Flyin’ Solo: The Best of Timothy B. Schmit

          Although today marks the release of Timothy B. Schmit’s seventh solo album, Day by Day, his extensive work outside the Eagles and Poco has never been distilled into a “best of” collection. Accordingly, the arrival of his new LP provides a good occasion for surveying the totality of Schmit’s career, which spans more than 50 years.

          He first hit the national music scene as a member of psychedelia-inflected combo Glad (formerly the New Breed), then spent nearly a decade in Poco, singing lead on at least one song per album throughout his run, in addition to consistently writing or cowriting material. Next came the singer and bassist’s first tenure in the Eagles, spanning 1977 t0 1980. Schmit made his solo debut at the same time as his Eagles bandmate Don Henley, since both contributed tracks to the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack in 1982. Yet Henley followed up with a full solo disc later the same year, whereas Schmit’s first platter didn’t appear until 1984. Two more LPs followed before the Eagles reunited in 1994, and since then, Schmit has released albums only occasionally—clearly, the Eagles are his day job and solo work is a side hustle. 

          Nonetheless, listening to everything Schmit has recorded and sung across his more than five decades as a professional musician unearths a broad range of songs that deserve attention. In that spirit, here’s the track listing for an imaginary compilation, with songs presented in chronological order based on the release years of their parent albums as well as the sequencing of those albums. (Additional remarks follow the track listing.)

 
Disc One (76 min.)
1. Sweet Melinda (Glad) – 2.31
2. From the Inside (Poco) – 3.10
3. Restrain (Poco) – 5.13
4. Here We Go Again (Poco) – 3.28
5. Bitter Blue (Poco) – 3.12
6. Keep on Tryin’ (Poco) – 2.54
7. Flyin’ Solo (Poco) – 3.36
8. Starin’ at the Sky (Poco) – 2.58
9. Me and You (Poco) – 2.44
10. I Can’t Tell You Why (Eagles) – 4.56
11. Playin’ It Cool – 5.36
12. Something’s Wrong – 4.09
13. Take a Good Look Around You – 3.21
14. Tell Me What You Dream – 4.47
15. Leaving It Up to You (from the movie Secret Admirer) – 3.43
16. Boys Night Out – 4.36
17. A Better Day Is Coming – 4.31
18. I Guess We’ll Go on Living – 5.32
19. Tell Me the Truth – 3.48 
20. Was It Just the Moonlight – 3.58
21. Something Sad – 5.11
 
Disc Two (80 min.)
1. In Roxy’s Eyes – 4.11
2. All I Want to Do – 2.26
3. Tonight – 3.47
4. Love Will Keep Us Alive (Eagles) – 4.02
5. The Shadow – 4.23
6. Every Song Is You – 4.09
7. Make You Feel My Love – 3.47
8. I’ll Always Let You In – 4.02
9. Give Me Back My Sight – 4.31
10. I Don’t Want to Hear Any More (Eagles) – 4.21
11. Do Something (Eagles) – 5.12
12. Parachute (feat. Graham Nash + Kenny Wayne Shepherd) – 6.20
13. White Boy from Sacramento – 4.55
14. Compassion – 4.43
15. All Those Faces – 7.19
16. This Waltz – 6.58
17. The Good Fight (feat. Sheryl Crow) – 7.55
 

          The work Schmit did with his first band should be represented here, hence the inclusion of garage-rock bopper “Sweet Melinda,” from Glad’s sole LP, Feelin’ Glad (1969). Similarly, selections from his Poco output should be featured because it was with Poco that Schmit sharpened the skills he later brought to his higher-profile work as an Eagle. To that point, bluesy “From the Inside” (the title track of Poco’s 1971 studio album) is one of many tracks that evoke early Eagles, right down to the crunchy guitars and ooh-ooh harmonies. Slightly menacing “Restrain,” from A Good Feelin’ to Know (1972), works a similar groove, blending Crosby, Stills & Nash-style harmony vocals with a “Witchy Woman”-esque rhythm pattern and dramatic high notes that recall Randy Meisner. For some readers, it may be surprising to learn that many of Schmit’s Poco songs are legit rockers—not every song bearing his fingerprints is a gentle ballad.

          “Here We Go Again,” from Crazy Eyes (1973), occupies a pleasant soft-rock pocket with quiet verses and bouncy choruses, although it feels underdeveloped—as do many of Schmit’s early compositions, including “Bitter Blue,” from Cantamos (1974). The song starts quietly before shifting to a Bernie Leadon-esque country-rock attack. Although the lyrics don’t have the same punch as the music, it’s refreshing to hear Schmit explore tougher aspects of his vocal range. The 1975 Poco release Head Over Heels introduced the band’s biggest hit up to that point and also Schmit’s first signature song. “Keep on Tryin’” is a sweet midtempo number with dense vocal harmonies atop steady acoustic strumming. The tune hit No. 50 on the pop chart, and for a brief time after Schmit switched bands, the song was part of the Eagles’s live sets. Schmit has revisited “Keep on Tryin’” several times for Poco reunions.

          Head Over Heels also introduced the song that gives this imaginary collection its title. “Flyin’ Solo” is one of Schmit’s best heavier songs, even though it opens with an unthreatening country-rock groove. Once again sounding very much like early Eagles, “Flyin’ Solo” has focus and punch, especially during the muscular final passage. Offering an easygoing counterpoint is the succinct “Starin’ at the Sky,” from Rose of Cimarron (1976), which has shades of the band America’s shimmery sound. Rounding out this brisk sampling of pre-Eagles material is “Me and You,” from the last Poco studio album featuring Schmit, Indian Summer (1977). “Me and You” is interesting for a couple of reasons—in addition to being more overtly country than most of Schmit’s Poco tunes (dig that steel!), the song has a mature lyric about the push-pull dynamics of relationships, subject matter the bassist would revisit in his first contribution to his next band.

