Soul Searchin' (Glenn Frey album)

Soul Searchin' is the third solo studio album by Glenn Frey, the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the Eagles. The album was released on August 15, 1988 on MCA in the United States and the United Kingdom, four years after Frey's successful album, The Allnighter and eight years after the demise of the Eagles. The album features eight original songs co-written by Frey with Jack Tempchin and the song "Two Hearts" contributed by Frey's friend, Hawk Wolinski. The album also features contributions from fellow Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit, Max Carl, Robbie Buchanan, Michael Landau, and Bruce Gaitsch.

This article is about the album by Glenn Frey. For other uses, see Soul Searching.
Soul Searchin'
Studio album by
Glenn Frey
Released15 August 1988 (1988-08-15)
RecordedMay 1986–May 1988
Studio
Genre
Length46:24
LabelMCA
Producer
Glenn Frey chronology
The Allnighter
(1984)		 Soul Searchin'
(1988)		 Strange Weather
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [1]

The album was received negatively by the majority of music critics, while other reviewers noted good points to the album. It was also not as successful as Frey's previous albums (although one of his favorites),[2] peaking at #36 on the Billboard 200, which marked the beginning of a downturn in Frey's fortunes on the album charts. The album's first and leading single, "True Love", unlike the album, was a commercial success, peaking at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and so was the second single, the title track which peaked at #5 also on the same chart.

Background

Frey began work on the album in the midst of a string of hits in the 1980s, as well as animosity between him and other members of the Eagles. The album's title refers to his efforts to find his own identity.

Musical direction

When Frey was asked about his musical direction, he said "In a sense I'm working my way back home, Though I left Detroit and went to California to cut my teeth on country-rock, I've remained obsessed with the music of my adolescence, the great soul hits of the 60's and early 70's. It's a style that most black musicians have abandoned for dance music and rap. There are a whole lot of people who miss the sound of Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett. It's left a gap that is being filled by people like Steve Winwood."[3]

Critical reception

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote of the album "the songs here were so interchangeable with those on his first two albums he apologized for it in his note about "True Love," which became the album's sole Top 40 hit. The music was pleasant, but inconsequential, and suggested that Frey, living off his Eagles royalties, had come to think of his solo career as a hobby."[4] In a review for The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), Mark Coleman gave the album one and a half out of five stars and wrote that "Frey sounded like he wasn't even trying anymore; his pump-your-body TV gym commercials at the time displayed more sweat and effort".[5]

Track listing

All songs by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Livin' Right" 5:07
2."Some Kind of Blue" 4:40
3."True Love" 4:40
4."Can't Put Out This Fire" 5:04
5."I Did It for Your Love" 4:00
6."Let's Pretend We're Still in Love" 4:51
7."Working Man" 3:25
8."Soul Searchin'"Frey, Jack Tempchin, Duncan Cameron5:38
9."Two Hearts"David "Hawk" Wolinski, James Newton Howard4:01
10."It's Your Life"Frey, Steve Thoma4:58
Total length:46:24

B-side "It's Cold in Here", written with Cameron, and the following year's "Flip City", written with Wolinski, were later released as bonus tracks on reissues of the album.

Personnel
  • Glenn Frey – lead vocals, backing vocals (1-4, 6-9), keyboards (1-5, 7, 8), guitar (1-7, 9), bass (1-7), percussion (1, 2, 4), arrangements (1), drums (2, 3, 7), horn arrangements (3, 7), string arrangements (5, 8), French horn arrangements (5)

Additional musicians

  • David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards (1, 5, 7, 9), arrangements (1)
  • Ron Skies – keyboards (2, 4, 5, 7, 10)
  • Barry Beckett – keyboards (3, 8)
  • Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (3, 9)
  • Steve Thoma – keyboards (4, 7, 8, 10)
  • Steve Nathan – keyboards (8)
  • Michael Landau – guitar (2, 6, 10)
  • Duncan Cameron – guitar (8), backing vocals (8)
  • Bruce Gaitsch – guitar (9)
  • Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (9)
  • David Hood – bass (8)
  • Neil Stubenhaus – bass (9)
  • Dave Chamberlain – bass (10)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (1, 5)
  • John Robinson – drums (2, 4, 6, 9)
  • Roger Hawkins – drums (8)
  • Prairie Prince – drums (10)
  • Steve Forman – percussion (1, 4, 5, 7)
  • Ralph MacDonald – percussion (3, 6, 8, 9, 10)
  • Bill Bergman – saxophone solo (1)
  • Al Garth – saxophone (2)
  • Chris Mostert – saxophone (3, 10)
  • The Heart Attack Horns – horns (1, 3, 4, 7)
  • Greg Smith – horn arrangements (1, 3, 4, 7)
  • Nick DeCaro – string arrangements (5, 8, 10), French horn arrangements (5)
  • Roy Galloway – backing vocals (2, 6, 8)
  • Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals (2, 6)
  • Julia Waters – backing vocals (3, 4, 8)
  • Maxine Waters – backing vocals (3, 4, 8)
  • Max Carl – backing vocals (7)
  • Oren Waters – backing vocals (8)
  • Institutional Radio Choir – backing vocals (8)
  • Carl Williams – BGV direction (8)

Production
  • Producers – Glenn Frey and Elliot Scheiner
  • Co-Producers – Hawk Wolinski (Tracks 1, 5 & 9); James Newton Howard (Track 9).
  • Production Coordinator – Ivy Skoff
  • Engineers – Ray Blair, Dan Garcia, Alec Head, Glen Holguin, Jack Joseph Puig and Elliot Scheiner.
  • Assistant Engineers – Ted Blaisdell, Jordan D'Alessio, Frank Dooken, Ken Felton, Mike Harlow, Robin Laine, Vickie Lancaster, Julie Last, Charlie Paakkari, Jim Singer and Paul Winger.
  • Mixed by Elliot Scheiner at The Sandbox Studios (Fairfield County, CT).
  • Digital Editing by Rhonda Schoen
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Art Direction – Jeff Adamoff
  • Digital Transfer – ImageDesign
  • Design – DZN, The Design Group
  • Photography – Dennis Keeley
  • Management – The Fitzgerald Hartley Co.

Chart performance

Album
Chart (1988) Position
Billboard chart 36
Australia Kent Music Report[6] 49
Canadian RPM chart 37
Swedish Sverigetopplistan chart 36

Singles
Single Chart Position
"True Love" Adult Contemporary 2
"True Love" The Billboard Hot 100 13
"True Love" Mainstream Rock Tracks 15
"True Love" UK Singles chart 84
"Soul Searchin'" Adult Contemporary 5
"Livin' Right" Adult Contemporary 22
"Livin' Right" The Billboard Hot 100 90

References
  1. Coleman, Mark (1992). "Glenn Frey". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 265. ISBN 0679737294.
  2. "Zinhof - Blog.hr". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  3. Holden, Stephen (14 September 1988). "The Pop Life - The New York Times". The New York Times.
  4. "Soul Searchin' - Glenn Frey | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  5. Coleman, Mark (1992). "Glenn Frey". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 265. ISBN 0679737294.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 119. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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