RIP Glenn Frey

[krebs303]

checked out of the Hotel California today

 

[Amsterhammer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhH3mRkKDX8

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Anyone see the Showtime special on the Eagles? I never knew he was that much of force behind their entire existence.

Might seem like a real cliche, but for some people there will probably be a true heartache tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snPgFNMCXBs

 

[jmdirt]

Take it Easy Glenn!

 

[Amsterhammer]

 

[Echoes]

He had a big ego, though. Meisner and Felder paid the price for it. During the live performances of Take it to the Limit (one of my faves), Randy had some very high notes towards the end but Glenn asked him to sing those high notes for each of their concerts, I think (or something like that) and Randy was fed up.

Take it to the Limit (Live at the Capital Centre)
(between 4.20 and 4.30 !!)

Randy was my favourite Eagle. I learned a few years ago that he had a pretty bad health, thought he would be the first to depart. I was also thinking that the Eagles was perhaps the only band of the time whose members were all still alive.

Don Felder, I think, wanted to sing lead on a few songs but was not allowed to because Henley's voice was always better. Though Felder is not a bad singer but not on par with Henley.

Don Felder - Hotel California

I still think that Frey and Henley have proved ungrateful to Felder because definitely the duelling solo between Felder & Walsh made the Eagles what they are. Even though the bluegrass/country feel in the Leadon years were very enjoyable.

I've always liked tunes such as "My Man" (Leadon's tribute to Gram Parsons), "Twenty-One", their cover of "Midnight Flyer" (Randy !!!), "Out of Control" (though that's pretty rock), "The Last Resort".

Definitely one of the greatest bands of all time !!!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

The Showtime special on the Eagles did show a lot of insight into the band. Frey came off as a real force within the band's continued success, and a megalomaniac at the same time. The way he treated Meisner and Felder couldn't be ignored. Including another incident when the band met Senator Alan Cranston and the non-political Felder said "nice to meet you, I guess" and Frey took it as completely disrespectful and insulting (though Cranston apparently didn't). The show made Frey hard to like in many ways. But his drive was undeniable.

Agree on your song choices. Last Resort really stands out perhaps. While much of the later Eagles got overplayed, you rarely hear that excellent song off Hotel California.

My personal favorite album was Desperado. From cut to cut, the whole album was solid, and Bitter Creek is perhaps my favorite song of theirs. The efforts of Leadon and Meisner were very strong on this LP. The concept behind the album was a nice effort as well, without being overly pretentious, with great Henry Diltz photos of the band looking like the Dalton gang.

 

[Echoes]

I think we saw the same show, Alpe. I just didn't know the title of it.

I had to laugh at the "I guess", lol. Frey said he wanted to kill Felder after that incident. It was very informative. For example, about Take it Easy. I already knew that it was a Jackson Browne song but he couldn't finish it off. Frey said:

he was stuck at "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine side to see

And so Frey finished it:

It's a girl, my lord, in a flat Bedford, just slowing down to take a look at me

(if my memory does not betray me, lol)

"Last Resort" really had some fine harmonies with the synthesizer. I think it was a denunciation of the Conquest of the West, or something. The finale on the keyboard really inspires me.

I can't really single out one album. They are all very good. There are tracks that I don't really like on each of them too but it's true that the concept is nice.

Also we should remember that the Eagles were heavily influenced by the Byrds and especially to spin-off of the Byrds: The Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, later joined by Bernie Leadon. I think Frey and Henley were carefully observing the Burritos and took notes. One think that is striking though is that the Burritos had a pedal steel guitarist (the great Sneaky Pete Kleinow) while the Eagles chose not to use a pedal steel. It's a shame, I think but it's there choice. Perhaps they wished to be more "mainstream" because the pedal steel sounds really country. I don't know. But I know that some die-hard "country rock" fans are still bitter towards the Eagles for that. I'm not among them. I enjoy both the Eagles' and the Flying Burritos' music.

Leadon also was a back-up guitarist and banjo player for Dillard & Clark. So Doug Dillard and Gene Clark. Gene was the main singer/songwriter of the Byrds in the early days but could not follow the band due to plane fright. So Gene wrote the song Train Leaves Here This Morning for the band Dillard & Clark. Bernie wrote a few verses of it but Gene had enough class to share the credit with Bernie and that's how Bernie could record the same beautiful song with the Eagles on their first album.

 

[red_flanders]

Not important but it's "a flatbed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me". One of the great American lyrics of all time IMO. A flatbed is a farm truck generally used for hauling produce or small livestock.

You can see the image of the girl in the truck in the mural pictured:

That "History of the Eagles" documentary is on Netflix streaming, or at least was. That's where I saw it. http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/History-of-the-Eagles/70267553

Fantastic rockumentary. Fantastic band. What great song-writing and I appreciate the creative tension as it came from high standards...well...and drugs, but still. It was about putting the best thing out there.

 

[Echoes]

Damn I just realise that Randy Meisner's wife Lana killed herself in a freak accident on March 6 and Randy was brought to a psychiatrist hospital after attempting suicide.

Randy's addiction to alcohol and drugs made him very violent but it seems he's not responsible for the drama ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPQFO28DnLU

 

[Spawn of e]

Damn I just realise that Randy Meisner's wife Lana killed herself in a freak accident on March 6 and Randy was brought to a psychiatrist hospital after attempting suicide.

Randy's addiction to alcohol and drugs made him very violent but it seems he's not responsible for the drama ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPQFO28DnLU

Yes, cops called about domestic violence 2 hours before, then she shoots herself accidentally while moving a loaded rifle from a closet. We report, you decide.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/03/07/wife-eagles-randy-meisner-shot-killed-home-accident/