Some sour grapes, fair gripes and a great read!

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	• Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001) Don Felder Wiley, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

By now, no Eagles fan should be surprised by tales told about "The Gods," Don Henley and Glenn Frey, and how they have treated (or mistreated) their fellow musicians over the years. What makes this book stand out is that the recounting here is done from the inside, by someone who is not only very capable of telling that history, but is also adept at conveying it in a very readable, conversational way. This is guitarist Don Felder's memoir-to-date, "Heaven and Hell."

Other Amazon reviewers have covered the basics of Felder's life story, tracing his beginnings in Gainesville, Florida; his growing focus on music and guitars; and his father's undue influence on his life. Knowing where he'll eventually end up, the pages make for interesting and anticipatory reading. We follow Felder's winding career path (which includes attending Woodstock) as it eventually leads toward the Eagles, to California, and to the celebrity and opulent lifestyle that only rock stars can earn. And of course: simultaneously to alcohol, drugs, extramarital liaisons, and chain-saw attacks on hotel room furniture. (You go, Joe!)

Those folks who have also read books like Jonathan Gould's "Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain & America" will no doubt be stirred by the resemblance of the Eagles to the Fab Four. Felder himself refers to the analogy on page 116 when Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon are said to have adopted "the George and Ringo positions" in the group. Ain't it the truth? Here we have a band made up of highly creative musicians, dominated by two of the original members (who seem to be writing most of the songs) and a manager who's behind it all, calling the shots. And though the first albums took the public by storm, subsequent albums became tougher and tougher to put together as tempers flared, arguments ensued, and individuals walked out. Near the end, in and around the breakup, intricate legalities took over. In both cases, it all boiled down to ego and money. In retrospect, one wonders what would have been the Beatles' fate if Mark David Chapman had not pulled the trigger. Would John, Paul, George and Ringo have eventually buried the hatchet, just temporarily, and embarked on a "Hell Freezes Over" kind of tour? Wouldn't we all have fallen over each other to get tickets for it?

As for the Eagles: with just one phone call, the controlling forces decide that Don Felder -- after more than 20 years of service, and after contributing the signature "Hotel California" melody -- is no longer necessary to the band. To his credit, he does not roll over and play dead, but instead fights to keep his original legal position in Eagles, Ltd. Nevertheless, Felder is left behind in the end, much like the California license plate that graces the book jacket: battered, bruised, and detached; yet still in one piece, ready to be picked up again. I'm quite pleased to know that, due to the outcome of his successful lawsuit, he will still benefit from the CD I bought at Wal-Mart and the ticket I already bought to see the Eagles in concert later this year. Good for you, Don! And thanks for sharing both the good times and the bad times with us. But please know that after reading this book, I'm going to think long and hard before I spend any more of my own hard-earned dollars on the Eagles.

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Some sour grapes, fair gripes and a great read!

Felder does a nice job of giving us his biography as well as his career in the Eagles. I think in general he is very fair and not particularly harsh (I mean I have heard the Frey/Henley issues before). There are issues after the reunion in 1994 he did not like that I get (like the money split then vs. now), but complaining the camera was more on Henley and Frey on Hell Freezes Over is really silly (he's the first stinking interview on the DVD for crying out loud).

He does also show you can leave a successful group and live a fairly normal life. Sadly his demise with the Eagles led to the demise of his own marriage. He portrays Henley and Frey (at times) as penny pinching and greedy but I have heard tale Mr. Felder has had his own episodes of penny pinching.

Clearly after hearing Long Road Out of Eden CD without DF it's clear they miss his guitar edge as the album seems to lack both dynamics and soul

If you are an Eagles for or Rock Bank Biography junkie you'll enjoy it a lot. It's great to hear stories of people from small towns making it.
Whether they liked each other not they had great moments as a band with all the varying line ups.

How people end up as tight knit trying to make it to people who can't even be on the same floor of a hotel on tour together is anyone's guess.

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Good and honest review

From what I heard from other sources, this book gives an honest and interesting overview of the situation inside and around the Eagles. Both Frey and Henley are know to not be the most sympathetic people in this field.

This book gives a good insight!

So What's All the Fuss About!?!

