The Eagles stage chemistry

[travlnman2]

After watching HFO and then Farwell 1,I noticed without Don Felder it seemed that his stage presence was so big it felt really weird without him in the band. Anyway I wanted to write how the Eagles stage chemistry evolved through the 1970s.

Eagles-Desperado years.
Glenn: Was the most active and engaged member basically the cheerleader of the band who firmly established his position as a leader with incredible confidence.

Don: The deep thinker of the group who was really more in the background and stemmed to be uncomfortable with his role and was mentally preparing for stardom.

Randy: Fun loving energetic and engaging. He seemed to have a close relationship with Glenn and liked the spotlight and wasn't shy YET.

Bernie: Tended to be more in the background. A little shy and nervous when he talked to the audience like in that witchy woman video. Stemmed to be stubborn but laid back.

Group: 4 guys who loved to play music together and fool around because they were just starting out and didn't have a lot of tension but you could feel the tension starting to build up.

ON THE BORDER-ONE OF THESE NIGHTS .
Glenn: As the group became more successful, onstage Glenn ,started to recede into the background but nonetheless still had his established leader presence and behind the scenes still remained the driving force of the band business wise and musically.

Don Felder: As the newest addition to the group he was brought in to make the Eagles sound more Rock N Roll then country. His onstage personality was the guy who wanted to prove himself as a valuable asset who always wanted to do more writing and singing that was often pulling on loose ends with Glenn but he still was having fun anyway

Don Henley: After two albums became the main songwriter with Glenn and came out of the background on his way to becoming the voice of the Eagles. Often behind the drums he was the serious one in the group and usually agreed with Glenn who SOMETIMES let him do the dirty work. With Berine becoming increasingly unhappy he was often the calm and stable one to help bridge the gap with Glenn's outgoing but stubborn personality and was the mediator when ever an argument happened.

Bernie: A talented country musician he often had a hard time dealing with the massive success the Eagles had and felt like he no longer had a voice in the band. So after the tour he left

Randy: As with Bernie he also had trouble dealing with fame and afte his success with Take it to the limit became increasingly neverous over singing the famous high notes at the end and as a result receded into the background.

Group: you could feel the tension between each band members building up but we're still capable of getting along with eachother and having the third encore


Hotel California.

Glenn: With only one Lead vocal on the album you would think he lost confidence in his songs. But the truth his according to him it was intentional as everyone else in the band said Don Henley and the best voice. Still he and Don had reached the full potential of their songwriting abilities with this album. But his relationship with Don Felder was getting difficult.

Joe: As the Newest member of the group. He made the Eagled a true Rock N Roll band.. His fun loving personality and reputation as a wild one eased a lot of the stress the Eagles had built up over the last two albums.


Don Felder: After writing the music for Hotel California he felt like he would sing more and write more. But things went permanently down hill from their. His massive stage presence was a problem because when He claimed that Victim of Love was a song for him to sing and they replaced his vocal with Henley because it wasn't up to band standards and never let it go.

Randy. An in the group he was emotionally drained by the end of the tour and felt guilty for being unfaithful to his wife plus he wanted to spend more time with her and his three kids so he bailed from the group

Henley: Was in the background and became confident in his singing voice and formed one of the best songwriting teams in history.

GROUP: everyone was starting to split apart but managed to pull together for one more album but we're getting ready to breakup and fight amongst themselves

Long Run
Glenn:

Felder: .


Timothy: A sweet peaceful person. Tim was just happy to be there but did't feel the tension that was building up over the past decade.

Joe: Tried to calm the tensions with his brand of comedy but sadly it didn't work.

Henley. As with everyone else was exhausted

Group: Split up after arguments

[UndertheWire]

I like that you've broken it down to show how things changed of time. I can't say that I agree with you on it all, though. I don't see Don Felder as having that big a stage presence although obviously, Steuart Smith has (deliberately) less presence. And no one compares to Joe Walsh! If you see the clip of "Get Back" from Joe's Don Kirshner show, you can see how effortlessly cool Joe is compared to Glenn and how uncool Don is.

The 1973 BBC show is good for showing interaction between Glenn and Bernie. It looks like Bernie is keeping an eye on and encouraging Glenn when it comes to playing solos. They both sound nervous when speaking, but maybe that's because the cameras were on them.

Based on bootlegs, Glenn was a huge presence for the On the Border period as he sang half of all songs in the shows as well as doing most of the talking to the audience. Bernie's banjo playing is also very much in evidence (and appreciated by audiences) and he has quite a few vocals, too. If you listen carefully to shows from 1974, you can hear Don Felder although his playing isn't well-integrated (it's like he's playing on top of a song rather than being part of it). Don Henley only sings about two songs in these shows.

