This is both interesting and IMO sad. I got this album and gave it a spin yesterday : https://www.amazon.com/Live-at-Foru...rds=eagle+vinyl+records&qid=1651938624&sr=8-4 There are ten songs on it, the best is Randy Meisner doing "Take It To The Limit" and the worst is "Hotel California". I did some research and learned that the album was recorded from what started as a two night concert ( but grew to four nights ) were the Eagles were trying out some new songs for the upcoming album "Hotel California". The other thing I noticed was where is Don Felder in the photographs used on the album cover and liners. It turns out the he was removed because of the hatred between him and Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Here are the photos taken at the concert. Inglewood Forum Eagles concerts 1976 - Randy Meisner Hearts On Fire It is so sad to see stuff like this happen.
The Eagles were “on” during those shows, one of the best live bands of their era. The frustrating thing is that they recorded three concerts, and only released 49 minutes as part of this release. Felder is omitted from the picture because of his ongoing feud with The Eagles camp, maybe it is petty, maybe it had something to do with image and likeness concerns, but either way, the reality is that he probably won’t be recognized in that manner for years to come. It does not matter, his lead guitar work is all over the recordings and that is what matters. Hopefully the band releases more from this classic era. Finally, I disagree that Hotel California is the weak link here, the song was new and fresh for the band, still unreleased, and they nailed it. Imagine being in the crowd hearing that soon-to-be-released classic for the first time?
I agree that the Eagles are a great live band and I consider the Henley, Frey, Meisner, Felder and Walsh line-up their best ever. I would also love to see more from this era released, although it would be nice to not have it censored. I understand that they were still working on Hotel California, but the intro and the guitar work through out the song was not as good as what made it onto the final version. OTOH, New Kid In Town came across much better.
I'm sure it has to do with them actually getting an approval for the use of his likeness. Something Felder at this point would more than likely use to increase his royalty percentage and likely not just for this release. I could easily see Henley just thinking, "crop him out."
The performances are great but I agree that it should have been at least a double album. It feels incomplete in the worst possible way. I’m glad I bought it but I’m not convinced that I’ll play it again due to the fact that it sounds like a commercial for an album that probably isn’t ever coming out.
I agree it (and the 1977 Capitol Centre live concert) is way too short. It’s odd there is no official live performance of “Life in the Fast Lane” from this line-up.
Listening to the CD again now, deciding if I want the vinyl as well. cB's involvement makes it tempting.
Glad I did bite. Flat, black slabs with absolutely no skips or pops ( Optimal ) and that trademark Bellman bottom end. Very nice.
Very odd indeed. There are a lot of classic Eagles songs professionally recorded from the 1976 line-up that have yet to see the light of day, this LA Forum release was the perfect opportunity. With respect to the 1977 Capitol Centre concert, my understanding is that the footage is not complete. It could be complete b.s., but I thought Azoff said only footage for certain songs was captured back in the day and they released as much as they could with the History of The Eagles DVD. Not sure if I believe it, but allegedly that is the case.
I got this vinyl set last year, unaware that it was issue in the Hotel California box set years ago. I liked it. Would recommend it. I do hate when they leave a side blank and i Think side 4 here is blank.
My understanding is that only a certain limited number of songs were recorded from the Capitol Centre concert in ‘77, which is a real shame and lost opportunity. They supposedly filmed the performances then got rid of the cameras and went on with the rest of the concert. Henley has claimed there is nothing left in the vault, but I have my doubts about that.
Yeah, that is the story, but I am skeptical of it. At the very least I suspect the audio for the entire Capital Centre was captured. Also, there is plenty left in the vaults, plenty of live tapes. There may not be a ton of finished studio outtakes, but there is roughly half an album of unreleased Glyn Johns recordings from On The Border, the Felder vocal for Victim of Love, plus a lot of music recorded during The Long Run. The Eagles have material, Henley just doesn’t want it out there.
Listening to this on vinyl now, and it's a superb sounding pressing. I also noticed that Don Felder's been magically removed from all of the photographs in the packaging. A shame, but his fantastic playing is all over the record - nothing they can do about that!
I’ve gotta say, as I looked through the artwork for the album, the hamfisted way that Felder was completely cropped out of all of the pictures comes off as petty and vindictive (although I’m not sure on whose part, exactly - Don Felder’s or Irving Azoff/Don Henley). As one example, here’s an original picture taken from one of the live performances: …and here’s the version of the same picture they used for one of the inner sleeves wherein Mr. Felder pulls a Houdini: The whole album design is like that. Here’s a “group shot” used for the second inner sleeve: I realize they’ve had their differences, but this seems silly - are we all supposed to forget they were a 5-piece when this album was recorded?
This is a classic example that being really good a one thing does not mean you cannot be a complete dumba$$ about something else!
Airbrushing Felder out of The Eagles history is downright childish. Henley and probably Azoff are acting like a scorned ex-wife. Get Over It!
