Description
The first disc, aptly subtitled The Very Best of Glenn Frey, is chock-full of major chart hits, including the Beverly Hills Copsmash “The Heat Is On,” the gritty, slide-guitar-driven gutbucket groove of “Smuggler’s Blues,” the epic Miami Viceballad “You Belong to the City,” the inward-looking poignancy of “Soul Searchin’,” and much more. This disc will be available as a stand-alone disc as well as part of the box set. And while Glenn clearly embraced the burgeoning video age, nabbing a vaunted 1985 MTV Music Video Award with the cinematically dramatic clip for “Smuggler’s Blues,” it’s the enduring essence of the man’s songwriting skills on display here that truly sealed his legacy as a solo artist.

Disc 2 explores Frey’s prowess beyond the charts, from the classy to the classic. Included are the broad swath of “After Hours,” his majestic take on “For Sentimental Reasons,” a harmonic nod to the Beach Boys with a spot-on cover of “Caroline, No,” and the sheer battle cry of “Route 66” among them.

The third disc highlights the early output of the duo formed by longtime friends Frey and JD Souther known as Longbranch/Pennywhistle makes its digital debut. Originally released on the Amos label in 1969, the self-titled Longbranch/Pennywhistle may have ultimately been consigned to the side bins of the acid-rock era, but songs like “Kite Woman” and “Run, Boy, Run” serve as the literal seeds of the country-rock movement Frey and the Eagles perfected to a T. Besides navigating the success of his own fine solo career (see “You’re Only Lonely”), Souther also went on to be a chief Frey collaborator on such pivotal Eagles songs as “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight.”

The final disc, a live DVD culled from a telling performance at the National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, on September 15, 1992, on the Strange Weather tour, shows Frey and his top-shelf band at the height of their powers, veering from the cool-breeze manifestos of “Long Hot Summer” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling” to the rip-roaring crackle of “Strange Weather” to the everyone-join-in vibes of “Party Town.”

Tracklist
[CD1: The Very Best Of Glenn Frey]
1. The Heat Is On
2. Call On Me
3. Part Of Me, Part Of You
4. You Belong To The City
5. Smuggler's Blues
6. Sexy Girl
7. The Allnighter
8. Soul Searchin'
9. Same Girl
10. The One You Love
11. Strange Weather
12. I've Got Mine
13. River Of Dreams
14. Love In The 21st Century
15. Lyin' Eyes / Take It Easy (Medley - Live at the National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland / 1992)

[CD2: The Very Rest Of Glenn Frey]
1. Let's Go Home
2. I Got Love
3. This Way To Happiness
4. Common Ground
5. After Hours
6. Rising Sun (Instrumental)
7. The Shadow Of Your Smile
8. Better In The U.S.A.
9. Brave New World
10. Caroline, No
11. For Sentimental Reasons
12. It's Too Soon To Know
13. Worried Mind
14. Lover's Moon
15. Route 66
16. True Love

[CD3: Longbranch/Pennywhistle]
1. Jubilee Anne
2. Run Boy, Run
3. Rebecca
4. Lucky Love
5. Kite Woman
6. Bring Back Funky Women
7. Star-Spangled Bus
8. Mister, Mister
9. Don't Talk Now
10. Never Have Enough

[DVD: Strange Weather/Live In Dublin]
1. Long Hot Summer
2. Peaceful Easy Feeling
3. New Kid In Town
4. The One You Love
5. Strange Weather
6. I've Got Mine
7. Lyin' Eyes / Take It Easy (Medley)
8. Wild Mountain Thyme
9. River Of Dreams
10. True Love
11. Love In The 21st Century
12. Livin' Right
13. Smuggler's Blues
14. The Heat Is On
15. Heartache Tonight
16. Party Town
17. Desperado

3CD/1DVD Box Set (shown above)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VD5TR7/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079VD5TR7/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079VD5TR7/?tag=imwan-21

1CD Standalone (contains first disc only)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B12HMCF/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B12HMCF/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B12HMCF/?tag=imwan-21

Great. A selective box set. I thought those went the way of the dodo.

I'm in on this.

Had me at Longbranch Pennywhistle. And still no Buckingham Nicks on CD.

my only reason to get this. as i have everything else on it and have no use for a DVD.

hate to buy a 4 CD set to get only one of the discs.

could "shiloh" be far off?

linda,

your opinion on the 'longbranch pennywhistle" getting its own release?

renny

Either this Christmas or next, I would bet.

Less than 25 GBP shipped.

