Glenn Frey Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
In the course of this 70-minute, 14-song live disc, recorded at the Stadium in Dublin on July 8, 1992, Glenn Frey divides the set list just about equally between solo material and old Eagles songs. As such, it provides a good sampler of Frey's career in total, from "Take It Easy" to "Smuggler's Blues." One might have hoped for a bit less of Frey's then-current solo album, Strange Weather, and a bit more of the Eagles (after this record, Frey returned for the group's reunion). At press time, MCA planned a Frey hits compilation for the second half of 1995; until then, this will serve as the album best able to give listeners an idea of what his solo career has been like (and it is the only one to contain a version of "The Heat Is On," albeit not the hit recording). ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With his solo career fading, Glenn Frey got serious on his fourth album, but many of the album's sentiments sounded strange coming from him. "He Took Advantage" was subtitled "Blues for Ronald Reagan," but it came more than three years after Reagan's retirement, and Frey's 1984 song "Better in the U.S.A." could have served as Reagan's campaign song. On "I've Got Mine," Frey sang about how people in limousines don't care about "us," but when was the last time he was on the outside of a limousine looking in? Frey was out of his league going for the kind of philosophical/political territory better handled by his old partner Don Henley. So, although Strange Weather signaled a new commitment by Frey to his career, it missed the charts entirely. (The album concludes with "Part of Me, Part of You," an Eagles-like tune used in the 1991 film Thelma and Louise.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Eight years after the demise of The Eagles, Glenn Frey had settled into a career that involved writing the occasional movie theme song, taking the occasional acting role, and, every four years, turning out another album of light soul-pop tunes written with Jack Tempchin. Soul Searchin' showed him to be more interested in body building than record making (he was also appearing in health club before-and-after ads at this time, the two photos showing him as an Eagle -- "Hard Rock" -- and today -- "Rock Hard"), and the songs here were so interchangeable with those on his first two albums he apologized for it in his note about "True Love," which became the album's sole Top 40 hit. The music was pleasant, but inconsequential, and suggested that Frey, living off his Eagles royalties, had come to think of his solo career as a hobby. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Glenn Frey's first solo album plotted two Top 40 singles, with "I Found Somebody" going to number 31 in the summer of 1982 and the destitute-sounding "The One You Love" hitting number 15 two months later. With help from Jack Tempchin, who co-wrote the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling," the album reached number 32 on the U.S. charts, but it's Frey's perfectly guided vocals and impeccable talent for crafting laid-back love songs that make the album noteworthy. The saxophone from "The One You Love," which tags alongside the soothing chorus, makes the song even better, and "I Found Somebody" hints at the Eagles' warm, harmonic style. Even the average-sounding "All Those Lies" went to number 41, but efforts like "That Girl" and "She Can't Let Go" are thinned out too much, as Frey gets a little too involved with singer/songwriter colloquialisms. Some life is regained with a spirited attempt at Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise," one of the album's real movers. With Frey's own production assistance, No Fun Aloud stands up as a modest debut album. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
