Discussion of Eagles Documentary "History of the Eagles"

[DivineDon]

I just didn't think it was a very good 'poem', full stop.

For the record, there's a big difference between being satirical and cynical - I suggest you check out Oscar Wilde for expert examples.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'd say a mocking poem is not a very good way to start on a message board like this but I wasn't offended 'cause I didn't take it seriously, just as a joke. We've all read far worse haven't we.

Sorry, bf, but I have to disagree with you about this. When a mocking poem is prefaced by the poster declaring that they are not a fan, then I don't think most folks interpret that as a joke. Just like MV said ...

It's not funny but it is trollish. If you don't like the band what are you doing here? Seems like an incredible waste of time to me.

And if that makes the tone of this board seem too sanitized or too "Pollyanna" for someone's liking, there are other options on the internet where mean-spirited, nasty comments are more welcome than here.

[bluefeather]

Oh I didn't see a poster declaring that buttercup is not a fan. If that's how it is I understand your reaction Dreamer(and others)

[UndertheWire]

I checked the "external reviews" links for the doc at imdb and this one stands out. I haven't read it before so it may not have been posted here (I feel like I've followed most of the active links on this thread).

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Histor.../67884/#Review

I like it because it has some objectivity but also because he's tried to work out why it works.
Some highlights:

You can't keep a good band down. Even when you're a member of it.

It's a story that's been told a thousand, maybe a million, times in the annals of rock (and other music genres), but somehow it has a visceral intensity in this particular tale because the band members seem like "regular guys", not unapproachable Rock Gods.

The ping ponging has a perhaps unexpected side effect, for it's kind of shocking to see the baby faced Henley and Frey from the late seventies suddenly morph into slightly tired looking elderly men.

What again sets this apart is the uncommonly intelligent perspective all of the guys have on this part of their career.

In fact there is a very palpable lingering feeling of recriminations, angst, and even outright malice running through some of this material.

[Buttercup]

If you say that I am not a fan, you would be wrong. I have loved the Eagles music from day one. I have seen the Eagles in concert in the 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's and last year. I paid $300.00 last year to see them in concert, I wanted to see Bernie again and I was glad I did. I own all of their CD's and play them almost daily on my way to and from work. What I am not a fan of is HOTE. Personally I wish I had never watched it. I would still be oblivious to how some of the band members treated others. So for all of the Frey fans on this board I apologize if I offended you, I will never say anything about him again, good or bad. And you can call me mean and a troll and that is fine, you have your opinion. But if you say that I am not a fan, that is absolutely not true.

[bluefeather]

I checked the "external reviews" links for the doc at imdb and this one stands out. I haven't read it before so it may not have been posted here (I feel like I've followed most of the active links on this thread).

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Histor.../67884/#Review

I like it because it has some objectivity but also because he's tried to work out why it works.
Some highlights:

ITA utw, very good and objective review

[Ive always been a dreamer]

If you say that I am not a fan, you would be wrong. I have loved the Eagles music from day one. I have seen the Eagles in concert in the 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's and last year. I paid $300.00 last year to see them in concert, I wanted to see Bernie again and I was glad I did. I own all of their CD's and play them almost daily on my way to and from work. What I am not a fan of is HOTE. Personally I wish I had never watched it. I would still be oblivious to how some of the band members treated others. So for all of the Frey fans on this board I apologize if I offended you, I will never say anything about him again, good or bad. And you can call me mean and a troll and that is fine, you have your opinion. But if you say that I am not a fan, that is absolutely not true.

BC - I'm certainly not interested in belaboring this discussion any further, but I also don't want my comments to be misconstrued. I based my post on what you wrote when you posted the poem, not something I presumed to be true ...

After watching HOTE I was very disappointed with how much time was given to Glenn and Don but very little to the other members of the band. I have never been a big Glenn fan but always loved Tequila Sunrise. After sitting in traffic and listening to Tequila sunrise I came up with my own lyrics.

I didn't feel my comment was inappropriate since the subject of your poem was Glenn, not the HOTE documentary. In any event, it's good to know you are a fan of the band, and I say let's move on.

And UTW, thanks for your post and trying to bring this thread back on topic.

[UndertheWire]

I watched a couple of other music documentaries over the weekend - Duran Duran from 2000 and the new one from Genesis. HotE is still my favourite. It digs a little deeper and the conflicts are - mostly - out in the open. Maybe if Felder hadn't written that book, they would have kept more hidden in the doc.

I did enjoy the Genesis doc, even though I've never been a fan - I loathed them in the mid-70s and tolerated them in the 80s. The format is linear - the Gabriel years - the Collins years - apart - back together again and this helped keep it straight. Unfortunately, it deteriorated to a catalogue of hit singles, album titles and videos. Contrast that with the way HotE used the music as part of the narrative and you can see that the Eagles were well-served by their filmmakers.

The Genesis doc also had comments from music journalist and other talking heads trying to put the band and hatred of the band into perspective and I'm not sure this worked as I kept wondering who these people were and why I should be interested in their opinions. A nice touch was having Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins all in one room for a group interview where they seemed reasonably friendly although with some tensions. (Since the documentary was shown, Steve Hackett has complained it was unbalanced as his solo career was ignored, so the unity hasn't survived).

There were hints of interesting band dynamics - Phil Collins talked about taking his songs to Tony Banks so that Tony could choose which ones he wanted for Genesis. Banks insisted that he was not offered "In the Air Tonight" whereas Collins said it would have been among the songs he played for Banks. Collins also noted that he was "third in line", "still the new boy" (although said with a chuckle).

Mike Rutherford said how it's hard to have a solo career when you're not a singer. His answer to that was "Mike + the Mechanics". Which had me thinking of Don Felder and that he had tried something along those lines when he and Tim tried to form a group that included Paul Carrack (funny to find a common link between the Eagles and Genesis).

[thelastresort]

Did the Genesis documentary acknowledge the fact that after Steve Hackett left they turned absolutely horrendous?

[UndertheWire]

Did the Genesis documentary acknowledge the fact that after Steve Hackett left they turned absolutely horrendous?

I can't remember! He wasn't a big part of the documentary. Also, I have my own bias and wonder how they could have become more horrendous than they already were!