Felder's "Heaven and Hell" Discussion Thread

[MaryCalifornia]

Especially when Randy quit because he didn't want to sing one of their biggest hits? One that would be expected to be performed night after night if he were there for HFO? I seriously doubt it even crossed their mind to ask him back, especially when Timothy was already an Eagle.

Yes, this, and the fact that supposedly Randy wanted to "spend more time with his family", which must have been a totally incomprehensible sentiment to Don, Glenn and Timothy in the 70s, is probably another reason. They never had to worry that TBS wouldn't sing his songs or wouldn't put touring with the Eagles first. Same with Joe. They knew they could count on Timothy to commit, 100%.

I would be surprised to know that Randy was actually formally invited to perform on the HOTE tour, for many reasons. There's a difference between not holding any grudge against him and actually opening the show up to him being part of it. Has Glenn or Don said they invited him to perform? Or did they invite him to attend the concerts?

[chaim]

I borrowed the book from the library, glad I didn't waste my money on it. I got very tired of hearing "the Gods" references pretty quickly. For the Felder fans to get upset when Glen & Don called him "Mr Felder" is petty since Felder is his name while I have never heard Glen God Frey.
It was just a petty list of the million things that you did to annoy while I act all innocent that got to me. I didn't finish reading it.
It was the 70's, no one was innocent in that band.

A very good point. If this has been mentioned already by someone, I've missed it.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Personally, I always thought "Mr. Felder" showed a lot of restraint. It gets the message across, without lowering themselves to 'the gods' level.

[NightMistBlue]

I would be surprised to know that Randy was actually formally invited to perform on the HOTE tour, for many reasons. There's a difference between not holding any grudge against him and actually opening the show up to him being part of it. Has Glenn or Don said they invited him to perform? Or did they invite him to attend the concerts?

Very good point. Leave it to the lawyer! AFAIK, all we have is Don H. saying that Randy would have been a part of the History tour if his health allowed.

From what I understand, Randy has not been well enough to perform since the choking accident in late February 2013.

I tried to find out the approximate time that the Eagles asked Bernie to join the tour. The closest indication I could find was that in a radio interview on February 27, 2013 Don Henley said that a former member will rejoin the band for its summer tour.

[Funk 50]

Funk, is that your hunch about Randy's wife or do you have a source for that?

Devouring all the news about the HOTE tour, since the hints and rumours first started surfacing, the moment that I realised that Randy would not be involved came from a report, either quoting Randy's wife or paraphrasing a conversation the reporter had, had with her. I was stunned!
I'm pretty sure it was before the choking incident too but I'm unsure of the time scale. I don't recall Randy mentioning the HOTE tour at any time. not even to wish then well.


Henley's quote, confirming Bernie's involvement and Randy's omission was;

"Bernie Leadon is definitely on this tour, Randy Meisner, if he were healthy and willing, might have been included, too, but his current health will not permit. We are all wishing him well."

All the Eagles have "Albatross" songs that they have to perform at every show they do. Randy's is Take It To The Limit. He may have left the Eagles due to the pressure of performing it but I bet he's sung it at every show he's done since.

I think Meisner and Felder are lucky that they just have the one such song each and that Take It To The Limit and Hotel California are such great songs.

[UndertheWire]

There's a short "kind of" review of the book on a newspaper site.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/things-...-more-bearable

[MaryCalifornia]

All the Eagles have "Albatross" songs that they have to perform at every show they do. Randy's is Take It To The Limit. He may have left the Eagles due to the pressure of performing it but I bet he's sung it at every show he's done since.

Now here is an interesting topic.

Would the definition of albatross be a song that was a hit for the Eagles, expected to be sung at every show, our guy is tired of singing it, and it is difficult to sing? If so, my take is that both of Timothy's songs are albatrosses, none of Joe's are, and I will leave it to others to discuss which might be Don's and Glenn's #1 albatross song - their first choice to cut from the show.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

This is an interesting topic, but perhaps a new thread? This one has gotten off track a bit...

[NightMistBlue]

Devouring all the news about the HOTE tour, since the hints and rumours first started surfacing, the moment that I realised that Randy would not be involved came from a report, either quoting Randy's wife or paraphrasing a conversation the reporter had, had with her. I was stunned!
I'm pretty sure it was before the choking incident too but I'm unsure of the time scale. I don't recall Randy mentioning the HOTE tour at any time. not even to wish them well.

From what I can glean, the HOTE tour was officially announced on March 21, 2013 but even Henley had publicly talked about a summer tour for almost a month before that. The documentary of course was released in January.

If you say a reporter spoke with Lana Meisner, I take it was a more substantial source than just Internet chatter.

Sorry for going OT.

[MortSahlFan]

I'm only on Page 27, but I'm new and trying to catch up, but want to say a thing or two.

I've always been an Eagles fan. I was given a birthday ticket from my sister a few weeks ago when they came to Detroit, which is special since me and Glenn grew up kinda close to each other (though I'm only 33).

Usually after a concert, I want to immerse myself more and more. I re-reviewed their songs, found some gems I thought "How could I have missed THIS?" I saw the HOTE, and then read Felder's book. Then I joined here, even though I'm a member of a few other musical and non-musical boards.

I'm a musician, so I've tried to put myself in everyone's shoes, read as much as I can before making comments.

I really respected Glenn for telling Bernie that Felder "paid his dues" and was to be a full member. Great deal for Felder. And he wrote the music for Hotel California which put them in super-league. Without that song, who knows what "could have been". I think the change of pay later probably affected the ego. I think Frey/Henley probably deserved more from the beginning, because they have put the most work in. Everyone pays their dues, but paying dues for another band isn't exactly the same, but those experiences carry over to the new band. To me, the new deal was probably to "correct" overcompensation Frey/Henley gave early on. Also, never underestimate Azoff and others, who can only make money from their profits.

I think because we don't know the contractual details, it's hard for us to FULLY understand the situation, but it's tempting to speak our piece - it's what message boards are for. We also don't know what was redacted from the book.

I just wish they could have made it work. Anyone can play note for note what Felder played, but it's the creating part that's most difficult. If Felder would have written a lot more, I would be 100% on his side. I'm split.

It's too bad the money is never enough. I've played multiple times in multiple continents but never made even close to what they'd make, but once you're at that level, you probably expect it. The business decision could have come down to the numbers; how much business do they lose with the few fans who "ban" the Eagles, compared to how much they save by getting a replacement. Also, the new guy isn't going to complain much, so that part might be more stress relieving. I wish that the guys could have been more empathetic, for their sakes, not the fans.

I do think the "loser" is Felder. No one is every going to scrounge for rent, but when the Eagles do end, it will be without Felder,. The last album was also made without him, and the last few hundred concerts. Maybe this can be a lesson for musicians, hoping that some more good could come out of this. I will keep hoping that the bad feelings go away, again, for their sake. I think it would make us happy if they could focus on the better parts of each person.