Customer Reviews:
 Fingers Felder Hits the Mark November 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I grew up listening to the Eagles and kind of felt that I "knew" the band members through their music. Turns out I didn't know them at all. Don "Fingers" Felder really was the soul of the Eagles, and I think he did an outstanding job with this book, telling his story and, in the process, the story of the Eagles.
We learn about Felder's childhood poverty, his instinctive musical ability, the friendships he forged and the dreams he approached cautiously. He gives band member Bernie Leadon props not only for his totally underrated contributions to the band, but also for being the one who put Felder in the right place at the right time and for his long-time friendship.
Felder's tale reveals the dark side of the California rock sound of the Seventies, the greed, excess, deception and especially the egos. We learn how Randy Meisner was pushed out of the group and how Felder himself was unceremoniously given his walking papers. We also learn about the massive egos of Frey and Henley and the shabby way they treated others (and one another) once their success got to their heads.
Felder was no angel, but he never forgot the friends who helped him on his rise to the top, including his ex-wife. I found this book to be really spot on. After all, it's Felder's story, and he's calling it the way he sees it. He did a fine job of giving fans a rare glimpse into the strange inner workings of the Eagles, and for that I'm grateful. Rock on, Fingers.
 Good Biography October 31, 2008
The book recounts Don's youth and provides a good perspective on his early years and what influenced him. The book keeps you consistenly interested in reading on as well. He points out that the Eagles were a high stressed, high ego band before his arrival. I would recommend the book if you are an Eagles fan.
So Often Times It Happens That We Live Our Life In Chains October 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well written and even-handed. Felder spends a lot of the book complimenting Frey and Henley for their considerable songwriting and performing skills. Henley doesn't get quite as burned as Frey. Felder makes it clear Henley is a controlling perfectionist, but that it is good for the music and the final product. Frey on the other hand is portrayed as an egotistical sadist who enjoys being cruel and controlling to those around him (except for Henley). Starting with the third album, Don Felder's guitar work and song contributions are an intregal part of the Eagles sound and success, but he was always treated like a session player by Frey and Henley, a.k.a. "The Gods." Manager Irv Azoff isn't much help, as he divides his interest between the lucrative Henley Frey camp and the "sidemen" camp (which ironically also includes the ultra-talented Joe Walsh). The financial picture becomes more and more unbalanced as the Eagles get more profitable, and Walsh and Schmidt seem to go with the flow. Only Felder objects and questions the ever shifting arrangement to "The Gods" favor, and in the end gets fired for his effort.
All the background of Felder's life and the network of California musicians, and how Felder finally got the call from the Eagles, is very interesting. From a musician's perspective, I could really relate to Felder and what he went through. It's tough dealing with entertainers who are "on" all the time, and can't seem to turn it "off" even behind the scenes in how they work with others. I don't think Felder is going for sympathy with this book, because he obviously made some poor personal decisions and rode an unhealthy situation longer than he should have perhaps. But the book does confirm what a lot of us probably suspected: Don Henley and Glenn Frey are two of the most egotistical, arrogant, callous, and condescending people in pop music.
 Hotel Bitterness October 24, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I did find Don Felder's Early years very interesting. I love reading about how talented people develop and who they meet along the way.
To think that he played with a young Tom Petty, The Allmans, Crosby , Stills and Nash is great.
There is no doubt that He was quite talented, and rose like a comet in the musical world as a guitarist.
Here is where i have problems with his book.
No matter how you slice it, writing the opening chords to Hotel California is pretty much this man's sole contribution to The Eagle's. Yes, he was instrumental ( no pun intended) in their sound, Yes hes a great musician, but even IF Frey and Henley are as controlling and miserable and greedy as he depicts, they would have wanted to use whatever Don had that was good. For two decades he was an equal partner in that group. Its unfortunate for him that he really was outshone by stronger talent, but that IS what happened. Who cares that they were controlling or neurotic?
Throughout the book Don pays lip service to loyalities with his band mates but always looks out for number one. Then is amazed when his bandmates dont stick up for him.
He spends most of his marriage on the road, and his wife raises the kids largely on her own. After he comes back down to earth and is disenchanted with the Road and the Eagle's he wants to play daddy and husband and is floored when they have moved on.
This is a classic case of someone who showed great early promise,
who coulda been a contender,
but he simply didnt have the all around talent, drive or charisma of a Don Henley
or a Tom Petty, Or anyone else he worked and played with. Joe Walsh managed to strike out a name for himself more than Felder did.
Don Felder was hired to be the "fingers"
he was.
His problem is that he wanted what he couldnt have and what he proposed to not want,
individual accolades and a higher talent.
Yes, Henley and Frey edged him out, but only after he kept trying to sue, and stop the group from doing anything that he didnt have complete say in.
I, like the band, ended up just wanting this man to shut up and play.
life in the American Dream...you can check out but you can never leave! October 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved this book for the first 3/4's of it, the last 1/4 gets a demoted star because it gets a little whiny as we see our rock star go through what seems like a mid-life crisis. But I love the Eagles, always have and this book gives you all the fascinating details as Don Felder sees it. It is a fascinating story as Don goes from a dirt-poor kid in Gainseville FL where his father introduces him to music and encourages him to learn guitar. Some pretty incredible artists in Gainesville around that time as a high school kid he plays with a yong Steven Stills, a young Tom Petty auditions for the band also Don becomes friends with Duane Allman. Eventually after years of struggle in FL, New York and Boston, Bernie Leadon finally convinces him to come out west where it is all happening, so Don takes his girl(wife to be Susan) and dog and heads to LA. As fate would have it he auditions for a young band that is trying to expand it's horizons from country rock to more harder rock 'n roll. Fingers as the band leaders later call him blows them away and he is asked to join the Eagles! The rest is rock n' roll history and Don Felder lets it all hang out in this absorbing book that was initially banned in the US. Loved it! Made me go home after work and put on an old Eagles LP on my turntable and grab my kids hands and dance a lil jig. This is the music of the soundtrack of our generation and it still sounds so good. It must be from THE GODS!
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