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View Full Version : How would you rank Felder's voice?



travlnman2
03-18-2016, 09:40 PM
He's obviously no Don Henley or Glenn Frey or Randy Meisner. But as Felder admitted "there're is no way of comparing my vocal to Don Henley's vocal." But how would you rank it?. From a 1 being a guy at a drunken frat party to a 10 being a Frank Sinatra.

https://youtu.be/4L9_SuxikKM

Scarlet Sun
03-18-2016, 09:58 PM
He's obviously no Don Henley or Glenn Frey or Randy Meisner. But as Felder admitted "there're is no way of comparing my vocal to Don Henley's vocal." But how would you rank it?. From a 1 being a guy at a drunken frat party to a 10 being a Frank Sinatra.

https://youtu.be/4L9_SuxikKM

7, still good enough to sing a releasable "Victim of Love"

Freypower
03-18-2016, 11:19 PM
About 5 if I am generous. He can carry a tune but he can't sell a song. My opinion.

chaim
03-19-2016, 01:28 AM
I like his voice, so it's somewhere around 7. But the way he sings sounds like he's just singing the words and melody without feeling anything. Actually it would be easier to judge him as a singer if he was singing live and not with a backing track.

WalshFan88
03-19-2016, 02:36 AM
Pretty well. I think he's a 7 or 8. Not DH or GF, but not as bad as the guys made it sound.

I think he should have sang on more songs, but in the case of VOL it just fits Henley's voice so well that I'd still likely prefer it.

I like his voice on his records and in his live shows from what I've seen of them on YouTube.

He has a very smooth voice, a little on the soft side where as IMO GF had more twang and punch in his voice and DH had more of a high raspy but still smooth voice I think.

maryc2130
03-19-2016, 08:13 AM
About 5 if I am generous. He can carry a tune but he can't sell a song. My opinion.

Completely agree, FP.

I also agree with WalshFan on VOL. It not only fits Henley's voice, Don ROCKS the song. Also, the song wouln't be nearly as good without the awesome lyrics, mostly written by DH. I think the Eagles absolutely made the right choice in having DH record it. Maybe Felder should have gotten his own song to sing, but a song like VOL doesn't suit his (less strong) voice, IMHO.

UndertheWire
03-19-2016, 09:03 AM
Maybe a 4. I agree that he can carry a tune but he lacks expression. I also don't like the tone of his voice. It would be ok for a bar band and for backing vocals but when performing live, he really should let one of his band sing lead.

Glennhoney
03-19-2016, 09:39 AM
Maybe a 4. I agree that he can carry a tune but he lacks expression. I also don't like the tone of his voice. It would be ok for a bar band and for backing vocals but when performing live, he really should let one of his band sing lead.

I have to agree...he's no soloist..

buffyfan145
03-19-2016, 10:03 AM
I agree that he can sing but it was more suited for backing vocals and not a lead. Plus, he was able to hit more lower notes in "Seven Bridges Road" for the baritone/bass part of their 5-part harmonies in that song.

AlreadyGone95
03-19-2016, 10:28 AM
I'd say a 5 or 6. It's decent, but not great.

MortSahlFan
03-19-2016, 10:32 AM
I like "Visions" but as I listen to him sing live now, not so great. Better than Walsh, so he's not the worst, but Eagles have/had a lot of great singers.

Ive always been a dreamer
03-19-2016, 01:17 PM
I'd put him around a 6. He can sing better than me for sure and I'd rate him at slightly above average. However, I also agree with others that his vocals are better suited for backup and harmonies rather than lead and his voice doesn't have that 'it' factor. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what 'it' is, but perhaps 'it' does have to do with tone and the way he emotes in a song. This is probably also why I prefer Joe's vocals over Felder's. Joe has a unique quality, tone, and expressiveness to his voice that I enjoy.

Funk 50
03-19-2016, 06:19 PM
Better than Walsh, so he's not the worst, but ...
There are very few Walsh songs that I'd prefer to hear somebody else singing and he sings quite a variety of styles on his solo LPs. More recently though, I've found some of his vocals excruciating. Maybe he's spent too long singing the same dozen or so songs over and over again. Not mentioning his considerable talent as a harmony singer.

In Felder's case, every one of his songs would be improved by having a better vocalist. In my opinion, he can sing in tune but he can't deliver a lyric.

sodascouts
03-19-2016, 08:33 PM
He can hit the notes, but his voice is generic; it lacks character and distinctiveness. I call it the "bar band" voice - someone whose voice is good enough to front a band playing the local bars, but who doesn't stand out. Joe's voice is not the greatest but it DOES have character, which is why I think most people enjoy his vocals regardless of whether or not he hits all the notes.

I'd give Felder a 6.

