Some of the biggest bands of the classic rock era didn’t exactly produce solo juggernauts.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins from Genesis, Journey’s Steve Perry, and David Gilmour and Roger Waters from Pink Floyd would go a decade or more without releasing anything on their own. Same with the principal Eagles songwriters and singers.
Glenn Frey and Don Henley helped complete six Eagles albums in just eight years between 1972 and 1979, but only released 10 total without their former bandmates. An unlikely Eagles reunion eventually produced 2007’s Long Road Out of Eden double album, but that seemed to empty out their creative coffers.
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Frey’s discography ended soon after with 2012’s standards-focused After Hours, his first LP since 1992’s Strange Weather. He passed away four years later. Henley hasn’t released an album since his long-time collaborator died in 2016. Like After Hours, Henley’s most recent release – 2015’s Cass County – was a genre record that fell well outside his established solo sound.
To get the most complete perspective, the following ranked list of Glenn Frey and Don Henley solo albums takes it all in – even the times when they strayed so far away from rock.
Generally, however, Frey dug deeper into his R&B roots, only occasionally sounding anything like his old country-rocking self. Henley went even further afield, delving deeply into the electronic instrumentation and sleek production style of the decade after his old band split.
Some of it worked, and quite well. But the years of expectation that surrounded these releases tended to bring even more pressure to bear. Maybe, in the end, that’s why they stayed silent for so long.
Glenn Frey and Don Henley Solo Albums Ranked
This ranked list of Glenn Frey and Don Henley solo albums takes it all in – even the times when they strayed far away from rock.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
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