History of the Eagles

“We made it, and it ate us,” says singer-guitarist-pianist Glenn Frey, who along with fellow interviewee singer-drummer Don Henley comprised the backbone of the legendary Southern California rock band the Eagles, a group that flourished in the ‘70s, owned the airwaves in the ‘80s (thanks to the newly created “classic rock” stations), and returned in the ‘90s. Directed by Allison Ellwood (with Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney serving as producer), the two-part Showtime-aired History of the Eagles charts the fascinating story of how Frey met Henley in 1970, formed a band together with Bernie Leadon on guitar/banjo and Randy Meisner on bass (all four worked together backing up Linda Ronstadt), and flew to England to record their eponymous 1972 debut, which featured two major hits—“Take It Easy” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” The rest, as they say, is history, and an interesting one at that. The country/bluegrass leaning Leadon would depart as the band moved more toward rock, followed by the non-confrontational Meisner (partially because he didn't want to perform “Take It to the Limit,” with its voice-challenging high notes). Guitarist Don Felder (the man who wrote the haunting opening music for “Hotel California”) would sign on, along with hotel-room-trasher extraordinaire Joe Walsh, and bass replacement Timothy B. Schmit. The hits would continue (in fact, the Eagles' greatest hits release would become the bestselling album of the 20th century), at least until Frey and Felder fought during a 1980 benefit concert for Senator Alan Cranston, which ultimately resulted in the group's break-up. Frey and Henley would launch solid solo careers (including Frey's “The Heat Is On” and Henley's “The Boys of Summer”) before the band re-formed in 1994 for the aptly-titled tour and album Hell Freezes Over, later going on to record their Grammy-winning 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden. Although interviewing all of the principals, the documentary spends little time on personal relationships (“Eagles trumped everything” says Frey), but it does include some wonderful ‘70s tidbits (Jackson Browne lived in a basement apartment below Frey, who heard “Doctor My Eyes” as it was being written), tales of the long-running love-hate relationship with media mogul David Geffen, and loads of wonderful music. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a bonus disc featuring a 1977 concert of the Eagles at Maryland's Capital Centre. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)