          Since “I Can’t Tell You Why” has already been discussed at length in this blog, nothing will be added here except an observation that placing the song in chronological context offers hints about what shape the number was in when Schmit presented the nascent tune to Henley and Glenn Frey, both of whom embellished the songwriting.

          Now begins a journey through the bassist’s solo output, with occasional returns to the realm of the Eagles. Schmit’s first LP, Playin’ It Cool (1984) begins a pattern of haphazard albums that wobble between moments of affecting sincerity and dubious attempts at emulating pop-music fads. Four of the stronger tracks include the jittery title cut (cowritten by frequent Eagles accomplice J.D. Souther), the credible rocker “Something’s Wrong” (which features Henley and Joe Walsh), the sweet “Take a Good Look Around You,” and the seductive soft-rock groove “Tell Me What You Dream.” The latter song is the first of many Schmit solo tracks that could and should have been hits. (Playin’ It Cool also features the doo-wop cover “So Much in Love,” repurposed from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but that tune was not selected for this imaginary collection in order to focus primarily on pieces that Schmit wrote or co-wrote.)

          “Leaving It Up to You,” from the movie Secret Admirer, is among Schmit’s loveliest early songs, balancing vulnerability and warmth with an energetic final passage.

          Because the bassist explored harder MTV-era sounds on his second solo LP, Timothy B. (1987), that album features some of his most dated material. The uncharacteristically macho single “Boys Night Out” has respectable hooks, “A Better Day Is Coming” blends complicated vocal patterns with thick synth textures, and “I Guess We’ll Go on Living” offers an upbeat mechanized soundscape with Schmit’s high voice floating above puffy keyboard clouds.

          Stronger material drives the bassist’s third effort, Tell Me the Truth (1990), tracks from which conclude Disc One of this imaginary compilation and also kick off Disc Two. The title cut works a synth-funk groove heavily evocative of Henley’s material from the same era, and “Was It Just the Moonlight” is among Schmit’s most aggressive-sounding songs. Conversely, “Something Sad” occupies Schmit’s sweet spot of the anguished lover wondering how it all went wrong. The poignant tune ranks among his fully realized compositions.

          Disc Two begins with two quiet numbers from Tell Me the Truth, “In Roxy’s Eyes” and “All I Want to Do,” both of which evoke Brian Wilson’s guileless songwriting. “Tonight,” also from Tell Me the Truth, is another Schmit song that could have been a hit—it’s a bouncy pop number with solid hooks, a dense arrangement (notably punchy organ parts), and delicately multilayered background vocals. Tell Me the Truth marked the end of the bassist’s wilderness years, because the Eagles reunion LP Hell Freezes Over (1994) introduced the No. 1 adult-contemporary hit “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” another tune already discussed at length in this blog. Among the many gifts the Eagles reunion gave Schmit was the wherewithal to set up a home studio. Clearly, being able to workshop material at his own pace (and without the pressure of chasing radio play) allowed the bassist to relax into an organic style more suited to his gifts than some of the mechanized pop formats he previously attempted.

          Feed the Fire (2001) is the source for the next several tracks on this imaginary collection: contemplative “The Shadow,” infectious “Every Song Is You,” comforting “Make You Feel My Love,” insistent “I’ll Always Let You In,” soulful “Give Me Back My Sight.” With these tunes, Schmit achieves and maintains a new peak of artistry; finally, his soundscapes are as inviting and personable as his vocals. Of particular note are “The Shadow,” one of the best compositions to bear a Schmit solo writing credit; “Make You Feel My Love,” which occupies an honorable place amid myriad cover versions of the late-career Bob Dylan classic; and “Give Me Back My Sight,” which offers a compelling blend of multitrack vocals and exotic loops, thus representing one of Schmit’s most rewarding departures from his rootsy comfort zone.

          Next up are the two numbers with Schmit lead vocals from Long Road Out of Eden (2007), the Eagles’s most recent—and likely final—studio LP. “I Don’t Want to Hear Any More” and “Do Something,” both quite good, are discussed at length elsewhere in this blog.

          “Parachute,” “White Boy from Sacramento,” and “Compassion” are from Schmit’s 2009 album Expando. Fans of exemplary vocal harmonies should take special note of “Parachute,” which sounds like a great lost CSN song—unsurprising given that Graham Nash is featured prominently. The quasi-autobiographical “White Boy from Sacramento,” perhaps the snarkiest song Schmit has ever written, features a gentle dig at the immortality of “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” and “Compassion” is an outstanding showcase for Schmit’s musical gifts because it blends singer-songwriter emotional nakedness with Brian Wilson-esque operatic harmonizing.

          The final solo album excerpted for this imaginary collection is Leap of Faith (2016), on which Schmit continues a late-career drift toward lengthier songs. “All Those Faces” (over seven minutes) and “This Waltz” (over six minutes) blend arresting slow-burn beats with beguiling instrumental and vocal textures. Even more ambitious is the final song on this imaginary collection, the 2019 non-album single “The Good Fight,” which runs nearly eight minutes. Set to a slinky funk/soul groove, the spirited duet with Sheryl Crow celebrates those who employ activism and morality while pushing back against the cynicism of our strange times.

          In recent interviews, Schmit has acknowledged that he didn’t truly find himself as a songwriter until quite late in his career, so even though this imaginary collection offers highlights from a half-century of music, perhaps Schmit’s finest hour is yet to come.

          For quick overviews of solo releases by members of the Eagles (including snapshots of Schmit’s albums), click here.