When HEAVEN AND HELL was first announced, word-of-mouth was that it was going to be so incendiary that Frey and Henley would need asbestos gloves to read the thing. After breezing through HEAVEN AND HELL - and it is a quick, entertaining read - we're treated to the following: The Eagles did a lot of drugs and booze. They jumped every woman that came near. Don Henley was a sour-faced, perfectionist control freak. Glenn Frey was a ego-tripping control freak who treated people like dirt. Joe Walsh was a good-natured, slightly bent guitar hero who loved to trash hotel rooms, etc. And so?? All those peccadillos were fairly common knowledge or at least rumored for years...all Felder's book does is to confirm it!

HEAVEN AND HELL may have exposed the Eagles dirty laundry but - substitute a few names here and there - and it could be the story of the Stones, Zeppelin or any major rock group creating great music amidst drugs, alcohol, groupies and oversized egos. Why should The Eagles have been different?

Actually, given Henley and Frey's demeaning treatment of other members of the group, I thought Felder did an even-handed job of describing the group's life in the fast lane. People may question why he wrote the book but why shouldn't he? He was there; he has a perfect right to record what happened. His version of events may not agree with the version Frey and Henley want the public to accept but so what.

As I was reading Felder's book, time and again I got the feeling I was getting 'The Rest of the Story.' For example, as much as I liked the Eagles' music, often-times it seemed almost too perfect, too mistake-free. Now I know why. Likewise, judging from the book, Henley and Frey seemed as concerned with controlling the public's perception of the group as they were in crafting evocative songs and endearing music.

Felder's book should be required reading for all Eagles fans. It is a rare, warts-and-all, insider's view of the workings of a major rock group. Sour grapes...maybe. But it's still a great read!

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its sour grapes but an interesting read

I think Don Felder was probably caught in the worst position of the seven men who called themselves, at various times, the Eagles. He wasn't an original member, but he also came along before clear latecomers Joe Walsh and Tim Schmitt, and he probably felt like he was as responsible for their most successful period as anybody else. That probably is a stretch, but I can see how he felt that way. He was the musical inspiration for Hotel California, and his driving guitar licks helped transform the band from soft to mainstream rock- a fact that became complete when Joe Walsh came in to replace Bernie Leadon. I wish Henley- whose bleeding heart is always worn prominently on his sleeve- and Frey- the linchpin of the group- would have been more magnanimous and kept the members all as equal partners in their recent ventures, but I can fully understand their belief that they are the frontmen for the business venture and deserve higher shares of its profits. Having recently seen them in concert, Felder is absolutely not missed...not one bit....and that fact makes it pretty clear where he ranked in the hierarchy. I would think Joe Walsh has a bigger beef, since he stands out in his own right in performance..but I also think Joe is grateful he ain't dead from self-abuse, and for something to do with a nice paycheck and just shows up for work. Felder whining about his wife of 29 years "abandoning" him and Joe and Tim telling him to pretty much take a frickin' hike when he called them after being canned are reasonable clues that his own self-deception of his real value is as much a part of the problem as the "Gods", Henley and Frey (and Azoff),getting tired of dealing with him....i'd wait for the paperback- its a great read for the beach but not worthy of the bookshelf.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The inside story can finally be revealed

The Eagles are the bestselling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever, and Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971?1975 is the bestselling album of all time in the United States. Through breakup and comeback, arguments and lawsuits, their popularity has continued to soar for more than three decades. Now band member and guitarist DonFelder finally breaks the Eagles' years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes? -where drugs, greed, and endless acrimony threatened to break up the band almost daily.

In Heaven and Hell, Felder shares every part of the band's wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms where he, Glenn Frey, and Don Henley had their ultimate confrontation. Yet, beyond the mayhem and clashing egos that have become standard-issue in rock-and-roll memoirs, Felder also remembers the joy of writing powerful new songs with his bandmates; the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans; and the hard work, dedication, and creativity that each band member brought to the music, even in the worst of times.

Offering even-handed and perceptive portraits of every member of the Eagles, Heaven and Hell is a thrilling and thoughtful, raucous and bittersweet tale about the love of music and the price of fame.

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