Chris Hillman says he admired the early line-up of the Eagles, but lost interest in the band after Bernie Leadon left.  The former Byrds member told the Calgary Herald that Leadon's departure marked the start of what he calls the '...almost paint by numbers' version of the Eagles, which he describes as becoming a band with '...no improvisation',  in which, '... everything was perfect, but there was no soul.'  Hillman, now touring with Herb Pederson, contends that the Byrds deserve credit for starting Country Rock, saying, 'Gram Parsons and I defined it in the Flying Burrito Brothers and handed it off to the Eagles.'  He claims Glenn Frey would come out and 'study' the Burrito Brothers when they played in LA for the ideas the Eagles '...took to the bank.'
CalgaryHerald.com