Don Felder's [fired Eagles guitarist] tell-all/biography
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 8:06 amA good, but slightly below expectations read. I wanted more "dirty laundry" about The Eagles days. I already knew a lot of the stuff Felder tells about coming in... I was really bored at work so I wrote up a quick and dirty review:
Don Felder’s “Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001)” didn’t really reveal much that hearsay and a prior reading of “To The Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles,” Marc Eliot’s biography of the chronically contentious Eagles, hadn’t already established. Felder’s book merely echoes most of the things learned devotees of the band take for granted: Glenn Frey and Don Henley are tyrannical egomaniacs, Irving Azoff is a diminutive yet fearsome, take-no-prisoners record industry mercenary, and The Eagles are arguably the most dysfunctional family rock music has ever seen. The history of infighting, shady business deals, and cocaine and booze-fueled animosity underlying the Eagles’ unique brand of corporate rock make well-documented and very divisive problems plaguing bands like Journey and Styx look like nursery quarrels.
Most people know something about The Eagles’ problems; few could probably offer fans a true glimpse into all that happened the way Don Felder could. The same Don Felder who was the lead guitarist with the band through their most successful and rancorous years, and who wrote most of “Hotel California.” Yet, Felder never really delivers on the book’s back sleeve’s promise that “The inside story can finally be revealed.” His recounting of his tenure in The Eagles, from when he came on to add a “nastier” guitar sound to the band during the recording of the “One of These Nights” album to the “Hell Freezes Over” reunion tour and album, tells a lot about the band. The real problem is, outside of a few golden quotes and some great first-hand accounts of Joe Walsh’s coke and booze-induced looniness, Felder doesn’t really give too much of an “inside view.” Any intense follower of the band has probably heard or deduced most of what Felder says about The Eagles. The book’s byline reads “Don Felder with Wendy Holden,” and it sure seems like this was mostly a ghostwritten, dictated affair, with Holden doing most of the writing. The words on the page are undoubtedly personal, opinionated accounts straight from Felder, but like The Eagles have been at times throughout their career, Felder’s Eagles tales lack that personal connection, that soul. I wanted to feel like I was sitting at Felder’s Los Angeles home with a guitar and a beer listening to Felder tell me all about the good times and bad times as an integral member of America’s biggest rock band ever. I ended up feeling like I was reading an extended interview transcribed in first person. Felder’s account of The Eagles, far from containing unrevealed nuggets of “inside stories,” simply affirmed the truth of the myriad second and third-hand stories that have been passed down over the years. Fascinating, to be sure, but disappointingly rehashed.
Felder’s account of his personal life is where the book is truly soulful and captivating. I would have never known Felder, one of the most underrated guitarists in classic rock history, taught Tom Petty guitar. Or that he once played in a high school band and drank Jack Daniel’s with Stephen Stills. Or that he was childhood friends with Duane and Gregg Allman. The most interesting part of the book was the way it humanized the tried-and-true story of a touring musician. Felder’s personal life was an unsurprising rock star mash-up of coke, booze, sleepless nights, post-gig parties (the “3rd encore”), travel, infidelity, and intense inner-band power struggles. The impact of all the hazards of the lifestyle left an indelible mark on Felder’s life as a man, an artist, a father, and a husband, and it’s truly heartrending to hear it straight from him. Felder is truly effective when he humanizes the fame and success.
Felder neither lets false diplomacy nor bitterness get in the way of his story. He clearly admires Henley and Frey, who he calls “The Gods,” for what they are, excellent musicians and even better songwriters. He also doesn’t shy away from claiming his just credit on songs like “Hotel California” and “Those Shoes.” The anger I expected to permeate the story is there, of course, but it never inundates it. Felder is clearly a man who has come to accept the course his life has taken and this book is a catharsis for him (and for fellow fallen Eagles Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, as well) more than anything else. He doesn’t sugarcoat things, even unexpectedly blasting his former best Eagles friend Joe Walsh and Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit for the way both treated him after his firing. At the end of the day, this book is about Don Felder a lot more than The Eagles (although new and casual fans still stand to learn a lot), and for what it is, it’s an enlightening read. It just isn’t the tell-all exposé of The Eagles that most readers will hope for when they open it up.
