Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001)

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!

While this is superbly written, I can only recommend it as a companion piece to Marc Eliot's "To the Limit," which provides a more well-rounded portrait of The Eagles as a whole. But that book's strength - the fact that Eliot was an outsider and relatively disinterested in the he-said-she-said world of rock and roll - is also its weakness. Felder makes up for that unavoidable shortcoming and then some. It is important to note that the book's subtitle is "My Life In The Eagles." That's exactly what you get: Felder's perspective on the wild ride that was The Eagles in their heyday. The other Eagles (with the exception of Bernie Leadon, who was already an old friend of Felder's when he came on board) are for the most part presented as shadowy bit-players in the saga, which is why I recommend Eliot's book if you want a more well-rounded portrait of the band as a whole. What Eliot could not offer is an insider's look at what life inside the band was like. It is probably impossible for any of us to appreciate that fully without actually having actually partied with a best-selling band in a drug-infested hotel suite circa 1976, but Felder's vivid descriptions offer a remarkable look at the wonderful-yet-terrible experiences he had in that era. While one can tell that it's tempting to gloss over the excesses he himself went to in that time, he resists that temptation - albeit barely - and deals honestly with what life as an Eagle was really like. Even more vivid are Felder's heartfelt memories of growing up in Florida in the 1960s, poor but determined to succeed, rubbing shoulders with future superstars like Stephen Stills and Tom Petty along the way, and surviving the pitfalls of the Woodstock era. Once his persistence and talent lead to his joining The Eagles literally on the eve of their emergence as the biggest band of the 1970s, there are plenty of great behind-the-music stories to share. I have read numerous other accounts of how "Hotel California" came to be, some of them essentially verbatim transcripts of interviews with Felder, but the one presented here is the most detailed I've seen. He also shares interesting stories I had not heard before about the emergence of classics like "One of These Nights" and "Victim of Love," but has surprisingly little to say about "Visions," the only Eagles song he ever sang lead on. (Tellingly, he does admit that he doesn't care for it all that much.) There is also a surprisingly candid insider's take on the frequent criticism of the Eagles sound as being too slick. And then there is all the dirty laundry (sorry, couldn't resist) about The Eagles' last few years and the aftermath of the breakup. It is undeniably one-sided, but it also fits in well with most of what the public already knows about Don Henley and Glenn Frey and their less-than-charitable outlook on who and what The Eagles were (not to mention on each other). One comes to understand all too well why their name became synonymous wi

First of all, I don't feel sorry for Felder. He is more than wealthy enought to maintain himself for the rest of his life. I feel this book is notable because he has given us a look into the workings of the Eagles. The last 4-5 chapters were the most interesting for me. Felder describes in detail the control Henley and Frey had in the band and how they un-equally shared the revenue with the Hell Freezes over Tour. Whereas Schmidt and Walsh signed their agreements willingly, it was Felder who tried to keep everything equal due to the original agreement they had when he had joined the band, and it was his downfall. We hear and feel Felder's frustration when attempting to talk to Henley and Frey through their Manager Irving Azoff. Azoff himself protected more of Henley and Frey than the other band members. They all stayed in different floors away from each other in hotels during touring. When it was promised that the percentage of income would be worked out with Felder, (It never Happened). After Felder was fired, he was forced to sue the Eagles over constantant mis-management and handling of the finances. This book put Irzoff, Henley and Frey in an extreemly bad light, and I must say I agree completely with Felder on many of his examinations. The Company created called "Eagles Limited" was the organization made up by all the original members including Don Felder. Each had a 20% part of the organization equally. When Bernie and Randy (original members) left the group, these shares were given back freely but not extended to Schmidt or Walsh. This is probably the beginning of the control ride that Henley and Frey started with the group. To this day Schmidt and Walsh are just hired session and performance members only. Felder did still retain all his membership rights. When he questioned the accounting and business decisions, he was made to feel uncomfortable. Henley, Frey, and Azoff made no attempt to let him in on the decisions made. It was in fact a partnership with only two members making decisions while the other member was made to be a silent partner. Felder had every right to question accountability of the finances and decision making. When he was terminated, his only recourse was to sue. Some of this is covered in the book but may have been watered over due to the settlement of the lawsuit. This book has made me a convert and fan to Felder. I never realized how much he incorporated into the Eagles music until now. I recommend this book highly because Don is a respectable guy, and a great guitarist. I believe Henley and Frey made a very bad decision with the removal of Felder. They obviously did not take into account how many fans Felder had.

I've been looking forward to this book ever since Don Felder first mentioned he might write it, apparently just after he was fired from The Eagles by Don Henley and Glen Frey. But then it was not going to be published because of lawsuits and counter-suits, etc., but now here it is at last. I have to admit I couldn't wait until now to get the book here in the US, so I paid a bit more and bought a new copy from England, where it was published last year. So I've already read it, couldn't put it down. A great read for any and every Eagles fan, especially those of us who followed the band from the very beginning, when The Eagles were comprised of Henley and Frey and Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. Those four put together the band's first two albums; while working on their third album Felder was invited to join, and these five guys created the Eagles' most successful music. Back when all this was happening I presumed Felder was just some guy brought into the band to give them a harder-edged sound, much to the chagrin of the country-oriented banjo-playing Bernie Leadon. What I found out from this book, however, was that Felder and Leadon were old friends from back in Florida, and that it was Bernie who first came West and eventually persuaded Felder to come out as well a few years later. I also learned that Felder had known and played guitar with Duane Allman in Florida. I followed The Eagles all the way through the 70s, was saddened when Bernie took his banjo and acoustic guitars and left the band, to be replaced by hard-rocker Joe Walsh, and then even more saddened when bass player Randy Meisner quit a year later. Felder talks at length about these two events, and how sad he was about it as well. He also gives us a much more realistic take on the "reunion" in 1994, as well as the reunion of all seven band members at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. And then he goes into the events around his firing. I think he writes very honestly here, without any petty vindictiveness. Sure he was/is upset about the way it all went down. What's left of "The Eagles" - Henley and Frey and about a dozen or more hired hands on stage filling out that "Eagles" sound - is currently putting on some big-time shows around the world and making a ton of money, and people who go to see them seem pleased. But are they seeing The Eagles? I don't think so. It's as if John and Paul, having fired George and Ringo, decided to hire a bunch of backing musicians and call themselves The Beatles. Sure, John and Paul were the main stars of the band, but only the four of them deserved to be called The Beatles. Same thing here. Henley and Frey became the big stars of what was originally a very democratic band. Henley is a fantastic talent, with maybe the best voice in rock. He and Frey wrote some great songs, no question. They can still play and sing and create a lot of good music. Don Felder created the song Hotel California, and it just doesn't seem right to see them playing it now