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Thread: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

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    Default Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Personally I thought the band lost a good chunk of what made the harmonies so good when they lost Bernie and especially Randy. Tim does a pretty good job at replacing Randy in my opinion but I recently I feel like the band has had to cover up Joe in the harmonies and it looks like live he doesn’t even sing. I don’t notice him at all in the LROOE album. Does he just lip sing now? One thing that I liked about having Deacon and Vince replace Glenn is that by having two guys they can make the harmonies fuller than before. In their prime they could rely on at least 4 good singers but it became Don Glenn and Tim as the guys who handled the harmonies. I know they have some background guys do some vocals and Smith does Felder’s old parts but does Joe still play a tangible role in the harmonies anymore or does he only sing in his solo songs?

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    From what I could tell in the Classic East, he was singing harmonies much more prominently than before. I could definitely hear his voice. Before that, there was a question in my mind as to whether he was singing harmonies at all. They do have Vince and Deacon now, but Vince has a higher voice than Glenn did and Deacon is inexperienced, as well as singing slightly lower than Glenn did. I think they need Joe more in the middle range, whereas before they may not have needed him to sing harmony much at all. Just MHO.

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    You know, I've wondered this myself, if Joe sang harmonies at all. I assume he did, but I've never been able to pick out his voice in their harmony and his voice is distinctive. I can usually pick out Glenn, Henley, and Randy or Tim, but I can never hear Joe. Perhaps he just sang quietly so that his voice blended with the rest.

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Quote Originally Posted by groupie2686 View Post
    You know, I've wondered this myself, if Joe sang harmonies at all. I assume he did, but I've never been able to pick out his voice in their harmony and his voice is distinctive. I can usually pick out Glenn, Henley, and Randy or Tim, but I can never hear Joe. Perhaps he just sang quietly so that his voice blended with the rest.
    I’ve felt that way too. He isn’t noticeable in the harmonies partly because he probably is told to not sing as loud but I feel like he doesn’t a lot because he isn’t. When listening to the SBR isolated tracks he sounds really bad in that. Maybe he was really drunk or something. But For like no more walks in the woods he probably isn’t there, if he is he has to be really quiet

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    From what I have seen of the band (both live and on video) in the Reunion period, Joe has always been on vocals. Of course the classic trio was Henley, Frey and TBS, but Joe would nearly always be the fourth voice, certainly before any of the backing musicians. Indeed, on parts in songs like NKIT and Pretty Maids you had a three-part Frey, Henley and Walsh harmony without Timothy.

    It is certainly true that Walsh is nowhere near as strong a singer as the other three Eagles of the 2001-15 era, and indeed it has been reported on here in the past that he was witnessed miming to NMWITW on one occasion; but he is still a good singer and I have not noticed any lessening of his vocal load over the years with the Eagles. Surely if he was to relinquish vocal duties on given songs, he would just do what Felder used to and not stand near his mic: I can imagine Frey and Henley would have let it slide on one occasion to save face, but I cannot imagine Joe would want to or indeed get away with pretending to sing on a prolific basis.

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    I will add I suspect the reason he is hard to pick out in harmonies both on record and live is because his mic, like the rest of the vocalists in the backing band, will be turned down as and when necessary: I can't imagine he sings Best of My Love at the same mic volume as Rocky Mountain Way. So long as Frey and Henley were sufficiently loud then that was pretty much all that was needed for the harmonies.

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    Stuck on the Border Delilah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Quote Originally Posted by YoungEaglesFan View Post
    Personally I thought the band lost a good chunk of what made the harmonies so good when they lost Bernie and especially Randy. Tim does a pretty good job at replacing Randy in my opinion but I recently I feel like the band has had to cover up Joe in the harmonies and it looks like live he doesn’t even sing. I don’t notice him at all in the LROOE album. Does he just lip sing now? One thing that I liked about having Deacon and Vince replace Glenn is that by having two guys they can make the harmonies fuller than before. In their prime they could rely on at least 4 good singers but it became Don Glenn and Tim as the guys who handled the harmonies. I know they have some background guys do some vocals and Smith does Felder’s old parts but does Joe still play a tangible role in the harmonies anymore or does he only sing in his solo songs?
    I was under the impression you saw them perform live this past summer. It would not surprise me if he plays a minimal role in the backing vocals. He probably has to save his voice for his lead songs.

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Quote Originally Posted by thelastresort View Post
    I will add I suspect the reason he is hard to pick out in harmonies both on record and live is because his mic, like the rest of the vocalists in the backing band, will be turned down as and when necessary: I can't imagine he sings Best of My Love at the same mic volume as Rocky Mountain Way. So long as Frey and Henley were sufficiently loud then that was pretty much all that was needed for the harmonies.
    I bet you're right - he was singing with the mic turned down.

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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Quote Originally Posted by Delilah View Post
    I was under the impression you saw them perform live this past summer. It would not surprise me if he plays a minimal role in the backing vocals. He probably has to save his voice for his lead songs.
    I did see them at the classic east. Sorry if I mislead you. My ear for these things got a lot better since then but it wasn’t nearly good enough then to be analytical of the harmonies. I was just blown away

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    Stuck on the Border Delilah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does Joe Walsh still sing harmonies?

    Quote Originally Posted by YoungEaglesFan View Post
    I did see them at the classic east. Sorry if I mislead you. My ear for these things got a lot better since then but it wasn’t nearly good enough then to be analytical of the harmonies. I was just blown away
    Well I guess that’s the important thing; they’re still sounding great after all these years. It’s interesting you bring this up with the release of the HC deluxe edition. Listening to disc 2 with the live ‘76 tracks I can tell there is something different—I think I can actually hear Joe. Unfortunately I’ve only heard it in my car with my lame stereo and haven’t heard it at home with my headphones yet.

    ETA: though from what I’ve heard on SiriusXM, I think I hear Joe too.
    Last edited by Delilah; 11-29-2017 at 06:20 PM.

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