History of the Eagles is about how Glenn and Don arrive to southern California from humble beginnings, build a monster called the Eagles and are subsequently swallowed up by it. It is done entirely from a first person perspective of a wide range of interviewees who were critical to the Eagles success and then edited together into a single narrative. The editing was seamless and the sound mix did an outstanding job of creating emotional cues and adding context (i.e. Wasted Time during the breakup, Heartache Tonight during the Felder- Frye showdown). It was interesting to get the perspective from the Eagles as they were on top of the mountain (through archival footage and interviews) and then see how that perspective changed or didn't change forty odd years later.
The honesty of the documentary was refreshing. There didn't seem to be any kind of censorship of interviewees when they described a feud they had with the Eagles but most discussed the events cordially well except David Geffen. Even though this was a film commissioned by Glenn and Don it did not paint them entirely in a rose colored light. Glenn especially came off as a ruthless dictator that ruled through fear and intimidation. His was a name I kept hearing throughout the documentary as someone who would get into feuds with other band members, producers, execs, etc. Don Henley at times still seemed bitter, entitled, and full of resentment, often using "Mister" in a derisive way.
Part of the narrative, it seemed, was to air some dirty laundry and settle old scores. While some was directed at older members the lion share was directed at Don Felder. There was an obvious attempt to downplay his contributions to the band, in particular Hotel California. From what I understand Don Felder wrote the entire song except the ending guitar solos at the end prior to giving it to the Don and Glenn. Don, JD and Glenn then wrote the lyrics and arranged the vocals. On the original album Don Felder's name is first next to the song indicating that they acknowledged, at the time, he wrote most of the song. In subsequent albums their names were added first. I found it interesting that when they described their own songwriting with each other or outside songwriters they were collaborating with little mention of who wrote the majority of what.
Overall this was a really well made documentary and I recommend it even if you aren't an Eagles fan as I wasn't. It really gives you a new perspective, not just on the eagles, but on the music industry as a whole. We often think they are shrewd and calculating when in fact everyone runs around faking it until they make it. For instance I had always been told the Eagles were a commercial band created by a label. I learned from the documentary that in part that was true since Linda Ronstandt and her manager basically created the Eagles as a backup band. However, I think most of us had envisioned label execs sitting around a board room with head shots and files on local musicians.
The honesty of the documentary was refreshing. There didn't seem to be any kind of censorship of interviewees when they described a feud they had with the Eagles but most discussed the events cordially well except David Geffen. Even though this was a film commissioned by Glenn and Don it did not paint them entirely in a rose colored light. Glenn especially came off as a ruthless dictator that ruled through fear and intimidation. His was a name I kept hearing throughout the documentary as someone who would get into feuds with other band members, producers, execs, etc. Don Henley at times still seemed bitter, entitled, and full of resentment, often using "Mister" in a derisive way.
Part of the narrative, it seemed, was to air some dirty laundry and settle old scores. While some was directed at older members the lion share was directed at Don Felder. There was an obvious attempt to downplay his contributions to the band, in particular Hotel California. From what I understand Don Felder wrote the entire song except the ending guitar solos at the end prior to giving it to the Don and Glenn. Don, JD and Glenn then wrote the lyrics and arranged the vocals. On the original album Don Felder's name is first next to the song indicating that they acknowledged, at the time, he wrote most of the song. In subsequent albums their names were added first. I found it interesting that when they described their own songwriting with each other or outside songwriters they were collaborating with little mention of who wrote the majority of what.
Overall this was a really well made documentary and I recommend it even if you aren't an Eagles fan as I wasn't. It really gives you a new perspective, not just on the eagles, but on the music industry as a whole. We often think they are shrewd and calculating when in fact everyone runs around faking it until they make it. For instance I had always been told the Eagles were a commercial band created by a label. I learned from the documentary that in part that was true since Linda Ronstandt and her manager basically created the Eagles as a backup band. However, I think most of us had envisioned label execs sitting around a board room with head shots and files on local musicians.