Former Eagle Trying Wings Again After Setbacks of Two Trying Years
Author: Gary Graff
Publication: The Oregonian
Date: October 31, 1988
Abstract: Glenn Frey talks about topics like changing his lifestyle after enduring hardships such as health problems and divorce. Not only has he cleaned up physically, he also is not allowing himself to get stressed about whether or not he is a commercial success.
It's been a tough two years for Glenn Frey. His last album, The Allnighter, was a commercial disappointment. He went through a divorce. And he ended up in the hospital.
But he's still smiling.
The former member of the Eagles decided to clean up his act. He has a new diet and exercise regimen. He's recovering from the divorce. And he recently released Soul Searchin', his third and best solo album since the Eagles broke up seven years ago.
Looking back, Frey's solo career hasn't exactly been a bomb. Though The Allnighter and 1982's No Fun Aloud didn't live up to the Eagles' sales standards, Miami Vice helped Frey score two hits, "Smuggler's Blues"' and "You Belong to the City." And "The Heat is On'" from the film Beverly Hills Cop was a No. 2 hit.
But it also was a rocky period, as his three-year marriage broke up and as his assortment of rock 'n' roll vices finally got the best of him. "I got sick," Frey said. "I was supposed to do a benefit concert with Henley, and I ended up in the hospital with diverticulitis. It's from burgers and beer and blow (cocaine) and broads -- all the bad stuff I'd been doing to myself."
So Frey decided to straighten himself out, though he's quick to point out that he didn't "go through some big Betty Ford Clinic, give-up-everything-under-the-sun scene. I just adjusted my lifestyle." He hired a personal trainer and worked himself into condition. He also subscribed to Robert Haas' high-carbohydrate, low-fat "Eat to Win" diet.
So Frey is looking better and feeling better, and that made Soul Searchin' a pleasure to record, he said. The soul in the title certainly reflects on the album's content; in fact, Frey referred to the record as "my `Silk Degrees'," referring to Boz Scagg's slick, blue-eyed soul album of 1976.
"I know that after I left Detroit, I cut my teeth playing country-rock with the Eagles," Frey said. "But starting with 'One of the These Nights,' even the Eagles had soul influences creeping in.
"It's taken me this long to figure out what kind of material I can sing well, and then be able to write that kind of material. It's a record I've been capable of making, but I didn't understand how to do it until now.''
It may just yield a few more hits, too, but the rejuvenated Frey said that his lifestyle adjustments have tempered his concerns about commercial success.
"Y'know, I never had time to enjoy any of the success I had,'' he said. "I was too busy in the Eagles; we were always too busy plotting our next move. And my solo career has been too busy, always trying to make something click.
"So I'm playing a round of golf every now and then instead of worrying. If success comes around and smiles on me again, I think I'll just be sitting there with a light beer, watching the Detroit Tigers on TV and smiling back."
