For those who own/read Felder's book...

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Thanks for posting that quote! I was thinking about that phrase today, I couldn't remember how it was worded. I have to say I am not a fan of the song, but I don't agree with Henley.

Because honestly, there are some works in Henley's catalog that are not all that pristine. And on the subject of Hell Freezes Over, I didn't like that a number of Henley's works found their way onto that DVD, but none of Frey or Walsh's solo stuff did.

No argument from me here, Joe. Even the very best aren't at the top of their game 100% of the time. With regard to the HFO DVD, as much as I love Don, I agree that the DVD is too Henley-centric. I just think it would have worked better to try to equal out the face time, particularly since this was the long awaited reunion of the band.

[EagleLady]

I think it's because Don's solo stuff is more well known than Glenn's, JMHO.

[Prettymaid]

EL - That is pretty harsh. It's one thing to express your opinion about something, but you are essentially calling Felder a liar with absolutely no proof.

EL, could you please stop deleting your posts only because somebody disagrees with them? It kind of breaks up the continuity, making the responses to your original post seem to make no sense!

[EagleLady]

You need not worry about it, cause I will leave.

[Freypower]

I think it's because Don's solo stuff is more well known than Glenn's, JMHO.

This is a matter of opinion. Some of Glenn's big hits are as least as well known as New York Minute, which was included.

They did do Lover's Moon. Sadly, it was not included in the final cut.

Regarding Felder's opinion of TGFY, it is hardly surprising, given his opinion of Glenn's songs in general. He also claims that it was dropped very quickly. I saw it in Sydney in 1995, long after Get Over It had been dropped (which was a huge disappointment for me, as I love that song).

[GlennLover]

I agree that HFO was too Henley heavy, especially with his solo material. I would have loved to have seen Lover's Moon included or their alternate version of PEF, that was also cut from the final version.

[sodascouts]

I guess they didn't include Lover's Moon because it was never a hit, but the exclusion of that incredible version of Peaceful Easy Feeling (my personal favorite live version) is puzzling, to say the least. In fact, I'd call its omission a colossal error in judgment on the part of whoever chose which songs would be included. It is magnificent.

If they were short on time, they could have ditched New York Minute. The only other Henley solo song is Heart of the Matter, and the Eagles version of it is indispensable. I love it.

I think it's not so much that it contains too many Henley solo songs - indeed, it only contains two. I don't even think it's just the lead vocal domination, although of course that is noticeable, but it can be justified by the fact that Henley sang lead on a great many hits.

What really makes it too Henley-centric is the way that for some songs such as Wasted Time and New York Minute, the rest of the band just fades into the shadows (although the camera hits them for the occasional "oooh"). For parts of NYM Joe, Felder, and Glenn are seriously just sitting there waiting to play something while Tim plays his bass line in the shadows. THAT'S when it's really the Henley show, and that's when I really wince. Contrast that with Life in the Fast Lane or Desperado, where the band is featured as a unit and it just happens to be a Henley lead. The latter works well and feels right. The former is more appropriate for a solo show.

I will make an exception to the above, though, in the case of The Last Resort. It starts with Henley isolated in the spotlight and the rest of the guys in the shadows. Then, on that last verse, suddenly all the guys are up front in a row right beside Henley, singing those supporting vocals with all they've got. The dramatic contrast is very powerful and effective.

[Freypower]

And also, Don only sings two uptempo songs (GOI and LITFL) and the rest, including the reworked version of HC, are long, slow ballads. So HFO in my opinion does not represent even Don properly.

[GlennLover]

You nailed it, FP. I guess what I was trying to say is that HFO was a ittle heavy on the long, slow ballads.

[sodascouts]

When I was first getting into the Eagles hard-core in 2005, I went out and bought the Farewell 1 and Hell Freezes Over DVDs at the same time. I had never seen Farewell 1 and had only a vague memory of seeing Hell Freezes Over on MTV back when it first aired (I've told the story before of how I was watching MTV in 1994 when a commercial came on for HFO that named the band members - and being ignorant of 70s music I thought, "Wow, both Don Henley AND Glenn Frey were in the same band at one time? That must have been a pretty awesome band! And Glenn Frey looks GOOD.") I was a freshman in college at the time. I watched Hell Freezes Over when it aired on MTV and liked it well enough to buy the cassette tape, but never bought the VHS or anything. (Interestingly, I think it was one of the last - if not THE last - cassette tapes I ever bought. After that it was CD all the way... and one of the first rock music CDs I ever bought was the Eagles Greatest Hits).

So, back to 2005. I watched Farewell 1 first, and thought it was lots of fun. Then, I watched Hell Freezes Over. I was surprised at how these guys almost never looked into the camera during the latter and indeed spent a great deal of time looking down. I thought "Dang, this is slow." I almost breathed a sigh of relief when Take It Easy took it up a notch. The slow songs are lovely, but variety is the spice of life! Plus, like I said, the guys themselves seemed very reserved and even shy. Surprising!