Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles, 1974-2001

Hotel Paranoia

Don Henley once said there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the cold hard truth. What Don Felder provides in this book is the 'yours.' The book is at times a touching rags-to-riches story of a small town boy who makes it big. It's also a poison pen dagger aimed directly at Don Henley and Glenn Frey, who he holds responsible for seemingly everything that went wrong in his life. Felder, by his own account, seems to live a miserable existence no matter how much success he achieves. He is miserable in the recording studio, miserable on tour, and miserable at home with his wife and four children. At some point, one really starts to wonder how someone can exist going through life so miserable. He overreacts to seemingly minor situations, such as his youngest son trying pot as a teenager. When Felder discovers this, he is practically ready to drive him to rehab instead of just chalking it up to typical teenage behavior. Felder is also careful in touching on his relationship with the members in the band. However, he fails to realize that what goes around comes around. When his good buddy Bernie Leadon is forced out 'mainly due to Felder's arrival', followed shortly thereafter by bassist Randy Meisner, Felder stands idly by, unwilling to support his friends. Yet when the ax falls on Felder in 2001, he is incredulous that band mates Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit refuse to battle for him. It is Schmit who actually sets Felder straight by telling him what happened in the 1970s is no longer relevant, but a suddenly headstrong Felder refuses to see it that way. The final straw appears to come with the impending release of an Eagles greatest hits compilation in 2000. Once again, Felder is unhappy that Henley and Frey 'whom he refers to as 'The Gods'' make more money. It's at this point when you really wish Felder would grow a spine and just make the decision to just leave the band. Henley and Frey may never win any humanitarian awards, but for Felder to lay all his problems at their feet is simplistic at best and vengeful at worst. After all, they were the ones to give him his big break and they did provide most of the inspiration for this book. The book is at times funny, and Eagles fans will revel in Felder's accounts of life on the road and writing classic hits such as 'Hotel California.' In the end, you can't help but feel for Felder a bit. But at the same time, you can't help but also think that he could have prevented so much of what went wrong by simply standing up for himself. When he was finally able to do so, it was too late.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The rest of the story..

If you have read other Eagles biographies, you should read this one to get Don Felder's perspective. It's not any great piece of literature, but is a must-read for any Eagles fan. The book sheds some light on what brought on the breakup with Felder, and has some unflattering information about Frey and Henley. However, the book does not come off as bitter. It also gives some information about the lawsuit which ensued when Felder was fired from the band. According to this, Felder wrote the music for Hotel California, while Frey and the others provided the lyrics.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good job of seeing how the Eagles worked from Don Felders viewpoint. Also good detail on how his music foundation was created that lead to his being added as the lead guitarist for a band that was already off to a very good start.

As the book goes on, it becomes more evident the perspective of Don Felder as he fell out with the band and was asked to leave.

The book does a very good job of showing his upbringing and how his musical background developed. The book does not touch on how the Eagles formed or came together because they were already an established group when Don Felder joined them. The book does a good job of covering the interactions between Felder and the various other members of the band he worked with. Of course it does cover the bickering that went on between the band.

There are periods of time on tour that are passed over very sparcly because he says he doesn't remember large parts of time because of the parrying and drug use. The book does a good job of describing his family life as he works through his years with the eagles. The book tends to portray him as the goody good guy trying to take up for the other members of the band in trying make sure everyone was treated fair and it was someone else in the treating someone unfairly. I believe he had his own self interests in mind more the book implies.

The book is an excellent view of the Eagles from someone was involved with and knew how it felt to be part of the Eagles. Much better than the books written by people who would interview band members or got thier material from all the news stories they could find about the eagles.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Heaven & Hell

A great read, loved the inside stuff."Fingers" is a great performer who seemed to clash egos with the "Gods" They lived the Rock era to the limits( no pun intended) The Eagles have been my favorite group since the 70's, almost 40 years later I still listen to their music. "Long Road Out Of Eden" is playing in the background as I type, great music, great band. Sorry "Fingers" is no longer with the group, but you guys keep on keeping on.
Irish Bill316 P.S. Read "To The Limit" The Untold Story of the Eagles.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Felder is finally free.

I always wondered why Don "Fingers" Felder was no longer a part of the Eagles lineup. Years had passed and still the truth was unknown to me. Although this is Fingers side of the story, you come away with the feeling that he has no reason to not tell the truth. From beginning to end I was always aware that this is one side of the story...but a very good story. I'm not sure how accurate some of the quotes used in the book are because they happened in his childhood, they happened when he was using alcohol and drugs. I find it difficult that someone could remember that specifically things that were spoken 30-40 years ago. Once his story got past his childhood the book started flowing very nicely.

I liked it a lot.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Book!

