Album Review #10 - Glenn Frey - Soul Searchin' (1988)

 

Album Review #10

 

 

Artist:  Glenn Frey

Album:  Soul Searchin

Year of Release:  1988

Grade:  4 / 5

 

Band Members

Glenn Frey – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass, percussion, drums

David “Hawk” Wolinski – keyboards

Ron Skies – keyboards

Robbie Buchanan – keyboards

Steve Thoma – keyboards

Steve Nathan – keyboards

Michael Landau – guitar

Duncan Cameron – guitar, backing vocals

Bruce Gaitsch – guitar

Paul Jackson Jr – guitar

David Hood – bass

Neil Stubenhaus – bass

Dave Chamberlain – bass

Russ Kunkel – drums

John Robinson – drums

Roger Hawkins – drums

Prairie Prince – drums

Steve Forman – percussion

Ralph MacDonald – percussion

Bill Bergman – saxophone

Al Garth – saxophone

The Heart Attack Horns – horns

Roy Galloway – backing vocals

Timothy B Schmit – backing vocals

Julia Walters – backing vocals

Maxine Waters – backing vocals

Max Carl – backing vocals

Oren Waters – backing vocals

Institutional Radio Choir – backing vocals

 

Background

After the breakup of the Eagles, Detroit native Glenn Frey started his solo career.  This album was his third album after the success of “No Fun Aloud” and “The Allnighter”.  This album was a look back to the music he loved growing up – soul and Motown.  It has been said (and rightly so) that Frey never overlooked a chance for a sax solo.  On this album, horns play a primary part.  This is probably my favorite Glenn Frey album even though it wasn’t as successful as some of the others.

 

One of the things that I loved about the album is the liner notes where Frey explains or provides notes about each song.   I have included them after each track review below.

 

 

Track Listing

1.      “Livin Right” (Frey, Jack Tempchin)

2.      “Some Kind of Blue” (Frey, Tempchin)

3.      “True Love” (Frey, Tempchin)

4.      “Can’t Put Out This Fire” (Frey, Tempchin)

5.      “I Did It For Your Love” (Frey, Tempchin)

6.      “Let’s Pretend We’re Still In Love” (Frey, Tempchin)

7.      “Working Man” (Frey, Tempchin)

8.      “Soul Searchin’” (Frey, Tempchin, Duncan Cameron)

9.      “Two Hearts” (Dave “Hawk” Wolinski, James Newton Howard)

10.  “It’s Your Life” (Frey, Steve Thoma)

 

 

Review

The opening track “Livin Right” is about getting into shape.  Let’s face it, Frey’s lifestyle during the Eagles was brutally punishing on his body.  I remember this song was used as a commercial or poster showing Frey in his long hair druggie days with the label “Hard Living” and then his newer clean cut image with the label “Living Hard”.  This is a great song to work out to.  It kind of has a rhythm to it where you can almost hear the weight machines going up and down.

 

Frey’s comments:  “My anthem to fitness.  Jack and I both started working out, eating right, and generally tightening up our acts.  Having tried nearly every other way to feel good, we’ve wound up back in gym class.  Who’d of thunk it!”

 

 

“Some Kind of Blue” is a great song that just reminds me of a group of guys on a street corner singing.  It opens with a great sax solo (I warned you earlier) by Al Garth.  It definitely has a Motown-ish feel to it.

 

Frey’s comments: “I always wanted to do a song with no snare drum, just hand claps and finger snaps.  As soon as I wrote the drum program, the song came in and wrote itself.”

 

“True Love” is a great upbeat soul song.  It was the lead single.  Frey’s obsession with this style of music is evident.  His passion comes across in the vocals.  It will have you tapping your toes in no time.

 

Frey’s comments: “For those of you who have my previous albums, I apologize.  I just can’t shake my obsession with this Al Green-Memphis thing.  Like Wilson Picket says “Don’t Fight It””.

 

 “Can’t Put Out This Fire” is a great song.  I think it could have been a single.  The combination of horns, keyboards, and guitar is impressive and cohesive.  The song is about a broken relationship where the singer is still in love with the girl that left but he stills sees her around.

 

Frey’s comments: “Jack (Tempchin) started playing the into guitar lick, I picked up the bass and we wrote this song one rainy night in March.  It features fine percussion work by Steve Forman and a great horn chart by Gregg Smith.”

 

“I Did It For Your Love” is kind of a creepy song.  Sort of like a stalker love song that Ted Bundy would have approved of.  While I enjoy of the ballad vocals by Frey, it is the subject matter that I don’t like.

 

Frey’s comments: “This song is the end title theme for the film “An American Murder”.  A straight ahead love song for a murder mystery seemed pretty twisted to me.  After all, what is murder by love gone wrong.”

 

After the dark previous song, “Let’s Pretend We’re Still In Love” is a nice upbeat song about the desire to rekindle an old relationship to find the magic once again.  It definitely has that Motown-ish feeling that I could imagine the Four Tops or the Temptations performing.

 

Frey’s comments: “All I can say about this one is long live Thom Bell, the Spinners, and the Sounds of Philadelphia.”

 

“Working Man” is a great blue collar song.  It is an ode to the old days of hard work.  In some ways, I always equate this to Detroit.  It falls in line with Huey Lewis’ “Working For A Living” and Michael Stanley’s “My Town”.  Frey also did a ballad version of this that was released as a B side.

 

Frey’s comments: “I originally wrote this song for the ill-fated feature film “Let’s Get Harry” but it’s for working men and women everywhere, like my dad Eddie and brother Alan.”

 

“Soul Searchin” is a soulful song about change within.  It has some great finger snaps.  It is another of those songs that I could see a group of guys singing on a street corner.  As to the lyrics, they are filled with hope but not that over the top mushy stuff.  I enjoy the gospel choir about half way through.

 

Frey’s comments: “Here’s the message folks.  You can’t change the world but you can change yourself.  Coach John Wooden said you shouldn’t concern yourself with people’s perception of you but rather concern yourself with your character which is the true measure of who and what you are.  I buy that.”

 

“Two Hearts” starts out with a calypso kind of feel to it.  This was pretty common in the late 80s.  This is probably my least favorite track on the album.  Listening to it now, it sounds like a filler song and very dated.  It felt like he thought “I need a dance type song.”

 

Frey’s comments: “A cool little tune written by my friend Hawk Wolinski.  It features great synthesizer work by Robbie Buchanan and a rare (as opposed to well done) guitar solo by yours truly.”

 

“It’s Your Life” is closing ballad for the album.  It is a nice song with a great message.  And of course, has a great sax solo. You have to make your own decisions and live with consequences.

 

Frey’s comments: “The title says it all.  I wish everyone luck, love, and happiness.  Your friend in music, Glenn Frey.”