'History of the Eagles' held my attention for three hours. It's in two parts, and covers a lot of ground. But if you are or were a fan of the group, you're sure to learn a great deal. More than anything I developed a real appreciation of how hard it is - impossible it turns out - to keep a music group (or any artistic group) together.
For me Glenn Frye is the 'heavy' (if you like, the villain) of the film. There is something so very self-important about him that I don't think I'll ever think about him the same way again. His voiced opinions about those who departed The Eagles were tough to take (particularly concerning guitarist Don Felder who twice was 'fired'). The film was made in 2013, many years since the last former member had departed but to Frye, it could have been yesterday. I credit him with not being camera shy, with being up-front about his dislikes. Even so, that doesn't mean I have to like him. And, though he's since passed away, I don't.
If there's a 'hero' in the film, it's Joe Walsh. By 2013 he'd sobered up, and his looking back on his drinking and drugging days reveals a man with honesty in his veins and great talent in his hands. Don Henley has always been a favorite of mine and in the film he comes across as highly talented and self-assured (like Frye) but without Fry's authoritarian bent. I truly appreciated learning about the group's transitions from country to country-rock to rocker, and how those transitions impacted the group's makeup. I'd had no idea how committed band members were to a certain genre, and their unwillingness to stray into other territories. To their being unwilling to remain with the 'money machine' The Eagles had become. So, hats off to The Stones. Fifty five years and, despite clashes and fallings-out, still 'together'. It can't be easy and I bet it hasn't been.
Bottom line is this. I enjoyed The Eagles' music and still do, and enjoyed seeing it performed on film. I liked getting to know the individual players and seeing where and when and how they fit in. I enjoyed the stories of conflict; on-stage and off. Overall, I truly enjoyed the film.
As for the guys, themselves? Not so much.
For me Glenn Frye is the 'heavy' (if you like, the villain) of the film. There is something so very self-important about him that I don't think I'll ever think about him the same way again. His voiced opinions about those who departed The Eagles were tough to take (particularly concerning guitarist Don Felder who twice was 'fired'). The film was made in 2013, many years since the last former member had departed but to Frye, it could have been yesterday. I credit him with not being camera shy, with being up-front about his dislikes. Even so, that doesn't mean I have to like him. And, though he's since passed away, I don't.
If there's a 'hero' in the film, it's Joe Walsh. By 2013 he'd sobered up, and his looking back on his drinking and drugging days reveals a man with honesty in his veins and great talent in his hands. Don Henley has always been a favorite of mine and in the film he comes across as highly talented and self-assured (like Frye) but without Fry's authoritarian bent. I truly appreciated learning about the group's transitions from country to country-rock to rocker, and how those transitions impacted the group's makeup. I'd had no idea how committed band members were to a certain genre, and their unwillingness to stray into other territories. To their being unwilling to remain with the 'money machine' The Eagles had become. So, hats off to The Stones. Fifty five years and, despite clashes and fallings-out, still 'together'. It can't be easy and I bet it hasn't been.
Bottom line is this. I enjoyed The Eagles' music and still do, and enjoyed seeing it performed on film. I liked getting to know the individual players and seeing where and when and how they fit in. I enjoyed the stories of conflict; on-stage and off. Overall, I truly enjoyed the film.
As for the guys, themselves? Not so much.