Felder Interviews and promotions

[WalshFan88]

I think Felder is mechanical where as Joe puts a lot of emotion in

I think Felder puts emotion in, but he's more reserved and has a really schooled theory-based approach to playing guitar. To put it simply, he's a technician. Joe is a very bluesy emotion-filled guitar player that plays from the heart and really is all over the place, in a good way. Some might call it sloppy, I just call it raw.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

A good interview with Don. He talks in more detail how he and Joe's parts in HC were written and recorded.

http://www.wcbe.org/post/conversatio...ian-don-felder

[WalshFan88]

Very nice... The iconic duel!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Yep - I still don't get why Joe wasn't given a songwriting credit for his contributions on the song. But, it doesn't seem to bother Joe, so I guess it shouldn't bother me. The band would certainly know more about it than me, that's for sure. I would just like to hear someone specifically address this when they talk about it, that's all.

[chaim]

Yep - I still don't get why Joe wasn't given a songwriting credit for his contributions on the song. But, it doesn't seem to bother Joe, so I guess it shouldn't bother me. The band would certainly know more about it than me, that's for sure. I would just like to hear someone specifically address this when they talk about it, that's all.

If you mean Hotel California, Joe didn't contribute anything to the actual composition. Usually you don't get a credit for adding a part like that "duel" to a song. Being a KISS fan, I like to use KISS examples, so I may have mentioned this before. The main riff in some of Paul Stanley's early songs (Black Diamond, Firehouse, Love Her All I Can) were written by Simmons, but the songs had otherwise already been written by Stanley. Simmons came up with a bassline for himself to play, but Stanley and Frehley started to play those lines too with guitars. So those basslines eventually became the main hooks of those songs. Yet Simmons didn't feel that he actually contributed to the composition, so he didn't feel that he should've been credited. On the other hand, it seems that some other musicians cry for a credit even for a drum fill. But, I think, most of the time you're not credited when you add some instrumental part on top of a composition.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Thanks for the explanation, chaim. I understand, but I guess I'm one that feels that anyone who makes a significant contribution to a song should be given credit. And to me, Joe's contribution to the end of Hotel California is a pretty significant part of the song. But, as I said, I've never heard Joe complain, and he sure knows a lot more about it than me.

[sodascouts]

Thanks for giving us an expert perspective, chaim. The nuances of songwriting credits may be difficult for those of us not involved in it to understand, but the way you explain it makes sense.

[WalshFan88]

Yeah I'm not too surprised he didn't get a credit for it but it is a HUGE part of the solo and it's cool that Felder gives him credit for that part of the song.

[Turf]

I've always found the practices surrounding song-writing credits as they relate to guitar solos and riffs to be a bit baffling. Every once in a while there are these subjects that get analyzed from a legal perspective and somewhere between the subject's domain (music, in this case) and the legal domain, something seems to get lost. I've had similar feelings regarding some of the legalities surrounding software licensing.

So, for example, you [reader] and I could start a band. We call it the Beagles, since we plan to cover a lot of Beatles and Eagles songs (of course!). But, we're also going to write some stuff of our own. To begin our songwriting effort, I present a verse and chorus based on incredibly basic chord progressions (something like G - C - D). The bass plays the roots of the chords, the drummer uses cliche beats, I scribble down some lyrics about being taken advantage of by unscrupulous women and voila, we have our first single which we call Cardio Kleptomania.

Sadly, it's a bit lacking, so we extend the verse chord progression two thirds through the song and ask you to record a guitar solo, which you do enthusiastically (you're an awesome bandmate).

In true Justin Bieber, Never-Say-Never fashion, our first song skyrockets to the top of itunes and overnight we get 40,000,000 twitter followers (move over Lady Gaga), crashing twitter in the process. A bit to my dismay, as we start to hear feedback about the song and come to realize that its strength is neither my I-IV-V chord progression (who'd a thunk?) nor the picture painted by the lyrics describing my history of dysfunctional relationships (from my youth, of course...), but rather, everybody loooooves the guitar solo.

Yes, Guitar World publishes an emergency issue just to declare your solo the best ever written. Rolling Stone Magazine puts us on the cover (I buy five copies ... for my mother). In a rare act of bipartisanship, Congress passes a resolution (now that's an accomplishment...) declaring the day on which Cardio Kleptomania was released as "National Guitar Solo Day." In episodes somewhat reminiscent of Ewan McGregor's near exit from the world of acting, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and a whole host of other notable guitarists declare that they are no longer going to play guitar, each explaining him or herself with the same rhetorical question: "What's the point?"

And here's the kicker... You don't even have any writing credits on the song!

Of course, you could have writing credit if band agreed to it. But much of the conventional wisdom on the subject is that just adding a guitar solo is not sufficient enough of a contribution to be credited. I can understand a fill here and there, but a guitar solo? Really?!

Anyway, here is an interesting article on the subject.

[Prettymaid]

Turf, I'm not sure what my thoughts are on song writing credits for guitar soloists, but your whole Beagles band story had me cracking up! Thanks for that!