“In many ways, The Eagles experience was a microcosm of the late 20th century American dream and its descent into a nightmarish, coke-fuelled world that lacked a moral compass and in which freedom curdles into indulgence, idealism is soured by ego and the glamour and glory become tarnished with greed and excess. The voyage they took into this carnal world was reflected in their own lives and chronicled over six of the biggest-selling albums of all time, the first and last of which more or less bookended the Seventies, a decade they dominated with an imperious and terrifying arrogance.

The story is all there in the songs, and it take us from the breezy irresponsibility of ‘Take It Easy’, ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ and ‘New Kid In Town’ to the festering disillusionment, post-high disenchantment and grumbling discontent of ‘Take It To The Limit’, ‘Life In The Fast Lane’, ‘Hotel California’ and ‘After The Thrill Is Gone’. Which it truly had by that fateful July night in Long Beach, when what was left of a band that had for many come to represent everything that was corrupt, bloated and obnoxious about the music business walked on stage for their final show . .

Now, even as they were playing their greatest hits to this adoring crowd in their adopted state, there was bad blood pounding in their blistered veins and their fucked-up brains. Frantically, sound engineers rushed to shut down Glen Frey’s microphone so the crowd wouldn’t be able to hear the violent threats he was making to fellow guitarist Don Felder, promising to inflict serious injury on him as soon as the show was over. Felder, who wasn’t overly intimidated, returned Frey’s abuse and, as soon as they were off stage, the entire band were at each other like jackals, intent on tearing themselves apart. Which they did, with some success.

Frey was soon on a flight to Hawaii to recover from what he described as a ‘nine-year fame and fortune bender’. Henley spoke of his ‘horrible relief’ at the split and spent the next two years as a virtual recluse. The dream was over, the beast was finally dead.”

- “Take It To The Limit,” Uncut, August 2002

User Comments - Add a Comment