Thursday , March 28 2024
The History of The Eagles is a fascinating look at one of America's most popular bands over the last 40 years.

DVD Reivew: The History of The Eagles (3 DVD Set)

It has been 40 years since The Eagles first began to bring us top-notch music with great songwriting and marvelous harmonies, and so it is appropriate that this 3-DVD set has been released to chronicle the history of this group.

Perhaps more than any other group, The Eagles personified American rock and roll in the 70’s, and that is very apparent on the first disc, which will fascinate Eagles fans and fans of rock music history alike. It’s all there..the life on the road, vintage concert and interview footage, drugs, sex and rock and roll. Parents should be aware that this disc does have brief full frontal female nudity when a fan joins the band on stage minus her clothes, and also very brief nudity in a hotel scene. The groupie scene, however, is not dwelled upon, and, aside from Joe Walsh, most of the issues the band faced seem to have had to do with disagreements about music and who sang what. Glenn Frey seems to be the one that other musicians in the band often butted heads with.

The film does capture the highs and the lows of The Eagles’ experience, not only the times when they fought but the times when they had fun. Ultimately, however, The Eagles did break up in 1980, without a lot of fanfare.

The second DVD covers what happened after the band broke up, including Don Henley and Glenn Frey’s very successful solo careers and Joe Walsh’s descent into the very darkest type of alcoholism and cocaine addiction, which luckily only lasted until the 1994 reunion, when he promised to get straight and did. The DVD then goes on to cover the Hell Freezes Over tour, induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and continuing success of the group to the present.

The third DVD is an Eagles concert from 1977 which is a total treat and clearly illustrates how good these guys were from early in their career.

Don Henley states in the film that The Eagles are “that rarest of things in America, a second act.” Despite all the expected excesses and attitudes, the reason for that is the same reason that we care about The Eagles’ history and enjoy these discs: they have always been really good musicians making timeless music.

About Rhetta Akamatsu

I am an author of non-fiction books and an online journalist. My books include Haunted Marietta, The Irish Slaves, T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Blues Women Past and Present, Southern Crossroads: Georgia Bluesand Sex Sells: Women in Photography and Film.

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