Heaven and Hell
By Don Felder
- Release Date: 2009-05-04
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
The Eagles are the bestselling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever. Now band member and guitarist Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles’ years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes. He shares every part of the band’s wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms, and from the joy of writing powerful new songs to the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans.
Reviews
Truth
5By §3¥2It’s the age old story of pride, arrogance and greed. Well done!Excellent book
5By SqueezyGI am honestly not the biggest Eagles fan, while I do love their music, I wanted to find out the behind the scenes stories about such an iconic band, from one of its important members. Done before and after the Eagles lead a very honorable life, and his details about his time in the Eagles leaves no detail uncovered. Don is very honest and emotional about his experiences with the Eagles. Of course it is solely from his point of you, and you could see through his writing that there are definitely other sides to the story. At times Don can be his own worst enemy, trying to fight the two founding members of this band, even though he joined long before they were international superstars. Don deserves a lot of credit for shaping the classic eagle sound and cowriting such iconic songs as Hotel California. In the end he’s mostly self-aware about how his time in the Eagles came to an end. I truly enjoyed reading about Don’s life.Excellent behind the scenes of a rock star
4By Mike24315Great book detailing the behind the scenes of a classic rock group. The highs and lows and really lows. Interesting to see the addiction to the lifestyle and fame even while Henley and Frey were treating him coldly in those later years.Heaven and Hell
4By ElleskeyEnjoyed the great story of Don's journey!Dictators are not leaders
5By TerryMAnd the lesson we learn here is that Dictators are not Leaders. It's too bad that things had to end the way they did for the members of The Eagles that were not seen as the "chosen" ones. Great book, Don. I wish Randy would write one next. But I suspect he is (as you mentioned) a really nice person, and would not be comfortable telling the true tale of how people were treated. Shame that you, Bernie, and Randy (and later, Joe and Tim) were treated as extras or "hired guns" instead of as an equal. But that's band life for you. Happens in small time operations, too, unfortunately. Egos can be a bad, destructive thing. Thanks for sharing your story, it was insightful.Great book.
5By DigitalDLBought this after Glenn Frey's passing and watching the 3 hour documentary. This book along with the documentary provides an in depth look at The Eagles and accounts for one of "many" sides to a story... The book is well written and even the childhood chapters are enjoyable (I do notice these being quite boring in biographies, especially when you just want to get to the meat and potatoes). The chance and habitstance growing up in Gainesville is super interesting and once the Eagles come into the fold, prepare to burn through each chapter... A must read. Thank you Mr. Felder!Interesting
4By RobjondI found the book to be an interesting glimpse into an unforgettable period of time in my/the countries life. What a sad statement about greed and selfishness. The Eagles still include Don Felder, in my opinion. Without his brilliance on the guitar none of it would be possible....... Thanks for your honesty Mr. Felder.........I loved it...couldn't put it down. Very heart felt recollection.
5By Amy RobachDon Felder is a massive talent. He was missed in the line up as far as I was concerned. The music didn't sound the same. What a shame Henley and Frey had such massive egos that got in the way of the timeless music they all made. I felt for the other Eagles...Great Read...
5By Zoo Of You IIWonderful, inside look at my favorite band. What could they have accomplished if they had liked each other?Eagles fan from TX
5By LizHolleyAndersonNow I want Frey, Henley and Irv's side of the story. Slow start but keep reading. Very much enjoyed it.