I would've preferred a DVD with his videos, but I'm in nonetheless.

I'm probably get this, mostly for the live dvd.

Me too.

This is a nice set for what is a really a limited solo catalog. I might get this, depending on price and really hate that it's clear from the picture that the discs slide into the packaging.

Yep. Packaging is wretched.

$34.17 including shipping from the UK, I'm in!

The USA pre-order link for the box set is now active:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VD5TR7/?tag=imwan-20

Ordering from the UK is a better option right now (about $16 cheaper):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079VD5TR7/?tag=imwan-21

looking at the tracks once again, i realize there are no rarities on here at all. and they are certainly out there. 'flip city' is the first that comes to mind.

and the live song at the end of disc one is available on a joe walsh best of 2CD set.

Since Party Town was left off the CDs, I may pass on this. What a shame.

There were also a couple of Japan only bonus tracks, one each from Soul Searchin’ (“It’s Cold In Here”) and Strange Weather (“Ain’t It Love”), and an alternate slow version of “Working Man” on the “True Love” single that would have been nice additions.

His first Top 40 single, "I Found Somebody", is once again nowhere to be found.

As expected, this is a missed opportunity for an overview of Frey's solo career, just like the 2009 "Very Best Of" release was for Don Henley. Shouldn't "True Love" be on the first disc? It's one of his biggest hits. Where is "I Found Somebody"? It was his first solo single and a top 40 hit. What about "All Those Lies"? I bet that these are all album versions, too. Both "True Love" and "Soul Searchin'" had single versions/mixes different to the album versions. Also, "Livin' Right", which has a single remix but was only a minor hit, is missing as well. There's plenty of room on these discs for more tracks. "Partytown", a No. 5 Billboard rock hit and fan favorite is missing. Glenn already has a few compilations on the market. This would have been a great opportunity to include all the hits, single mixes, rarities, and favorites between the first two discs and set the collection apart from the rest. Disc two relies too heavily on his 2012 "After Hours" covers album, featuring a whopping 7 cuts (half the album). Why not just package the entire album as disc 2 then? (Disc 1 features "Same Girl" from the album, so that's 8 tracks total). This was a missed opportunity to include more album cuts (not from "After Hours") on disc 2, including the 12" mixes of "The Heat Is On", for example, in addition to non-album b-sides/Japan-only releases. Oh well. I might buy it if the sound quality is good, since having (hopefully great sounding) remastered versions of these songs would be nice.

Here's how I would have done the first disc. In chronological order ...

01 I Found Somebody (4:02) (No. 31 Pop, No. 27 AC)
02 The One You Love (4:34) (No. 15 Pop, No. 2 AC)
03 All Those Lies (4:42) (No. 41 Pop, No. 28 AC)
04 Partytown (2:57) (No. 5 Rock)
05 Sexy Girl (3:30) (No. 20 Pop, No. 23 AC)
06 The Allnighter [Radio Version] (3:28) (No. 54 Pop)
07 The Heat Is On (from "Beverly Hills Cop") (3:45) (No. 2 Pop)
08 Smuggler's Blues [A-Side Single Version] (3:49) (No. 12 Pop)
09 You Belong to the City (from "Miami Vice") (5:51) (No. 2 Pop, No. 2 AC)
10 True Love [Single Version] (4:12) (No. 13 Pop, No. 2 AC)
11 Soul Searchin' [Remix] (4:29) (No. 5 AC)
12 Livin' Right [Remix] (4:28) (No. 90 Pop, No. 22 AC)
13 Flip City (from "Ghostbusters II") (5:12)
14 Part of Me, Part of You [Single Edit] (from "Thelma & Louise") (4:15) (No. 55 Pop, No. 7 AC)
15 I've Got Mine [Single Edit] (3:58) (No. 91 Pop, No. 12 AC)
16 River of Dreams [Single Edit] (4:40) (No. 27 AC)
17 Love in the 21st Century [Single Edit] (4:11) (No. 112 Pop)
18 This Way to Happiness (3:27) (No. 54 Canada)
19 After Hours (3:57) (the only Frey/Tempchin written song on the 2012 album - save a few covers for disc 2)

Including the single versions/mixes for most tracks would allow for more room and brings the compilation to 80 minutes of playing time. Most of these single versions are rare on CD. I would have included "Flip City" as well, since it would make its debut on a Frey compilation.

Exactly. These would have been perfect for disc 2!

Me, too, since most are non-existent on YouTube!

Wish Bellenger would have been curating! That Disc 1 looks pretty perfect.