(Credits: Far Out / Steve Alexander)
Wed 6 August 2025 19:47, UK
It’s easy for someone to make songs that sound too forced. There’s a big difference between someone writing for passion or for a paycheck, and most people don’t have a problem calling them out on it. But it turned out the perfect song for the Eagles to play didn’t need to be written by them to become a classic.
But when Glenn Frey first started coming up with the idea for Eagles, he knew that there was a lot of red tape to go through. He and Don Henley made some fantastic tunes together, but if they wanted to get off the ground, they needed to make sure everyone could play to the best of their ability and look like they belonged in their country-rock gang. That was easy enough, but the true tester would be the quality of everyone’s voice.
While many people might wonder how someone with a voice as unique as Joe Walsh joined the group, the whole point was for them to make something that stood out as soon as people turned on the radio. Harmony singing was nothing new thanks to Crosby, Stills and Nash, but when the harmonies locked in on a song like ‘Take It Easy’, everyone could practically feel the sunshine hitting their face as the tune played out.
Of all the great songs in their arsenal at the time, though, not everything was meant to be a great opener. ‘Witchy Woman’ would have sounded far too ominous, and they didn’t have songs like ‘Hotel California’ or even ‘Already Gone’ under their belt just yet, but bringing out the song ‘Seven Bridges Road’ was a perfect way to hit people with their voices right out of the gate.
For one thing, the song is completely a cappella for the first few seconds, so having everyone surprise the crowd with the tune is what gets everyone going, with Frey recalling, “Sometimes we start our show with it. It’s something we do well — four voices, a cappella. I think the bottom line is, that’s a style that comes very easily and naturally to us. It’s also something that our fans really love. It’s Americana.”
And that natural feeling also carries over to when they were making some of their best ballads as well. Although ‘Desperado’ relies on Henley’s fantastic vocal leading the charge half the time, the bed of voices behind him on the studio version and to this day on the live shows needed to be fully heard without the instruments to be fully appreciated.
There were even a handful of times when they toyed with the isolated voices on their albums. ‘No More Walks in the Wood’ is a fantastic example of them making the most of their voices, and during the music video of the band making the song ‘Hole in the World’, hearing them rehearsing the vocals was a great way of reminding everyone they hadn’t lost an ounce of shine on their trademark pipes.
So while Eagles have been known for plenty of great guitar hero moments throughout their career and some fantastic songs, their voices have always been their musical superpower. Many people can try to emulate what they do from time to time, but there’s hardly any reason to think they can compete with that style of perfection.
Related Topics