Discussion of Eagles Documentary "History of the Eagles"

[Freypower]

I can understand why the played down the discord. Considering that the Henley/Frey Partnership survived for 9 years in the first run and a further 18 years at the time of filming there's obviously a lot that works and it would be a pity if that got overshadowed.

At least a few hints were allowed to remain and the way Glenn and Don H closed ranks is quite telling. It seems that whatever was going on between them, they were always ready to stand together against any challengers and that continues in the documentary.

The use of Glenn and Don H as the primary narrators was clever too. Instead of asking us to trust a disembodied narrator, we understand that these are the principal players telling us their story and we should be slightly suspicious. As they are both articulate with pleasant speaking voices and can tell good anecdotes, the results are entertaining.

I wonder if the filmmakers intended viewers to take a dislike to Glenn Frey. Having him re-enact confrontations directly to camera was a slightly uncomfortable experience. He's speaking to me rather than an interviewer and I'm not used to people being quite so blunt or swearing at me. Was the staging deliberate? I was more fascinated than repelled, but I've read a lot of online comments that suggest that some people found it very off-putting.

I very much doubt that 'the filmmakers intended viewers to take a dislike to Glenn Frey'. He said what he wanted to say. If viewers did not like it, that was not his or the filmmakers' problem.

He isn't speaking to you; he is speaking to the camera. I think some viewers didn't like the truth being told, and that is what he did. He told the truth.

But I find his personality compelling & his style charismatic. Others see the arrogance & nothing else. They choose not to see the sacrifices he made & the hard decisions he had to make. They also decide to focus on the confrontation parts while ignoring all the other stories he told. They are entitled to their views, but I think they are missing a great deal about what makes Glenn tick.

[Freypower]

That was funny, PM. I think I can see Don reading that back in the 70s, but not today.

I do wonder what Don is reading. Don seems like a guy who loves the classics(and probably had to study that when he was an English major)

I was going through the whole thread these last couple of days. I'm still coming up with what I thought about something.

I for one thought it was always Don's band or Don/Glenn's band(since they were the last original members) and Don was the leader. That kinda explain why Glenn always talked about the band or anything to do with the band. So in other words, even though Don and Glenn are the decision making guys of the group, if Don p*ssed him off, Glenn can still fire him, but I guess Don wouldn't do that. I always wonder back in the 70s why Glenn didn't want to fire Don back then since they were sometimes at each other's throats.

I was also thinking about when Glenn said he was singing less and less by the mid 70s. IMO(and only my opinion), I think Glenn was a little jealous that he was singing lesser and lesser. He might had thought it was good for the band for Don to sing majority of the time, but I think he wasn't happy about that. That what I got from that.

Even though I don't like Glenn (didn't before the documentary) and I'm more a Don H fan, I love his voice too. I love NKIT. I seem to crack up that song when it comes on.

I do want to say this. I really don't like Don with the goatee. It makes him look old since its all white.

I probably be back to say more about the documentary as I continued to read this thread. I think I'm on page 126 right now.

It was Glenn's decision to sing fewer songs. He made that clear; so I don't see how you could say he was jealous when he was the one who made that call. I would say though that at the end, perhaps he may have realised that he had been too generous & that his own voice needed to be heard. In any case, he made sure that the songs he DID sing were highlights of the albums. Two of them were Number One singles & all three of them won Grammys.

[UndertheWire]

In any case, he made sure that the songs he DID sing were highlights of the albums. Two of them were Number One singles & all three of them won Grammys.

I must admit I like the fact that of the six Grammys, Glenn sings lead on four of the songs and a fifth is for an instrumental written by him.

[Freypower]

I must admit I like the fact that of the six Grammys, Glenn sings lead on four of the songs and a fifth is for an instrumental written by him.

Yes. It's peculiar. It's something I've always been proud of, I have to admit.

[GlennLover]

He has said that he is particularly proud of the Grammy for best arrangement for voices for NKIT as he would have been the arranger.

[shunlvswx]

I love NKIT. I think that's my favorite of his that he sings.

[sodascouts]

I'm watching the documentary on DVD right now and I just noticed something. Its funny you will find or noticed something different every time you watch it.

You know the press conference the guys had about a tour in Europe for the HFO tour at the beginning of Part 2, I noticed Don was wearing a wedding ring. Here's the thing. When they were about to show the clip for that press conference, the year 1994 popped up on the screen. That press conference couldn't had happened in 1994 since Don got married 1995. I don't know when Don got married in 1995, but this press conference happened after he got married since he was still single in 1994.

You're right - it wasn't from 1994. They toured Europe in 1996. There were several errors in the documentary regarding dates of photos and videos. Luckily for the filmmakers only hardcores would notice.

[shunlvswx]

I probably wouldn't had noticed the other errors with the pictures and clips, but that one stood out. If I didn't know that Don got married in 1995, I probably would had thought it was from 1994. Plus Don doesn't always wear his wedding ring from what I noticed.

I didn't know that was from 1996. I think read somewhere that Don got married after they were on break from touring in 1995? I could be wrong on this.

[sodascouts]

That's right. Don got married during a break between legs of the tour.

[UndertheWire]

I very much doubt that 'the filmmakers intended viewers to take a dislike to Glenn Frey'. He said what he wanted to say. If viewers did not like it, that was not his or the filmmakers' problem.

He isn't speaking to you; he is speaking to the camera. I think some viewers didn't like the truth being told, and that is what he did. He told the truth.

But I find his personality compelling & his style charismatic. Others see the arrogance & nothing else. They choose not to see the sacrifices he made & the hard decisions he had to make. They also decide to focus on the confrontation parts while ignoring all the other stories he told. They are entitled to their views, but I think they are missing a great deal about what makes Glenn tick.

For the most part I'm in agreement with you, but the way the filmmaker presents a subject can influence how it affects the viewer. So having Glenn and Don Henley speaking to camera against a blackground is quite different to the way the others were interviewed - usually in a recording studio or music room - and I wondered what the director/producer was aiming for.

Do you feel that the documentary did a good job in showing the band members as they are?