The song Glenn Frey thought defined the Eagles: “Perfect vocals”
When the Eagles first soared to fame in the early 1970s, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Bernie Leadon formed the classic songwriting trio. Their mission was to follow in the footsteps of Gram Parsons and Ricky Nelson and popularise country rock. The genre, which later brought us soft-rock cocaine enthusiasts Fleetwood Mac, was accessible to the masses thanks to its sweet harmonies and laid-back aura. Sadly, this tranquil harmony was not mirrored in intra-band relations.
In 1975, Leadon left Eagles following One of These Nights, allegedly because he was dissatisfied with the group’s gradual migration from country rock to pop. However, in a 2013 interview, he said this conclusion was an “oversimplification” despite his country-allegiences. “It implies that I had no interest in rock or blues or anything but country rock. That’s just not the case,” he told Rolling Stone. “I didn’t just play Fender Telecaster. I played a Gibson Les Paul, and I enjoyed rock ‘n’ roll. That’s evident from the early albums.”
With Don Felder in their ranks by this stage and James Gang hero Joe Walsh inbound, the Eagles were more than equipped to take the hit. With their first number-one album under their belt, Eagles maintained an upward trajectory with Hotel California, which remains Eagles’ most successful album and one of the decade’s most celebrated records.
Even during this early peak, friction between Frey and Felder threatened to pull the band apart at the seams. Infamously, this power struggle reached a violent pitch in July 1980, when, during a concert at Long Beach, California, now known as ‘Long Night at Wrong Beach’, a spat put a final nail in the coffin.
Just before the Eagles stepped out onstage, they met California Senator Alan Cranston and his wife, who thanked them for performing at the recent re-election benefit concert. “You’re welcome – I guess,” a bitter Felder allegedly retorted. Frey felt the response was totally out of order and entered into a frosty performance fraught with aggressive taunts and wicked side-eye glances. Frey recalled thinking, “As soon as this is over, I’m gonna kill him.” At this point, he knew it was time to call it a day for the Eagles: “That was when I knew I had to get out.”
While the Eagles broke up in 1980, they have since resurfaced on several occasions for reunion tours. Felder returned to the Eagles in 1994 but was subsequently fired in 2001, triggering a raging legal battle as Felder sued for wrongful termination. The acrimonious case was finally brought to a close in 2007, the year of the band’s seventh and final album, Long Road Out of Eden.
With Felder out of the band, Frey and Henley decided to return to the studio in 2001 and began to work on some new material. Although it only found a place on later deluxe editions of Long Road Out of Eden, the single ‘Hole in the World’ remained one of Frey’s favourites.
Frey and Henley wrote the 2003 single in response to the 9/11 terror attacks, but the former feels the song is also wholly representative of the band. After releasing ‘Hole in the World’, Frey felt the band had recovered from long-suffered disputes and were “in charge again”.
Continuing, he praised “the compelling, perfect vocals” and Henley’s contributions. “Don’s opening lines of the song, which I think are brilliant — ‘They say that anger is just love disappointed.’ It’s all there. The big chorus, the ooohs under the verse…. It’s a classic Eagles record, I’m telling you,” he asserted.