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History of the Eagles

the Story of An American Band
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carlcav
Oct 21, 2013carlcav rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
“I’m gonna kill you once we’re done here,” Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey barked at guitarist Don Felder on-stage on July 31, 1980, while (ironically) the band was playing ‘Best Of My Love’, “I can hardly wait”. Felder replied, "Only three more songs until I kick your a--, pal." The band broke up that night and didn’t play again for 14 years -- literally when Hell Freezes Over, the name the band gave to their reunion tour. Soon after, Frey fired Felder again. For a band that seemingly embodied the easy-going Southern California slacker image, The Eagles were a remarkably fractious lot. They fought with each other, they fought with record labels, they fought with their long-time manager Irving Azoff (“He’s Satan,” Eagles co-founder Don Henley said, “but at least he’s our Satan”.) Still, they produced sublime music replete with the most achingly beautiful pop harmonies. It’s all there on The History Of The Eagles, a three-CD monument to the band who quietly (and not so quietly) hold the record for the biggest-selling album of the twentieth century – the first volume of their greatest hits. Lengthy interviews with Henley and Frey show they are quite aware of their stature and importance. But this documentary is most illuminating when band members past and present throw off the burden of history and talk about how thrilling it is be part of a working rock ‘n’ roll band, and how amazing it is when a riff here and a throwaway line there combine to make something as timeless (and misunderstood) as ‘Hotel California’.