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Meisner

#41
Man, all the corrections.

OK, it's Schmit not Schmidt. Got it. My bad. :hmm:

Yes, it's "Eagles", not "The Eagles" (I read the Steve Martin Autobiography, too) but the name of the documentary is "The History of the Eagles". It's kind of like referring to "Baba O'riley" as "Teenage Wasteland". Everybody does it, so that makes it OK.

Meisner does look terrible. Felder looks completely different, he must have had some work done. I tend to "get off the bus" at Hotel California, as well, but that's fine. I'm a big fan of Ween and Iron Maiden, but I don't love every album they put out. It's about the body of work and I don't know very many bands that have the number of recognizable tunes as EAGLES.

Meisner's tone was great, too. Sadly, Ric basses and I don't get along.
 
#42
I used to like the Eagles, but then the decades of constant overplay wore out the Eagles' welcome in my ear canals...

14298-004-99934987.jpg

Thanks Britannica!
 
#45
Saw this documentary a couple times now. Like many of you I respect the body of work and like several of the songs but not enough to buy any record other than the greatest hits.

That said my biggest take away was the Glenn Frye and a lesser extent Don Henley are a couple of bad asses. Always saw them as more "go with the flow "guys not "go or I'll kick your ass and fire you" guys. Actually made me laugh a bit and drove my respect up. I like people who are motivated and care.
 
#47
I was a big Eagles fan in the 70's, and I still like their music. What bummed me was seeing them live at a Day on the Green ('77? '78?). Sounded just like the record. While that may thrill some, I come from a time when "live" was time to stretch out and walk on the wild side. Just wasn't the same after that.
 
#48
wideload said:
I was a big Eagles fan in the 70's, and I still like their music. What bummed me was seeing them live at a Day on the Green ('77? '78?). Sounded just like the record. While that may thrill some, I come from a time when "live" was time to stretch out and walk on the wild side. Just wasn't the same after that.
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Day on the Green as in the Oakland Coliseum?
Been there, done that... those were the days, eh?
 
#50
blue4 said:
I just prefer the first 2 albums.
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I find that the first couple of albums for most artists that launched in the 70's were their best work. After that they had to please the record company suits. The old cliche is right...you spend a lifetime on your first album and a year on your second one. But for many of those "electra/asylum" artists they had so many songs ready to record that they were able to fill a couple of great albums with them before they had to hit the grindstone and start knocking out pop hits for the record company.
 
#51
Roscoe East said:
This was complete news to me too, but according to Wikipedia (I know, shame on me for citing them!)

"Original Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon also appeared on the (2013) tour.... However it has been reported that former members Randy Meisner and Don Felder will not appear. Meisner had been invited but could not participate due to health problems, while Felder was never asked due to ongoing legal disputes with the band."
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Felder's autobiography and his recounting of his issues with Frye and Henley is an interesting read.

I do have a little bit of an issue with Felder when he plainly dissembles about staying in the dungeon room at the studio in the 80's, but never having really used any illegal substances or having any extra-marital relationships.

That being said, if one tenth of the BS he says about those guys is true, they sure were a bunch of @$$hats.

I too saw Poco in the early 70's. They really ripped it up live. Good band that never got anywhere near the breaks the Eagles did.
 
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#54
JimK said:
I'm no gear head, for sure.
Did Meisner play a Ric? I do recall him playing a Hagstrom...
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Mostly I've seen him playing a P-bass in all the earlier videos. The Rick only appears on Hotel California era stuff. Just my observation.

Meisner is listed as one of my main influences; glad to see a little love for him here on TB!
 
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#55
I hereby bow at the throne of Jerry.

I guess hell did indeed freeze over because the original split with Bernie Leadon was even uglier than the much later split with Felder.

I saw Eagles open for Yes and Edgar Winter. I recall Meisner playing a P bass, so that squares with other early accounts.
 
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#56
Thor said:
Felder's autobiography and his recounting of his issues with Frye and Henley is an interesting read.

I do have a little bit of an issue with Felder when he plainly dissembles about staying in the dungeon room at the studio in the 80's, but never having really used any illegal substances or having any extra-marital relationships.

That being said, if one tenth of the BS he says about those guys is true, they sure were a bunch of @$$hats.

I too saw Poco in the early 70's. They really ripped it up live. Good band that never got anywhere near the breaks the Eagles did.
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It is an interesting read. Everyone but Meisner and Schmidt come off as classless. Felder is not very sympathetic with his passive aggressive protesting.
 
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#57
Thor said:
Felder's autobiography and his recounting of his issues with Frye and Henley is an interesting read.

I do have a little bit of an issue with Felder when he plainly dissembles about staying in the dungeon room at the studio in the 80's, but never having really used any illegal substances or having any extra-marital relationships.

That being said, if one tenth of the BS he says about those guys is true, they sure were a bunch of @$$hats.
.
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You should go back and re-read Felder's book if that's your impression. I just finished my second time with it and he clearly talks about doing cocaine and how he did have extra marital affairs. The very first paragraph of the book talks about how the all had white rings around their noses as they opened the show with Hotel California in the 70's.

"We could hear the rumble of the crowd in the dressing room. It sounded like a thunderstorm brewing somewhere far above us. As we emerged one by one from the bowels of the stadium, our lips wet with beer, white powder rings around my nostrils, the rumble grew louder and louder."

Later on he talks about how a groupie he'd been with sent him a letter through the fan club, his wife read it and it almost ended his marriage. That's just a couple of examples of the many times he talks about both issues openly.
 
#58
I also just recently watched the documentary. I've always been a huge TBS fan ever since I first saw the Hell Freezes Over special that my father recorded onto VHS when it aired on PBS. He's always been a real musician's musician. I think that the fact that he can nail a Pino line, note-for-note, like he originally wrote it for New York Minute is pretty telling of his exceptional musicianship. I'm not taking anything away from Randy. He's also a great player...but I've never really been a fan of Randy's more thumpy bass tone.

The movie was interesting on all levels. I never knew that Henley and Frey played in Linda Ronstadt's backing band. It's always been a pretty well-known fact that Henley is an asshat, but I was actually surprised at what a douche Frey is. I guess I just always stereotyped him as a laidback, pot-smoking, California kinda guy. While it sounds like Felder got a screw job on a lot of things, it sounds like he brought some of it upon himself. Both he and Leadon came across - or were at least portrayed - as whiners who were never happy. I've played with cats like that, and they can suck the life out of a band. Still, Frey's insistence that he and Henley get paid more for their reunion shows because their solo careers did better was lame as hell. You wrote the songs? Then fine, you're entitled to your publishing and the money that comes with it. However, taking more tour profits is just lame as hell. It reminds me when Ed Kowalczyk wouldn't perform with Live unless he got a "lead singer fee." At least Henley's solo career had some artistic merit. Frey's was chock full of over-produced 80s schlock.

I agree that the early Eagles output was the most consistent. They had some pretty good stuff in the second half of their career (e.g., Victim of Love, Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane), but they also had some snoozefests (e.g., New Kid in Town, Sad Café).
 

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