Glenn Frey - The Allnighter

Today (June 19th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of The Allnighter, the second solo studio album from Glenn Frey. This 1984 release spent sixty-five weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 22. It also went to number 57 in Canada, number 40 in Sweden and number 31 in the UK.


Side one opens with the title track. "The Allnighter" was released as the second single, and it peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The falling rain sound yields to a rocker about a woman who seeks some satisfaction in the night.

"Sexy Girl", the first single, went to number 76 in Australia, number 48 in Canada, number 23 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 10 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. Frey sings about his fascination with his new next door neighbor. Wow, I do remember this song even though it has likely been almost three decades since I last heard it.

The mid-tempo "I Got Love" is up next. It is a straight-up exclamation of being blissfully in love.

On "Somebody Else", Frey questions his love about whether there is another lover coming between them. He clearly suspects she is guilty and is giving her a chance to come clean about it.

The side closes with the light ballad "Lover's Moon".

Side two starts with "Smuggler's Blues", the B-side to the second single. The song was later released as the third single where it hit number 13 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The video won an MTV Music Award in 1985, and the song inspired an episode of Miami Vice that also feature Frey as a guest star. I remember this one getting a lot of play on campus back in the day, especially at parties. It would pair well with Don Henley's "All She Wants To Do Is Dance".

Things slow down with the tender "Let's Go Home". It has a bit of an old-time soul sound to it.

The pro-America "Better in the U.S.A." was the B-side to the first single.

"Living in the Darkness" embraces the synth side and delivers a danceable track. At some points, I could swear Frey was attempting to channel Prince.

The closing ballad "New Love" was also the B-side to the third single.

I am sure I heard a good bit of The Allnighter on the album-oriented rock stations back in 1984 and 1985, but it was one that I completely lost track of shortly after that. It was nice to reconnect to this Glenn Frey album again. I have a few tracks earmarked for downloading very soon.

For more blog posts about Glenn Frey, click here.