Celebration of "Hell Freezes Over"!

[Dawn]

D, all I know is reportedly it was Azoff who sent a fax announcing the news to the media about the resumption tour that simply said: Hell Has Frozen Over.

[Delilah]

Thanks, Dawn. Seems by that simple announcement Irving was taking a lot for granted i.e. that the media knew what he was talking about.

To add something to the thread topic: of the 4 new songs from the album, the one I like best is “Learn to Be Still.” I just wonder why Don sang it the way he did. I think maybe he should have tried it in a higher key, like in “End of the Innocence.”

[Freypower]

Thanks, Dawn. Seems by that simple announcement Irving was taking a lot for granted i.e. that the media knew what he was talking about.

To add something to the thread topic: of the 4 new songs from the album, the one I like best is “Learn to Be Still.” I just wonder why Don sang it the way he did. I think maybe he should have tried it in a higher key, like in “End of the Innocence.”

IMO the low key style of vocal is a pleasing contrast to the multitude of overwrought, melodramatic vocals with which Henley normally favours us. It's why it's a particular favourite of mine along with A Month Of Sundays. I like it when he scales it back.

[Pippinwhite]

@Delilah -- We weren't one of the newspapers favored with an Azoff press release (too small. LOL.) However, when the entertainment writer at the Birmingham News got it from a friend, she freaked out and called our features department. That was in the days before we had voice mail, it was late afternoon, and I caught the phone call. "THE EAGLES ARE GETTING BACK TOGETHER!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mary?"

"The EAGLES! I got a fax from my buddy at the Denver paper from the Eagles' manager that said, 'Hell has frozen over'! What else could it mean?"

"Holy crap. Let us know if you hear anything else."

Lordy. I hadn't thought about that in YEARS. Lot of water under the bridge since then. He sent a follow-up in the next couple of days. She sent a copy of it, but our fax machine was a piece of crap and it was a fax of a fax of a fax and you could hardly read it. Still, I wish I'd kept it.

[New Kid In Town]

I remember hearing it on the news of the local NYC tv stations. If I remember right, the announcement started as "Hell Has Frozen Over". Everyone seemed to know what it meant. I was so happy I could not believe my ears. I think it was THAT big an announcement. I remember everyone talking about it at work the next day.

Pippin - A great story !
Dawn - TY, I could not remember all the particulars ! t's been a long time but I guess I should have remembered as we have talked about it enough here - lol !

[Delilah]

IMO the low key style of vocal is a pleasing contrast to the multitude of overwrought, melodramatic vocals with which Henley normally favours us. It's why it's a particular favourite of mine along with A Month Of Sundays. I like it when he scales it back.

Ah, but it’s those “overwrought, melodramatic vocals” that gave them so many of their hits. If I’m not mistaken, LTBS was released as a single and went nowhere. Perhaps if Henley used a sympathetic, more emotional approach to convey the song’s earnest Biblical message, LBTS would have been a hit too. Instead he sounds tired and cynical.

He sings in a higher key in “A Month of Sundays” and you can hear the vulnerability and brokenness in his voice.

[Delilah]

@Delilah -- We weren't one of the newspapers favored with an Azoff press release (too small. LOL.) However, when the entertainment writer at the Birmingham News got it from a friend, she freaked out and called our features department. That was in the days before we had voice mail, it was late afternoon, and I caught the phone call. "THE EAGLES ARE GETTING BACK TOGETHER!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mary?"

"The EAGLES! I got a fax from my buddy at the Denver paper from the Eagles' manager that said, 'Hell has frozen over'! What else could it mean?"

"Holy crap. Let us know if you hear anything else."

Lordy. I hadn't thought about that in YEARS. Lot of water under the bridge since then. He sent a follow-up in the next couple of days. She sent a copy of it, but our fax machine was a piece of crap and it was a fax of a fax of a fax and you could hardly read it. Still, I wish I'd kept it.

What a cool memory! And that fax would have been a nice souvenir.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Does anyone know when there was an official announcement to the public? Perhaps it was the announcement of the tour, since the MTV show didn’t air until months later.



True, except now I have knowledge and understanding of what was going in behind the scenes, the disputes over money, that Felder gets fired, that Randy wasn’t there and wanted to be. I understand why that was the case; I’m not trying to start some debate about that here. But it seems to be the beginning of an effort to write him out of the band’s history, until the documentary when there was no choice but to acknowledge him.

Anyway, it’s great there’s a video and the band continued to perform, gain new fans, renew interest in lapsed fans, etc. It’s just bittersweet for me in a way it would not have been back in 1994-95.

I think that there was some effort to make people forget about Randy but I don’t think it would have been appropriate for Randy to be back in. Tim was there most recently. Unless they did what they did with Bernie in HOTE it wouldn’t have made sense

[sodascouts]

I did go ahead and search for that other thread but couldn’t find it. FWIW, had I found it, I would have moved my post. Sorry.

I think I was referring to this thread but it seems to me your comments are appropriate for this thread, so no need to worry. I always appreciate how diligent you are about searching for relevant threads and keeping things on topic.

[Delilah]

I think that there was some effort to make people forget about Randy but I don’t think it would have been appropriate for Randy to be back in. Tim was there most recently. Unless they did what they did with Bernie in HOTE it wouldn’t have made sense

I think I was pretty clear in my post:

I understand why that was the case; I’m not trying to start some debate about that here.

ETA: thanks, Soda!