Frey-less Eagles??? Was it ever considered?

[BillBailey1976]

Today I was thinking about the reunion attempt that was made in 1990. You had Henley, Felder, Walsh and Schmitt on board, but Frey balked at the 11th hour.
So, let's suppose for a moment that they'd said, "Fine, no Glenn, we're still doing this". I have a couple of questions to ponder about that time.

1. Was there any consideration to move forward with the members they had?
(Remember Don H. and Don F. could have voted to move forward and Glenn couldn't have stopped it....2/3 of the Board of Directors would have had say so)

2. Had this lineup moved forward, what sort of success would they have enjoyed?

3. What sort of Setlist would they have employed? More Henley would be a given, but would they have brought in more Walsh Solos, a few Schmitt songs, maybe even bringing back Visions as a live song??
(From the HFO special, you would have only lost TS, TIE, and TGFY. Touring would have impacted more)

I know this didnt happen, but I like to wonder sometimes.

[Freypower]

It was not considered.

Glenn Frey was/is the leader of the Eagles & he vetoed it. I don't believe the alleged 2 out of 3 thing ever even came into it. Don Henley was quoted as saying that without Glenn it would be him (Henley) & his backing band.

There is no Eagles without Glenn Frey & therefore I have no intention of speculating whether there would have been any 'success'.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I agree it was never seriously considered. Don Henley had made it clear that he would not perform as the Eagles without Glenn when Glenn dissolved the band in 1980. I respect him for that decision because I believe for most fans no Henley or no Frey means no Eagles.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Believe me, if there had been even the smallest thought of moving forward without Glenn, Felder would have mentioned it in his book and would have made it seem like it was a close thing.

As for success, I think it would depend on your definition of success. They probably would have made more money touring than what it cost them to be on the road. It would have been a short tour and then done. Casual fans don't always know the names of band members, but they surely would have noticed the lack of magic.

[Houston Baby]

I for one am thankful they did not go that route. I can't imagine EAGLES without Glenn.

[BillBailey1976]

I am glad they didn't do that, as well. I wasn't suggesting that it would be a good idea. I was just thinking about the 90 almost reunion..and was just wondering...what if..

[sodascouts]

1. Was there any consideration to move forward with the members they had?
(Remember Don H. and Don F. could have voted to move forward and Glenn couldn't have stopped it....2/3 of the Board of Directors would have had say so)

I'm not sure this is true. I think there would have been legal complications if they had continued without Glenn against his wishes.

[Funk 50]

I believe that Glenn did actually quit in 1980 but the rest of the band decided not to carry on without him. So I can see why they wouldn't reform without him.

There's actually been about half-a-dozen different incarnations of the Eagles since they started so another change may be more likely than not. I'm not sure how to treat the return of Bernie.

If any of the band, felt unable or unwilling to continue, I wouldn't want them to carry the responsibility of breaking up the Eagles, so in that sense, I'd always want the band to carry on, no matter who quits. Irving could be the most irreplaceable.

[Jonny Come Lately]

From a purely musical viewpoint, I'd have been interested to see what a Frey-less Eagles would have come up with.

After all, Joe and Tim both played on Don Henley's first solo record, with Joe playing the great first guitar solo on Dirty Laundry, and if I remember correctly both Henley and Tim sing on Don Felder's soundtrack song Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride). I suspect Don would have been the band's dominant songwriter and would have covered similar lyrical subjects to his solo career but with more guitars, although given that it would have been in the 1980s I think they'd have made significant use of synthesisers. Joe and Tim would probably have been given one song per album, maybe Felder too with Glenn no longer being in the band. Clearly this is purely speculation but if the band had continued after Glenn left, would it have been that much of a stretch to imagine them hiring a full time keyboard player? They would have had Walsh and Felder to play guitar and having Joe playing synthesisers most of the time would have been a waste.

Of course, that was never going to happen, I can totally understand why Don didn't want to continue the band without Glenn (although I cannot agree with Henley's comments that the Eagles would have been him and his backing band - Walsh and Felder were both absolutely crucial on The Long Run, the hardest rocking album they've ever done, and I think the leftovers on the Selected Works set showed they had plenty of good guitar parts left unused).

[Funk 50]

I think the leftovers on the Selected Works set showed they had plenty of good guitar parts left unused).

I forgot about the Long Run Leftovers JCL. They already had a load of material to release a Frey less album in the early eighties. Six of the seven Eagles, released albums at the beginning of the eighties. Most of them two.

The obvious addition to the Eagles line up would be Joe Vitale. Drums, percussion, Keyboards and Flute. That would allow Henley to spend more time at the front of the stage.

Vitale released a great album in 1981 too with Joe, Tim, Don F, Bill Szymczyk and a plethora of big name helpers.