Re: the backing track - I give Felder a bit of a break for that. He has to play a lot of complex guitar parts and doing that while singing must be incredibly difficult.

jms18222
03-20-2016, 12:54 PM
As a vocalist he makes a fantastic guitar player. I find his voice vanilla, nothing to really hate but nothing special either. VOL would have been filler if he had sung lead. As with any team you have to play with your strength. Henley & Frey were the strength vocally.

WS82Classics
03-22-2016, 07:05 PM
5. Suited best to background vocals. Not so much to lead vocals, though "Visions" is still a great song.

Brooke
03-23-2016, 10:28 AM
Maybe a 4. I agree that he can carry a tune but he lacks expression. I also don't like the tone of his voice. It would be ok for a bar band and for backing vocals but when performing live, he really should let one of his band sing lead.

I would agree with this. Even fronting his own band, I don't think he has much presence.

Freypower
03-23-2016, 05:59 PM
What he should perhaps have done is emulate Steve Hackett, who never pretended to be a singer (remember Glenn's acid line in HOTE that Felder 'wasn't a singer')? He could just have hired people to do the singing while he played guitar. Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited show worked really well in this regard. However, Steve has an extensive catalogue of his own. Felder does not.

TW
03-23-2016, 06:20 PM
i'd give him a solid 6

Lifeofillusion
03-23-2016, 07:45 PM
Felder's voice is a whole lot better than mine. ;)

I'd rate his voice a 5. If I'm buying a ticket to see him perform, it's because of his guitar skills not his voice.

OntheBorder74
03-24-2016, 09:18 AM
Been on a break from the border lately but this is an interesting debate, I'd give a generous 6. It's all been said he can definitely sing but he lacks the feeling and expression and also the uniqueness that Tim, Joe and of course don and glenn have. Those guys could bring subtle nuances to different songs and many different styles but with Felder it is a tad bit generic but I think during his show its fine as long as it doesn't get in the way of his guitar playing in which he is a solid 10.

Jonny Come Lately
03-24-2016, 11:22 AM
He can hit the notes, but his voice is generic; it lacks character and distinctiveness. I call it the "bar band" voice - someone whose voice is good enough to front a band playing the local bars, but who doesn't stand out. Joe's voice is not the greatest but it DOES have character, which is why I think most people enjoy his vocals regardless of whether or not he hits all the notes.

I'd give Felder a 6.

I totally agree with you Soda, that's exactly how I feel. I can listen to him sing alright, he does an okay job and there are singers who I'd say have better voices on record than him who I find worse to hear live than him, but his voice just doesn't stand out from the crowd, let alone compared to Don H, Glenn or Randy. For instance, I have seen videos of him singing One of These Nights, and while the song is brilliant and I love his guitar work, the vocals just can't match the superb high vocals by Don H and Randy on the original. I'm sure I'd enjoy Don Felder's solo show, if he came to the UK, but I'd love it because of the songs (I will admit that had I been lucky enough to the see the Eagles live I probably wouldn't be quite so keen) and his guitar playing, not the vocals. I think character is the main quality I look for in a voice, rather than their ability as such. Felder's voice doesn't have that, so I find he just sounds like a competent but generic guitar rock vocalist.

Without wanting to digress too much, I must admit a lot of the vocalists who I most enjoy hear sing are technically far from being the best but have very distinctive voices. Joe's voice certainly falls into this category, it suits his songs and persona well. Don Henley is a better singer than him, but he can never be an 'Ordinary Average Guy', so I personally don't think he could sing PMAIAR or Life's Been Good quite the way Joe does. Likewise, I personally love Bob Dylan's voice (please don't shoot!) - he may not have the 'nicest' singest voice, but again, I think he has the perfect voice for many of his songs, such as the acerbic 'Ballad of A Thin Man', the humorous 'Highway 61 Revisited' and the melancholy 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'. By contrast, going to the opposite extreme, while I can acknowledge the technical ability of singers like Celine Dion, I simply find her voice grating. Similarly, I also find I can only take so much of Adele. I accept a lot of people will probably strongly disagree and I am fine with that.

DJ
03-24-2016, 10:08 PM
Correct Soda on generic. No particular quality you can distinguish such as Don H, Glenn and Randy.

NOLA
03-25-2016, 08:44 AM
Felder's voice is a whole lot better than mine. ;)
I'd rate his voice a 5. If I'm buying a ticket to see him perform, it's because of his guitar skills not his voice.

I agree with all of this - same applies here.

Annoying Twit
05-23-2016, 07:52 AM
I agree with many of the comments here.

Just one extra thing. Is there autotune on his "Road to Forever" album?

Possibly there is some on "I believe in you". I'm not against autotune, but I think that his vocals have been heavily processed at least, if not autotuned.

EDIT: Auto-tune mentioned by Chaim on the album thread: https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/forum/search.php?searchid=480482