[DJ]

I believe in the beginning all the guys were and wanted to be treated as equals. But as in any business arrangement, someone has to take charge, which Glenn and Don H did, because they seemed to have the most creative writing. With the help of JD, Jackson and the other band members. But as in all good things a little rain must fall. I can only see that with all the touring, partying, excess and greed got the best of them. Some bailed, to save themselves, others fought tooth and nail to stay, only to cause huge riffs. It's truly a classic story of what fame, power and money can do to anyone. IMO

[NOLA]

In the doc, I think Don H. summed it up perfectly with one statement,
"Time passes, things change."
(He attributed the comment to JD, but it fits well in this case.)

[NightMistBlue]

Travlnman, where did you read that Randy felt guilty about being unfaithful to his wife?

[alreadygone]

how would you guys compare them to band members of other groups

Glenn Frey = Mike Love or David Lee Roth. Biggest promoter, lead vocalist, kind of the alpha of the group.

Don Henley = Brian Wilson minus the mental illness. The deep thinker/writer.

Don Felder = George Harrison. The irritable #3 guy.

Joe Walsh = Keith Moon/John Bonham/Brian Jones - most bands have one except that Walsh managed to stay alive.

Randy Meisner = Rick Wright of PF - key figure in band that doesn't get a lot of attention. Often feels bullied.

Bernie Leadon = not sure who I would compare him to.

Timothy B Schmit = Ringo Starr. New to the group, not someone who will start fights. Only difference is that Ringo doesn't have the New Age-y vibe that TBS has.

[travlnman2]

Travlnman, where did you read that Randy felt guilty about being unfaithful to his wife?

Randy Himself said it in the very beginning of the Doc.


"It is hard it's like living two Lives you know I have a family three kids and it's hard to live in that line being on the road and away for a month."

[Freypower]

I don't agree that Felder had a 'massive stage presence'. I just don't see that. I saw them on the HfO tour & the only time I noticed him was when he was playing solos. For the rest of the time he was in the background. I also don't see how what you claim to be his onstage personality relates to him wanting a bigger role in the band.

It seems strange that you called the thread 'stage chemistry' but for most of it you discuss what you perceive as their roles in the band.

Why didn't you discuss what you saw as their 'stage chemistry' in HFO & F1? Because in those, Glenn was totally the leader & had in my view the most stage presence, even if in HFO he only sang three songs.

Glenn's arguments during the Long Run period were also sadly with Henley as well as Felder. As for Schmit, once he joined he bcame very aware that the tension was there.

As for Henley being a mediator, perhaps. Not much is said about his role in the 'tensions' except that it's on record that like Glenn, he was also unhappy with Felder, Meisner & Walsh at different times.

In my view it is impossible to just try & draw a comparison between each Eagle & other musicians, although an attempt was made to draw parallels with the members of Genesis. I feel somewhat more attuned to that than the examples AG used, especially Felder-Harrison. There was a great deal more to Harrison than being 'irritable''. As for Starr being 'new' only in the sense that he joined last. He was there for the entire ride.

[NightMistBlue]

That's how I took it as well, redstorm, but it's certainly open to interpretation I suppose.

We all see things differently. Felder seems shy on stage to me! I would not describe him as having a large or charismatic presence at all. His body language is a bit stiff for a rock guitarist (I don't mean that in a negative way), but I think that could also be from his childhood injuries.

[travlnman2]

I don't agree that Felder had a 'massive stage presence'. I just don't see that. I saw them on the HfO tour & the only time I noticed him was when he was playing solos. For the rest of the time he was in the background. I also don't see how what you claim to be his onstage personality relates to him wanting a bigger role in the band.

It seems strange that you called the thread 'stage chemistry' but for most of it you discuss what you perceive as their roles in the band.

Why didn't you discuss what you saw as their 'stage chemistry' in HFO & F1? Because in those, Glenn was totally the leader & had in my view the most stage presence, even if in HFO he only sang three songs.

Glenn's arguments during the Long Run period were also sadly with Henley as well as Felder. As for Schmit, once he joined he bcame very aware that the tension was there.

As for Henley being a mediator, perhaps. Not much is said about his role in the 'tensions' except that it's on record that like Glenn, he was also unhappy with Felder, Meisner & Walsh at different times.

In my view it is impossible to just try & draw a comparison between each Eagle & other musicians, although an attempt was made to draw parallels with the members of Genesis. I feel somewhat more attuned to that than the examples AG used, especially Felder-Harrison. There was a great deal more to Harrison than being 'irritable''. As for Starr being 'new' only in the sense that he joined last. He was there for the entire ride.

I just got the Idea but as seeing the 70s were the "Main" run of the group.

No offense but you come on as like attacking my op as insulting the members. This is my opinion and what I feel. Can you respect that? Again no offense but you c an post without seeming to take my views as blasphemy