Hell Freezes Over: Your Favourite Moments!

[UndertheWire]

That explains HOTM, but NYM? That never got above #48 on the Billboard chart. I guess he picked that because he thought it would work best with an orchestra over other better known hits like "Boys of Summer" and "Dirty Laundry" - the real crowd pleasers from his solo career - but to have it make the cut when #1 hits like "Heartache Tonight" didn't still mystifies me. Heck, even "End of the Innocence" would have been a better pick; it was a top 10 hit.

Perhaps Henley was trying to make a point that he was still musically relevent by choosing songs from his most recent album just as it was important to have some new songs. I like NYM a lot better than "Learn to be Still" which, imo, is the weakest song in the set.

[Restless Heart]

Yes thank you Silver Moon! Maybe better versions will be out there someday but until then this is fine. I wish The Eagles would release an uncut version. I would buy it.

These are all awesome but I really like One Of These Nights and The Best Of My Love. I think New York Minute sounded terrific but I think an Eagles song might have been better to include too. I can see why Don would want to include material from his most recent album but The Heart Of The Matter covered that base. Can't complain though. I love New York Minute and I'm really surprised it didn't do better on the charts. Anyway Hell Freezes Over sold a lot of copies so it didn't hurt them any.

[Freypower]

The problem with Henley's dominance of HFO is that he sings so many long, slow ballads. By the time they get to The Last Resort it really is the Don Henley Show. I thought it was ovremphasised. He should have had one more uptempo song if he had to do solo songs, such as Dirty Laundry which they subsequently did on the tour. I like NYM but as Soda said most of the band have nothing to do. The unused songs demonstrate perfectly well that Glenn should have had at least one if not two more songs.

[tjh532]

The problem with Henley's dominance of HFO is that he sings so many long, slow ballads. By the time they get to The Last Resort it really is the Don Henley Show. I thought it was ovremphasised. He should have had one more uptempo song if he had to do solo songs, such as Dirty Laundry which they subsequently did on the tour. I like NYM but as Soda said most of the band have nothing to do. The unused songs demonstrate perfectly well that Glenn should have had at least one if not two more songs.

who knows? maybe he only agreed to do the show if they let him showcase his stuff? There was a lot of focus on him. And yes, he and Glenn are the leaders, and yes, at that point he was still the most visible member,but this was an Eagles reunion. I'm not a fan of Last Resort anyway, but by that point in the show, I was tired of it. And I love his voice.

[sodascouts]

who knows? maybe he only agreed to do the show if they let him showcase his stuff?

I could see that happening in other bands, but not with Don and the Eagles.

Don seemed keener on the reunion than Glenn, and I think if Don had tried any strong-arm tactics like "I get at least two solo songs on the album or this reunion is off" Glenn probably would have told him "OK, it's off. Bye." Glenn had already walked out once, remember.

Don might have gotten into power struggles with Glenn in the 70s but it seems that ever since the band "resumed" he's let Glenn have the final word, even if he disagrees (one example that comes to mind: he didn't want LROOE to be a double album). I don't think Don would have pulled a diva move like that with the Eagles in 1994.

Don doesn't need to play the diva to get the Eagles to do his solo songs or to get the lion's share of the vocals. Remember that Glenn thinks Don's voice is better than his. I can see him being the one to favor including more songs with Don on lead vocals on Hell Freezes Over "for the good of the band," which is exactly what he did for Hotel California and The Long Run.

[Houston Debutante]

IMO it was smart to feature Don, he had had the most success and is the most recognizable Eagle. You always hear people talking about how great Don's voice is, you don't hear it so much about the other Eagles except for on fan boards. It is very cool that Glenn recognizes that and doesn't let his ego get in the way, makes me respect Glenn alot.

After seeing the videos of the outtakes I do see how including Best Of My Love or One Of These Nights might have been a better choice than New York Minute although that is beautiful.

I also liked that version of Peaceful Easy Feeling and if they had had enough room it should have be3en included, but I thought Lover's Moon was boring and it wasn't their best version of Heartache Tonight although it was okay.

[tjh532]

I could see that happening in other bands, but not with Don and the Eagles.

Don seemed keener on the reunion than Glenn, and I think if Don had tried any strong-arm tactics like "I get at least two solo songs on the album or this reunion is off" Glenn probably would have told him "OK, it's off. Bye." Glenn had already walked out once, remember.

Don might have gotten into power struggles with Glenn in the 70s but it seems that ever since the band "resumed" he's let Glenn have the final word, even if he disagrees (one example that comes to mind: he didn't want LROOE to be a double album). I don't think Don would have pulled a diva move like that with the Eagles in 1994.

Don doesn't need to play the diva to get the Eagles to do his solo songs or to get the lion's share of the vocals. Remember that Glenn thinks Don's voice is better than his. I can see him being the one to favor including more songs with Don on lead vocals on Hell Freezes Over "for the good of the band," which is exactly what he did for Hotel California and The Long Run.

I think you are right, it was just speculation on my part You would have to agree, though, that the show was pretty heavy on Don's solo stuff. Maybe it was an MTV decision?

[Zanny Kingston]

tjh- you may very well be on to something with the MTV thing!! Don was very heavy in their video rotation, so that may very well have been more of a network decision or a suggestion MTV made to the Eagles, as Don was the more widely recognized member of the band at the time.

I do think it was too much Don- Never thought I would type such a thing- I also think that Glenn should have had more songs. Glenn though, as we know would do what was good for the band, so I think its possible Glenn would agree to showcase Don because of his voice and recognition factor to help bring more attention to their resumption.

I think back to a point in the documentary when they are discussing their reunion and I think Glenn says They were wondering if anyone would even bother to come and see them. He was dead wrong in a good way of course.

It was almost laughable that they were concerned that no one cared to see them again, but having expressed that doubt makes them human. Its possible they were so insulated in the 1970's that they may not have had a realistic grasp on just how big the Eagles were in that time period. Or how impactful their music was to generations of fans.

Regardless, I am still glad they got back together and stayed together. Its all of them together that make the band what it is.

[sodascouts]

I can see why they were uncertain; not all reunions work out and it had been 14 years since they'd played. That can be an eternity in the entertainment business.

BTW while Don was in heavy rotation on MTV in the eighties and early nineties, by 1994, MTV had started getting into reality TV with The Real World and its spin-offs; they were playing fewer videos; what videos they did play were largely grunge music and more recent top 40 hits than Don's 1989 album. I know - I was still watching it back then! Nowadays I don't even bother - the channel absolutely blows.

[DivineDon]

I know people have their favourites and you can tell I'm no exception but from my perspective of being a Don Henley fan from the 80s, I had no idea he had been in the Eagles. I didn't know Glenn save a few performances on Miami Vice. It had been 14 years since they 'took a break' so Don would have been the best known to a new generation from his hits. Of course they weren't to know that the diehard Eagles fans would always stick by them but if they were unsure of how they would be accepted then they had to showcase their most well known star and that was Don Henley. I think HFO was brilliant and Don was undoubtedly the star for the reasons I've outlined. Subsequently, of course, once they saw how the fans reacted to them, they were able to gain more confidence and showcase all the members. However, I don't think you can blame Don for his prominent role.

I know friends of mine who have barely heard of the Eagles when asked only recognize Hotel California and Don Henley, they haven't a clue about any of the other members including (and I know some people won't like me saying this - Glenn). Not everyone is committed to their favourites as we are, I'm afraid.