Don Felder’s “Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001)” didn’t really reveal much that hearsay and a prior reading of “To The Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles,” Marc Eliot’s biography of the chronically contentious Eagles, hadn’t already established. Felder’s book merely echoes most of the things learned devotees of the band take for granted: Glenn Frey and Don Henley are tyrannical egomaniacs, Irving Azoff is a diminutive yet fearsome, take-no-prisoners record industry mercenary, and The Eagles are arguably the most dysfunctional family rock music has ever seen. The history of infighting, shady business deals, and cocaine and booze-fueled animosity underlying the Eagles’ unique brand of corporate rock make well-documented and very divisive problems plaguing bands like Journey and Styx look like nursery quarrels.
Most people know something about The Eagles’ problems; few could probably offer fans a true glimpse into all that happened the way Don Felder could. The same Don Felder who was the lead guitarist with the band through their most successful and rancorous years, and who wrote most of “Hotel California.” Yet, Felder never really delivers on the book’s back sleeve’s promise that “The inside story can finally be revealed.” His recounting of his tenure in The Eagles, from when he came on to add a “nastier” guitar sound to the band during the recording of the “One of These Nights” album to the “Hell Freezes Over” reunion tour and album, tells a lot about the band. The real problem is, outside of a few golden quotes and some great first-hand accounts of Joe Walsh’s coke and booze-induced looniness, Felder doesn’t really give too much of an “inside view.” Any intense follower of the band has probably heard or deduced most of what Felder says about The Eagles. The book’s byline reads “Don Felder with Wendy Holden,” and it sure seems like this was mostly a ghostwritten, dictated affair, with Holden doing most of the writing. The words on the page are undoubtedly personal, opinionated accounts straight from Felder, but like The Eagles have been at times throughout their career, Felder’s Eagles tales lack that personal connection, that soul. I wanted to feel like I was sitting at Felder’s Los Angeles home with a guitar and a beer listening to Felder tell me all about the good times and bad times as an integral member of America’s biggest rock band ever. I ended up feeling like I was reading an extended interview transcribed in first person. Felder’s account of The Eagles, far from containing unrevealed nuggets of “inside stories,” simply affirmed the truth of the myriad second and third-hand stories that have been passed down over the years. Fascinating, to be sure, but disappointingly rehashed.
Felder’s account of his personal life is where the book is truly soulful and captivating. I would have never known Felder, one of the most underrated guitarists in classic rock history, taught Tom Petty guitar. Or that he once played in a high school band and drank Jack Daniel’s with Stephen Stills. Or that he was childhood friends with Duane and Gregg Allman. The most interesting part of the book was the way it humanized the tried-and-true story of a touring musician. Felder’s personal life was an unsurprising rock star mash-up of coke, booze, sleepless nights, post-gig parties (the “3rd encore”), travel, infidelity, and intense inner-band power struggles. The impact of all the hazards of the lifestyle left an indelible mark on Felder’s life as a man, an artist, a father, and a husband, and it’s truly heartrending to hear it straight from him. Felder is truly effective when he humanizes the fame and success.
Felder neither lets false diplomacy nor bitterness get in the way of his story. He clearly admires Henley and Frey, who he calls “The Gods,” for what they are, excellent musicians and even better songwriters. He also doesn’t shy away from claiming his just credit on songs like “Hotel California” and “Those Shoes.” The anger I expected to permeate the story is there, of course, but it never inundates it. Felder is clearly a man who has come to accept the course his life has taken and this book is a catharsis for him (and for fellow fallen Eagles Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, as well) more than anything else. He doesn’t sugarcoat things, even unexpectedly blasting his former best Eagles friend Joe Walsh and Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit for the way both treated him after his firing. At the end of the day, this book is about Don Felder a lot more than The Eagles (although new and casual fans still stand to learn a lot), and for what it is, it’s an enlightening read. It just isn’t the tell-all exposé of The Eagles that most readers will hope for when they open it up.
wow!!! you bet.. that is some great stuff too... steve... 
... phil had a demanding part in that tune.. good call..