I hear what you're saying. Patti Boyd's book made me hate Clapton and dislike George Harrison. Now that's saying something when you dislike George. However, I've regained my respect for George. Clapton? Good guitarist is about all I can.
I hear what you're saying. Patti Boyd's book made me hate Clapton and dislike George Harrison. Now that's saying something when you dislike George. However, I've regained my respect for George. Clapton? Good guitarist is about all I can.
Wintertime is a razor blade that the devil made
It's the price we pay for the summertime - J.W. '69
I'd say Marc Eliot. I know it isn't a popular choice here but it seems to be most comprehensive and best researched of the ones I've read. That doesn't means it's perfect, balanced and without errors but at least in most cases he shows where he got his information.
I started to put together notes on some of the other books, so I'll post what I have so far.
"Flying High" by Laura Jackson
It's an easy read and she writes like a fan. In places it read like a novel with the author describing what the characters were thinking and feeling when she has no way of knowing this. The source material appears to be old interviews and other books rather than any new interviews or research and there are some glaring errors (how could she think that the Desperado cover shoot took place in London?).
"Eagles Taking it to the Limit" by Ben Fong-Torres
Possibly the newest of the books, being published in 2011. The author worked for Rolling Stone magazine when the band was in its prime, took part in the famous soft ball game and interviewed the band during the Farewell 1 tour. He makes use of old stories, record reviews and, presumably, his notes and memories . He was there – sort of. There are errors (at one point he mixes up Randy and Bernie) and there isn’t much new content but it’s an easy read and maybe as good an overview of the band’s history as any. And then there are the photos…
Over a hundred of them, mostly colour, many full page. Even Bernie gets two full page photos just of him. If you’re tempted to buy a tour book just for the photos, then this offers much better value. I paid just £5.99. Seriously, the photos are good.
"Hotel California" by Barney Hoskins
This is the one that opens with five naked young men in a sauna.
I really enjoyed this. It has a broader sweep covering The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, Joni Mitchell, David Geffen which all gives context and perhaps a better perspective. Hoskyns interviewed lots of people, including JD, Jackson and Bernie. Lots of good anecdotes.
Thank you for the overview! I was experiencing information overload.
Not that it's a bad thing!
Has anyone read Andrew Vaughan's book: The Eagles: An American Band? It has good reviews on Amazon.
Vaughan's book was mentioned earlier in this thread https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/foru...8&postcount=91
It also has it's own thread. Comments about the book itself start around page 8
https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/foru...vaughan&page=8
IMO there are only three books you really need:
To The Limit
Eagles Taking It To The Limit
Hotel California
The latter is more about the Avocado Mafia but it's a great read. Although another good book of that ilk is Canyon of Dreams.
...I could have done so many things, baby
if I could only stop my mind...
Some guys are born to Rimbaud
some guys breathe Baudelaire
some guys just got to go and put their rockets everywhere.
Canyon of Dreams is a gorgeous book. There's only one chapter on the Eagles but it has some different stories and they paint a picture of life in the early days.
Cheers guys. Will take a look in town tomorrow to see if either of the bookshops have Eliot's or Fong-Torres's books and if not I'll Amazon them. Everyone else at uni marks the end of exams by getting drunk and I mark it by buying Eagles books
I bought the Marc Elliot book on Thursday from ebay. I should be getting it sometime this week.