I agree that Felder is an amazing guitar player, and he certainly contributed A LOT to the band...
Having said that, there was great Eagles music before he joined the band, and great new songs after his departure (LROOE).
I agree that Felder is an amazing guitar player, and he certainly contributed A LOT to the band...
Having said that, there was great Eagles music before he joined the band, and great new songs after his departure (LROOE).
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Suzanne
-Austin-
Resident Guitar Slinger
Fan of the Eagles from 1972-2016 #NOGLENNNOEAGLES
RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."
Felder and Walsh are outstanding guitarists, but Bernie Leadon is the architect of the Eagles guitar sound.
High up on his own, the Eagle flies alone and he is free...
First of all, it’s good to know that Joe and Felder have ‘mended fences’ so to speak. I have said this many times that I think Felder’s presence is missed in the Eagles’ live shows. However, I am only basing this opinion on watching bootlegs and DVDs since, unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see him live. He did seem to bring a certain energy to the shows, and I always love watching the interaction between him and Joe.
I think it is natural for someone who is a huge fan of a particular artist to want to give them their props about their contributions to their bands. But in the case of the Eagles, I repeat that I don’t believe there is any one member, past or present, that is responsible for the band’s sound, songs, or success. Frey and Henley generally get most of the credit, and deservingly so, IMHO. They are the two that have been in the trenches throughout the band’s history and they wrote and/or sang most of the songs. However, even they have stated that the success of the Eagles is not attributable to any one member. Each band member has offered a unique contribution that none of the others matched, but I think a lot of that is because the band kept changing their sound and recorded so many different types of music. So, while Bernie and Glenn may have defined the band’s country rock guitar sound, Felder and Walsh came along at exactly the right time to replace them as the band’s guitar gods. Although some of you may not agree, I’ll go so far as to say I think that had the band not made the switch from country rock and successfully experimented with different musical styles, they probably would not have achieved the longevity and legendary status that they now enjoy.
"People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016
+1
Well said Dreamer. I fully respect Leadon and his contributions and think he is a great guitarist (especially country guitar), but I much prefer the Hotel California or even Long Run lineup, HC being my favorite. But I'm a rock n' roll guy at heart. I like some country if there is rock with it. My favorite albums from the Eagles reflect that. For instance, most of you know that Hotel California is my favorite Eagles album and Desperado is my least favorite Eagles album. But that's just me. EACH and EVERY member has brought something great to the band.
I miss Felder's presence - but I still like to go to the shows and enjoy them. Stu is a great player. But I definitely want to catch Felder solo. I miss seeing him with Joe (from videos and things). Christchurch is my favorite DVD of the Eagles and I love watching Walsh and Felder trade guitar licks and have fun.
-Austin-
Resident Guitar Slinger
Fan of the Eagles from 1972-2016 #NOGLENNNOEAGLES
RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."
I read this thread yesterday and meant to come back and reply to it.
Eagles are have really been two pretty distinct bands during their original hey-day. From 70 to around 74 or so, they were introducing the Country Rock sound to the world. They didn't "invent it" but did make it "marketable". During that time, Bernie Leadon along with Glenn Frey did indeed "define" the "Eagles Sound".
But there was a transitional time there in 75 and 76 when the powers that be brought in Felder and later Walsh to add a heaver Rock mood to the Eagles Music. Then from 77 (late 76) they became known as a Rock & Roll band more so than Country Rock.
They were HUGE in all of these manifestations.
MikeA
You're right on all counts MikeA. Over the years, I've always missed the personnel that left, but the Eagles as an entity have always been intriguing lyrically and powerful musically. I'm not a big country fan, so the swerve into rock suited me fine. Then adding my bud Joe was great. I'd love to see a Felder/Walsh combo show. I missed gettting to see live- toe-to-toe, fret-to-fret, smirk-to-smirk, duking it out as Eagles live. What excellent listening that'd be...
Good morning my ...
~Deb~
-Austin-
Resident Guitar Slinger
Fan of the Eagles from 1972-2016 #NOGLENNNOEAGLES
RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."
I usually get annoyed when I see "Felder made the Eagles sound" kind of comments in the internet, but if I see this kind of comments here, they don't annoy me, because I know that the person who says so, knows that Felder wasn't on the first two albums and wasn't there for most of On the Border...(and therefore has thought about it, and really feels so and doesn't just go with the "yeah yeah Felder yeah!!!" flow that seems to be going 'round at least on YouTube) There are many people, however, who do think that he was there from "Eagles" to "The long run"...
Anyway, someone might say that "New kid in town" wouldn't be what it is without Don's electric guitar parts, and I would agree. But someone might also say that "Lyin' eyes" wouldn't be what it is without Bernie's lead guitar parts. Once again I'd agree. Someone might say that Glenn's slide guitar licks at the end of "Midnight flyer" really take the song to another level. I would agree again. Or how about Glenn's harmony guitar parts on "One of these nights"?
All of those guitarists did something great guitar-wise on those albums. Not just Don Felder. Also, often when I see people praise Don Felder as an Eagles guitarist, the example given is "I can't tell you why", although when they hear the studio version, they hear Glenn playing those leads. (I don't mean this forum. People here know it's Glenn on the album.) "Would these people praise the leads in this song if they knew for sure that it's Glenn on the album?". This is the question I often ask myself.
Don Felder was great, but let us not underestimate the guitar contributions from the other fellows.
Last edited by chaim; 03-20-2011 at 01:48 PM.