was singing "Take it to the limit" at the top of my lungs this morning... what an incredible song.... (Even with me trying to ruin it!) Paul(Wondering how to morph the thread back to disco land.... Ah yes, The Disco Strangler!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 "One Of These Nights" had some funk but no disco element to it, IMHO.To me, Fry & Henley are probably the best writing duo in rock history. The ironic thing is that as good as they are, I probably tend more to Randy Meisner's songs, "Try & Love Again", "Tryin", "Take The Devil", "Is It True", etc...What a band they were! All the line-ups were great but they lost something when Bernie Leadon and then Felder left, IMHO. "Disco Strangler" was kind of a cool song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 To me, Fry & Henley are probably the best writing duo in rock history. I'd vote for those Lennon and McCartney chaps, myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Interesting comment you make above Popdude. I wonder how much of each person's perception of best writing duos is based on the music they like??? Just a thought that "flashed" through my brain as I read your post.Muzza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 It's obviously very subjective. I like the Eagles much more than the Beatles and thus my opinion....Now if Tiny Tim would have just teamed up with Mama Cass.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 I don't think you can put anyone ahead of Lennon/McCartney in Rock music songwriting, but as far as a true writing parternship goes, I'd say that Henley/Frey were probably closer to this than Lennon/McCartney. As far as Eagles pseudo-disco goes, try "Funky New Year."Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Quote: Now if Tiny Tim would have just teamed up with Mama Cass.... Muzza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 There are tons of great songwriting duos... Jagger / RichardsGoffin / KingBecker / FagenJohn / Taupin are just a couple off the top of my head from that era. I don't think there's any way to really measure worth. I like them allOf course the few people like Brian Wilson that do everything so amazingly well really stand out in contrast to duos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Bringing it back to topic:Jagger/Richards: "Miss You"Goffin/King: ????Becker/Fagen: "Peg", "Josie" (more R&B-flavored than disco)John/Taupin: "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (more R&B-flavored than disco)Brian Wilson: "Here Comes the Night" (disco re-mix)Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I wonder how much of each person's perception of best writing duos is based on the music they like??? Just a thought that "flashed" through my brain... well simply, Henley/Frey are allowed to be someone's "favorite" songwriting team and I would never argue that point... although, it's very hard to take anyone serious when they put someone like Glen Frey in such a HIGH category (he just doesn't cut it)... Henley, on the other hand, does, although it's by a very slim margin...Lennon & McCartney can be listed as the "best" mainly because they were so revolutionary and GOOD, although Marvin's point is very valid; not much of what they wrote was a true collaboration...i would actually say Bacharach/David are tops right along w/ Goffin/King if that's the criteria... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 oh yeah...disco, not so bad at times...try:First Choice- Armed & Extremely DangerousDavid Bowie- 1984Roxy Music- Angel EyesDonna Summer- I Feel LoveSOS Band- Take Your Time Do It RightBee Gees- Fanny Be Tender With My LoveTavares- Only Takes A MinuteYvonne Elliman- If I Can't Have You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Disco - Better than Rap, but still an embarrassment to my generation. I liked about 20 percent of it, when it wasn't all just, "Get on the dance floor and dance, dance, dance and make romance..." lyrics. And I still cringe when I hear my beloved BeeGees overusing that shrieking falsetto on almost every song for about 4 years. Yikes, Barry! It's called OVERKILL! There were some quality songs there that I just can't listen to...I think one of the best true Disco songs was "Native New Yorker" by Oddesey? Top Notch music and smart lyrics AND Disco? Wow, There's a rarity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 RE: Frey & HenleyI didn't much like Frey's solo output...or at least what I heard. And that may be an indication that Henley carried the load in their collaberations....or maybe not.Point is we're talking about song writing tandems...and to me the portfolio of songs credited to them as a tandem, while not as prodigious as many other duos, is superior to any rock duo that I can think of... for my tastes...including Lennon/McCartney.Though many of their songs were written by all 3 brothers, the Brothers Gibb surely rank high in this discussion..And back to Disco, I recall hearing a version of "Summer Breeze" done by the Isley Brothers...it's been 25 years since I've heard it...recall it being a stunningly good version at least bordering on a disco flavor.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I just finished the book about the Eagles "Flying high" and according to all band members Frey's real strength was in arranging skills. Frey's solo work didn't really work for me all that much either, but the electricity in the Eagles is also greater than in any of their solo work, IMO. Maybe Henley and Frey weren't equals in the songwriting dept. but the combination of the two was amazing. Taupin "just" wrote lyrics for Elton.... and yet when Taupin left a lot of the electricity did too.... Also The Eagles always had several songwriters to choose from within the band (and without if you count Jackson Browne and JD Souther...) I always liked Randy Meisner... Take it tot he limit and Bitter Creek are two favorites...IMO great collaborations aren't necessarily always of equals in every level of songwriting, like Lennon and McCartney, but ultimately the spark is the thing.... whatever it takes to get that magic sound!Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I used to love the song Bernie Leadon co-wrote with Ronald Reagans daughter...'I Wish You Peace' off One Of These Nights...Henley really hated it.Have not heard it in ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Frey's nickname has always been "the Lone Arranger", a tribute to his arranging skills. His solo work is very different from his work in the Eagles. His love of R&B/Soul is evident in his solo work. All those years in Detroit played a big part in his musical influences."I Wish You Peace" was co-credited to Reagan's daugther, who at the time was dating Bernie Leadon, but I don't believe she actually had any part in the song.Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 According to Leadon she contributed to the lyrics.Henley said the song was "smarmy" to which Leadon relied "I don't really know what smarmy means".I just listened to it and I still think it's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 You can hear Glenn Frey on Bob Segers great 'Rambin Gamlin Man' on backing vocals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 "I Wish You Peace" is a good song. It was a fitting song, appropriately-titled for the last cut on "One Of These Nights", signalling the end of Bernie Leadon's time in the Eagles. Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Seger & the Eagles have done a lot of work together:1. Henley, Frey & Schmitt singing back-up on "Fire Lake."2. Frey singing back-up on "Against the Wind"3. Felder playing on a number of Seger's album cuts4. Seger co-writing "Heartache Tonight."Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I used to love the song Bernie Leadon co-wrote with Ronald Reagans daughter...'I Wish You Peace' off One Of These Nights...Henley really hated it.Have not heard it in ages. According to the "Flying high" book the reason "I wish you peace" was unpopular with some of the other Eagles was that it was perceived as a sort of Yoko Ono level of "girlfriend getting involved in things she shouldn't" situation and Bernie was using it as a pressure point... He had been unhappy for a while as the band got less country and more rock and was perhaps looking for a reaon to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Bernie Leadon was a great asset to the Eagles...great voice and contributed some really good writing. "My Man" is one of their best songs and he had a bunch of other valuable writing contributions...I've looked for something worthwhile to buy of his since he left the Eagles but haven't found anything. I'm welcome to suggestions from anyone in the know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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