The Eagles are an interesting taste. If you like laid-back California country-rock, then they might be the band for you. If you like something with a bit more spunk and energy, they aren't. Don Henley and friends are the epitome of yacht rock.
But when they started as a band, hardly anyone knew who they were. This isn't their fault, as this is the case for any band. Sure, there might be a small group of loyal followers from wherever the band started playing, but to the rest of the world, they are an unknown.
When the Eagles began touring, they were paired with some groups who sounded nothing like them. An agent told them who they were going on the road with and when they needed to be somewhere. If a band wants to get their music out, then they must do what they are told.
Jethro Tull and the Eagles made for an unkind mix
This meant the Eagles were the opening band for groups like Procol Harum and Yes. Maybe Procol Harum and the Eagles somewhat co-exist in the musical spectrum, but Yes and Henley and his mates don't. One is pure rock experimentation, and the other is as simplified as possible.
Another group the Eagles toured with was Jethro Tull. Unlike Yes and Procol Harum, who Don Henley told Classic Rock were both very nice to the band, Jethro Tull and the Eagles didn't get along. At all.
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson said, "By the time the tour began, (the Eagles) were becoming very well known...They didn’t enjoy the tour - they seemed rather remote. I remember them being kind of laid back, country rock music...We didn’t really talk to them. I don't think they liked us, and we didn't really like them that much either."
Henley echoed those thoughts and said, "It was due to an agent who didn’t really care whether the groups had anything in common or not. He said, ‘You’re gonna open for this group called Jethro Tull, and we went, ‘Uh, OK.’"
Of course, Tull still has avid followers, but the global scope of their popularity pales in comparison to the Eagles. That doesn't mean Don Henley and the rest of his band were making better music because they weren't. They were creating music that was far more easily digestible by the masses.
The Eagles appeared to never tour with Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, though. That would certainly have been an interesting mix. Maybe there would have been kindness involved (or not).