Felder's "Heaven and Hell" Discussion Thread

[VAisForEagleLovers]

MC, I also read the book before reading more than two posts on this thread. I had heard some of the interviews he'd done when promoting the book, so I wasn't totally in the dark about what to expect, but for me, I found it shocking. To someone that loved and respected the entire band, to read one of them saying the things that were said was jaw-dropping. I read the book in less than a day, and then I made the mistake of coming to this thread and posting my thoughts immediately, instead of letting it percolate for a day or two.

I think I said in here somewhere, if not I meant to, that I am not a fan of auto-biographies as a general rule. I can't remember ever reading one where I thought nearly as much of the author after reading it as I did before reading. As TK said, an auto-biography is supposed to be biased, it's supposed to be selfish. No one writes one and talks mostly about someone else. It's a story intended to give one viewpoint. How that's handled is usually dependent on a ghost writer and the editor, and they work for the publisher whose goal is to create sound-bites and sell books. It obviously works, how many new members (or even lurkers) have read bits and pieces of this divisive thread and then bought the book when they wouldn't have otherwise?

[MaryCalifornia]

VA - agree, especially the part about not liking autobiographies. A funny thing, though, the only other autobiography I have read in the past 5 years was Keith Richards', and I thought about it, and him, for days after...it was really good. I couldn't stop telling people about it. Then, I couldn't believe that in Heaven and Hell Don Felder described Keith's guitar playing as "Neanderthal"!!!! He definitely has a very distinct style, but c'mon, let's give him a little love!! I wish Felder had spent more time describing the music-making process in the studio, like Keith did.

[Topkat]

I really like reading biographies...I think it gives you a better idea of the real person, rather than what other people write about them...I didn't know much about Felder until I read it & I did feel I learned a lot about him from the book. I think he wrote it at a time where he still had bad feelings over what happened, and maybe if he had written it a little later, he may have felt a little differently about it all...Just my opinion.

I read it 2 years ago, so it isn't really fresh in my mind, but overall I thought he gave his honest opinion. I think he had no clue he was going to be fired. Maybe he thought it wasn't even possible for them to fire him; that it took him totally by surprise & he was shocked by it.

I wonder if he & Joe have spoken to this date. I bet they have. The book is now a few years old, so maybe they had some communication, but I think Joe & Timothy both really had no choice, but to desert him, & stay loyal to the band at that time. Frankly, I would love to see them reunited with Felder, even though it's not likely to happen. To me there is just something "missing" in the Eagles without Felder...Many fans have never seen the Eagles with him, but I have & I still say that as good as Smith is as a guitar player....he's not Don Fleder! Sorry, but that is how I feel.

[Turf]

I will say the only sentence in the book that shocked me, SHOCKED ME, was when he said he had not spoken to Joe Walsh once since he was fired...I did not see that coming.

I agree. To me, the saddest part of the whole affair is the fact that Walsh and Felder no longer communicate. I wish we knew more details about the situation. I suspect Joe may be taking a "don't rock the boat" attitude with respect to the band and therefore simply avoiding all contact with Felder.

[Turf]

Then, I couldn't believe that in Heaven and Hell Don Felder described Keith's guitar playing as "Neanderthal"!!!! He definitely has a very distinct style, but c'mon, let's give him a little love!!

Yeah, that was interesting... The sentence from the book is:

The Stones were pretty wild boys, especially Keith Richards, who played a real dirty, Neanderthal guitar and was a walking chemistry set.

It's hard for me to know exactly how to interpret the use of the word Neanderthal here. There is a lot of "bad is good" when it comes to descriptions of guitar sound. I don't think that Felder meant for it to be insulting.

[Caiti]

I just finished reading the book, which, when one compares it to the new documentary on Showtime, was a fairly accurate portrayal of the events and the people. That said, I think Don Felder was a little whiney and a little too descriptive about minor points in the book. Overall, it was a really interesting read. I think it's sad that he ended up being fired. He is a true talent and genius and it makes me sad that my favorite Eagle, Timothy Schmit, was (allegedly) unsympathetic when Don Felder called him. I did really like Don's idea of having a benefit concert for all the roadies and support people to get some retirement money in their accounts.

I always look at books like this as one side of the story. This one has a bit more credence since the documentary confirmed a lot of it. In my opinion, being an Eagle made all of them quite wealthy, but as with anything worth having, there is always a price to pay.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Welcome, Caiti!!

[sodascouts]

Hi Caiti! Welcome!

[Caiti]

Welcome, Caiti!!

Thanks! Happy to be here. Still trying to figure things out and find my way around!

[Caiti]

Hi Caiti! Welcome!

Thanks!! Still trying to figure this website out and navigate around, but I like what I see!