Which Eagles were the best?

[crazyhair]

Don Felder stuff is my favorite.

Add Joe Walsh, and you have a rockin' powerhouse.

 

(Hotel California.)

 

 

For variety, I don't think you can beat One of These Nights.

Bernie Leadon was still in the band with the Bluegrass instruments.

 

 

Their last album sucked - front to back.

We waited a decade and a half for THAT?

 

 

I agree their last album sucked. There is a difference between an Eagles album and a Don Henley album. The last one sounded like one of Henley's older albums not an Eagles album. What makes the Eagles who they are is everyone contributing their talents which also includes singing and harmonizing.

[cookieman15061]

Sorry to fan the flames but I got the black CC like the red one Joe is playing...it is a truly great guitar

 

V

 

 

Thanks V. My wife is off work till Jan.6th because of surgery and I just can't swing it at the moment with one paycheck coming in and Christmas right around the corner. I'm hoping it gets ignored for a couple months.

[sparky scott 29]

Are they farewelling again??

[charlie brown]

Loved Joe Walsh since his "James Gang" days!

 

CB

[neilpanda]

Are they farewelling again??

haha no...they keep adding extra legs to their long road out of eden. I think theyre playing in asia.

Got to see them in Vancouver back in may

[Dennis G]

I highly recommend Don Felder's book Heaven and Hell (My life with the Eagles).

Great read about his humble beginnings in Florida. Learning to play guitar. Sneaking of as a youngster to meet B B King. Learning slide from Duane Allman.

 

And few people know he taught little Tommy Petty to play guitar.

 

Good read for any guitar player.

 

Once he joined The Eagles, they grew a pair.

+1. Great read, and a real insight into the ego's of Henley & Frey. I have a much lesser opinion of them as "people" than prior to reading the book. That said, I also understand it's from Felder's point of view, but enlightening nonetheless.

 

Saw the Eagles earlier this year, and as a group, they've still got it and they still rock. Joe Walsh is just unreal, and while Stewart Smith fills a void, he's no Don Felder. All that said however, they're still one of my all time fav's!

[NeoConMan]

Felder's book is as devoid of ego, and even-handed as any such book I've ever read.

I don't know if it's his humble nature, or fear of more Eagles litigation that kept him so objective.

 

Probably both.

 

Fantastic book, whether you're a fan or not.

[FirstMeasure]

Admittedly, I know very little about the internal affairs of the Eagles, except that Henley and Frey took control. If they Took Control to keep the Eagles together and touring, wouldn't that be a constructive reason?

 

At what point does Lack of Cooperation become an intolerable hindrance? How much control should one member have to say "No"?

 

Four members want to tour, One wants to sit next to the pool and relax. Because the four would have to break up the group to progress, they should all sit by the pool, or change their careers. "Sorry, you can't build on your success. I said it's over."

 

At what point does the individuals commitment to the group come into question? Only in music is the groups commitment to the individual so considered.

[MrNylon]

Hotel California as my favorite Eagles album. Joe Walsh as my favorite Eagles member.

[NeoConMan]

It's not really so much that Henley and Frey took control.

It was Frey's band, Henley was in it with him from the idea stage.

Everybody else was a second-string player, and Frey/Henley were the decision-makers.

They could say "No" anytime they wanted, and nobody could challenge them.

 

Randy Meisner, from what I understand, was simply a bass player and not a big creative director.

He did one solo album after he left the band that I know of, and a talented guy from what I gather.

 

Bernie Leadon was a Bluegrass guy, and didn't care for the whole rock thing.

As Felder details in his book, Leadon was the one who hooked him up with Frey/Henley.

He passed up some high profile gigs to work with the Eagles.

They REALLY started rocking, and took a new direction.

Frey/Henley offered him a partnership to keep him in the band, made him an equal in 5 shares.

 

Leadon quit to go back to the music he loved, leaving Felder to fend for himself.

That's where the slot for Joe Walsh opened up, and they really became rock n roll heavyweights.

Randy Meisner left, and Tim Schmidt took over on bass and wrote a few songs.

 

It was made very clear from the start that it was Frey's band.

Henley happened to side with Frey on everything, and they were the bosses without question.

 

The Long Run was the million dollar meltdown, and the band was OVER after that.

Felder, Schmidt and Walsh kept their mouths shut, and kept cashing their massive paychecks.

No need in rocking the boat, they simply waited to see what would shake out.

 

Everybody went on to do solo albums, and it became apparent they would reunite when "Hell Freezes Over."

 

Well, it did in 1993 and Frey called Felder up to get him in on the action.

He was eager to work with them again - the money was certainly a factor.

Then he started uncovering the dirty dealings, and finding Frey/Henley refused to answer any questions.

 

The kicker was that the band was no longer splitting revenue 5 ways - there were now seven parts.

Frey got two, Henley got two, Felder, Schmidt and Walsh got one.

Felder finally got tired of being treated like a hired hand with a sword over his head.

He WROTE much of their most successful music.

Schmidt and Walsh had writing credit for some big songs too but were scared to speak up.

Walsh was drunk the whole time...

 

So Felder now became the One Guy trying to start sh!t, and Frey went nuts.

From the book, I recall that Henley wouldn't even talk to him.

A few internal business people told Felder to shut up and sign where he was told to.

He tried to make the best of it, but he had already pissed off Frey.

 

 

He was fired, and the settlement (generous I'm sure) was kept confidential.

Felder described Frey as a paranoid, delusional, drug-addled Scarface kind of character.

But since he called the shots, nobody could argue.

 

Frey doesn't do interviews, and has no patience for anybody quizzing him on his decisions.

[cookieman15061]

The other 3 were also told what they could and could not talk about in interviews and although Henley and Frey made double what the others made part of their salary was paying for Don and Glen's cronies and assistants even after tours were over.

 

It wasn't as if Felder didn't wanna tour or make new music with the Eagles but when your brothers stick a knife in your back it kinda gets hard to take.

Henley and Frey even set up a new merchandising company that excluded the other 3. lol

 

Peaceful easy feeling my arse.

[damian]