History of the Eagles
Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:34 pm
I watched this recently on Netflix. I think it was originally a Showtime production. Here are some of my take-aways:
1. Don Felder was hosed when he was fired from the band in 2001. He had, in my opinion, a legitimate beef: Glenn Frey and Don Henley demanded a greater share of the profits from the reunion tours, based solely on the fact (according to Frey,) the 2 had successful solo careers while Felder, Walsh and Schmidt had not. Felder couldn't stand that Glenn and Don were getting more money, and after he continued to complain about it, he was fired. In my opinion, bands should be made up of musicians who share the money equally. Anything else just asks for trouble. Something similar happened with the Black Sabbath reunion - Bill Ward wanted the money split evenly, while Tommy and Ozzy wanted a bigger cut. So, Bill didn't join the reunion.
Now, Glenn tries to make the argument that Felder was fired for writing a "tell all" book about the Eagles. But, if you pay attention to what is being said, it's clear it was over the money. Also, Glenn's continued hatred of Felder was disturbing. That gets me to #2:
2. Glenn Frey is a cavernous asshole, and on top of that, a bully. He says several times that "bands aren't democracies," and must be led. Well, OK. I'll go along with that, but only up to a point. Glenn dominates the other band members, even Don. The film tries to make the point that Glenn and Don have always been buddy-buddy, but anyone with a brain that has followed the band since the late '70s knows that isn't the case. Don and Glenn hated each other back then. Maybe Don is just OK with how things have turned out, because Glenn has seen to it that Don gets a greater cut of the pie too - bringing me to #3:
3. Don Henley is a wuss. Maybe he's just tired of Glenn running all over him for all these years, but he has sat back and watched Glenn treat other band members like crap, and done nothing.
4. Randy Meisner was an under-rated vocalist. I'd forgotten that he sang lead on one of my favorite Eagles tunes, Take it to the limit. He had a beautiful, crystal clear tenor voice. It's a shame he was bullied out of the band, but his overall health has worsened over the years, and he probably couldn't be in the band now even if he wanted to. It was good that the band allowed Randy and Bernie Leadon to join them for the Rock 'n Roll HOF induction back in 1998.
5. The music hasn't aged well for me. It's possibly due to the fact that I've heard those songs probably thousands of times each. But, I don't want to hear them anymore. The only songs I listen to now are Life in the Fast Lane, Take it to the limit, and One of these Nights.
Anyone else seen this documentary?
1. Don Felder was hosed when he was fired from the band in 2001. He had, in my opinion, a legitimate beef: Glenn Frey and Don Henley demanded a greater share of the profits from the reunion tours, based solely on the fact (according to Frey,) the 2 had successful solo careers while Felder, Walsh and Schmidt had not. Felder couldn't stand that Glenn and Don were getting more money, and after he continued to complain about it, he was fired. In my opinion, bands should be made up of musicians who share the money equally. Anything else just asks for trouble. Something similar happened with the Black Sabbath reunion - Bill Ward wanted the money split evenly, while Tommy and Ozzy wanted a bigger cut. So, Bill didn't join the reunion.
Now, Glenn tries to make the argument that Felder was fired for writing a "tell all" book about the Eagles. But, if you pay attention to what is being said, it's clear it was over the money. Also, Glenn's continued hatred of Felder was disturbing. That gets me to #2:
2. Glenn Frey is a cavernous asshole, and on top of that, a bully. He says several times that "bands aren't democracies," and must be led. Well, OK. I'll go along with that, but only up to a point. Glenn dominates the other band members, even Don. The film tries to make the point that Glenn and Don have always been buddy-buddy, but anyone with a brain that has followed the band since the late '70s knows that isn't the case. Don and Glenn hated each other back then. Maybe Don is just OK with how things have turned out, because Glenn has seen to it that Don gets a greater cut of the pie too - bringing me to #3:
3. Don Henley is a wuss. Maybe he's just tired of Glenn running all over him for all these years, but he has sat back and watched Glenn treat other band members like crap, and done nothing.
4. Randy Meisner was an under-rated vocalist. I'd forgotten that he sang lead on one of my favorite Eagles tunes, Take it to the limit. He had a beautiful, crystal clear tenor voice. It's a shame he was bullied out of the band, but his overall health has worsened over the years, and he probably couldn't be in the band now even if he wanted to. It was good that the band allowed Randy and Bernie Leadon to join them for the Rock 'n Roll HOF induction back in 1998.
5. The music hasn't aged well for me. It's possibly due to the fact that I've heard those songs probably thousands of times each. But, I don't want to hear them anymore. The only songs I listen to now are Life in the Fast Lane, Take it to the limit, and One of these Nights.
Anyone else seen this documentary?