Wow! Anyone who has ever enjoyed music on any level will enjoy this book. Anyone who's ever bought an album, sang along with the car radio or dated a musician will 'get it.' Just an incredible tale. Can't wait for Irving and Joe Walsh to write their books. Not to mention 'the Gods' and Bernie, Randy and Tim, too! Would also like to read more Wendy Holden and am curious about her personal pain. I don't know how much she 'wrote' or 'tweaked,' but if there are other titles of hers (or other books to which she contributed), please let your readers know). 'Heaven and Hell' was just a fabulous, wonderful read. Really. Now if my local Barnes and Noble would just re-stock Instamatic Karma, by May Pang...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A memoir of music, culture and business

As a longtime fan of the Eagles music 'but not the personalities', I couldn't put this down. Now all the changes -- with Bernie, Randy and then Don leaving -- make total sense. The press coverage focused on the sex and drugs that 'surprise!' went with the rock & roll ¿ as made famous by the movie by Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe 'who briefly appears in the book'. However, what was fascinating was the personalities and the business dealings ¿ Eagles Ltd. was a major business bringing in hundreds of millions of dollar, with all the transparency that Hollywood accountants can bring. So the book works brilliantly on all three levels ¿ where the music came from, the rock & roll culture of the 70s, and as an indictment of show business dishonesty.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Positively Liberating!

My son said, ¿Hey Dad! Turn on Howard Stern.¿ I did, and the interview he was having that day with Don Felder cost me $25.00 and a well spent weekend, reading his book. What a story. It¿s not just his story, it¿s all of our stories. All of us who grew up with the Eagles. All of us who achieved success and all of us who did not. Don Felders story wrapped around his ¿relationship¿ with the ¿Gods¿ is a true testament of how to survive, achieve and ultimately prevail. There has always been something disturbing about The Eagles. Only being able to see what would could as a fan with our faces pressed up against the glass left us only with speculation. Don¿s book served to confirm all of my suspicions about ¿The Gods¿ and I feel better for that as apparently does Don. Don Henley¿s commitment to always being late for appointments confirms his commitment to his perpetual state of arrogance. One need only take a look at the politics of ¿The God¿s¿ to see why they feel that only they should be the arbiters of other peoples success and money. It was good to see Don finally stand up for himself. Now he, unlike those who profited from him obviously likes what he see¿s in the mirror. If I never read another book, I will not feel that I had been cheated.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A 'must read' if you're any kind of Eagles fan

Being a long-time Eagles fan, albeit one who knew little about the group beyond their captivating songs, I found this book revealing and fascinating. While it tells the story through the eyes of one man, it has a ring of truth and openness to it that made it believable and very hard to put down. What a shame that one of the greatest bands ever had to succumb to its own success and ultimately self-destruct because of egos and greed.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Diasppointed, Poor Me

I was disappointed in this book. It seems Felder wants everybody to feel sorry for him. He blames everybody for his being fired from the Eagles. He bases his whole career with the Eagles on one song he co-wrote. His refrence to the 'Two Gods' is not fair. He signed the contracts so noboby is to blame but himself.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A True "Tell All"

Felder lets it all hang out in this book. I absolutely adore the music of The Eagles, but have lost huge amounts of respect for Frey and Henley after having done some follow up research to verify Felder's facts. Felder tells it like it is clearly, concisely, and without much malice.

From the heart.

Don Felder pulls his heart, still beating, out of his chest and puts it on display for all in his tragic yet triumphant rock-and-tell autobiography. Well worth the read. Don, may I please have your autograph?

Felder is an interesting guy

I read a lot of musician biographies. I'm not a huge Eagles fan and Don Felder is the one I knew the least about. I am very delighted that most of the book is a straightforward autobiography of Felder. He is a really interesting guy with stories to tell in his own right, aside from his association with the Eagles. There is a vibe, perhaps generated from the lurid title, that this is an Eagles tell all full of unexpected revelations about the band. Is it really a secret that Don Henley is a moody son of a bachelor, or that Glen Frey is a world class dung door? The biggest spoiler I offer is this book is not a biography of a band. It follows the life of a great musician named Don Felder on a long strange trip. You get to meet a lot of other fascinating famous people along the way. As such, I highly recommend it as a well written, interesting read.

Scandalicious!!!!

I read this book nonstop from cover to cover and was completely engaged the entire time. It lets the reader in on the shady and scandalous side to the legendary rock band. It was juicy and awesome. I highly recommend this book to any fellow Eagles fan.

The Eagles, More Hell than Heaven

I got this book for father's day. A long time Eagles fan, I couldn't put the book down. People may question Felder's motives all they want but there's obviously a huge amount of truth in what he writes. Any one who follows the group at all will see that what he writes about the treatment of former band members, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner is consistent with the huge egos that Frey & Henley obviously have. After all between them and Felder, you have Witchy Woman, One of These Nights, and Hotel California to name a few....not bad for side men to the great duo. There are two sides to every story but Felder's is fascinating. He taught Tom Petty to play guitar and played with Stephen Stills in a high school band. Not bad in most circles. The saddest thing to me in the book, again one side of the story, was the friendships he had with Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit that ended when the band let him go. I feel sadness because these were friends above and beyond Frey & Henley who apparently felt making money with the Eagles was more important than friendship. One final note, if you purchased their last cd like I have, you'll know that maybe they should consider taking back all three of these guys.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.