Felder!

[EaglesKiwi]

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).

[Freypower]

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. To me the Eagles became successful primarily because of their songs.

[WalshFan88]

Here is my .02c on it, from a guitarist's perspective... Just my opinion here.

Felder is a GREAT guitar player. Very, very underrated IMO. I love his guitar licks and his style, technique, and tone. I also think he brought a LOT of good things to the Eagles, including my favorite song of all time (Hotel California). He without a doubt made significant contributions to the band, no denying it.

I also think it is a darn shame that it "went down the way it did". I, too, miss Felder. I have seen the band post-Felder (I didn't get a chance to see them with Felder) and I have to say, it was still a really enjoyable concert for me. Stu (Steuart Smith) is a great guitarist too, who can copy Felder's licks note for note, but even I will admit, even though it's note for note, that tone and soul of Felder's playing style is still missed for me. But again, I loved the concert and is without a doubt the best concert I've ever been too. I didn't dwell on Felder not being there. But of course I would have loved to see them with Felder on the HFO tour. I would have loved that. But I enjoyed my show.

I have full intentions of catching a Felder solo show when he comes to Central Illinois. I would love to get his autograph and talk guitars with him for a bit. He is a true guitar god. Just like my personal favorite Eagle, Joe Walsh. Joe is my favorite guitarist of all time and my personal hero for guitar and life. Joe Walsh (and Felder to a degree) is the reason I started playing guitar and even played in an Eagles tribute band for almost 3 years. I sorely miss that band.

That is my own opinion on Felder. He is an amazing guitarist, no doubt. I DO miss him with the Eagles, but I can't go as far to say they are nothing without him, as I've seen a show post-Felder and while I missed his style and tone, the concert was the best I've been too. Again, I didn't get to see a show with Felder but I really enjoyed the concert I went to. But I agree, it would be great if Felder could rejoin the Eagles, but as others have said, that will be when Hell Freezes Over 3 or more times I'm afraid. It was a bitter ending and unfortunately that bridge has been burned I'm afraid. I don't see it happening.

Just a guitar player's opinion on Felder and his contributions to the Eagles.

One thing I want to add to this is the fact I think Walsh and Felder brought out the best in each other. I loved seeing them play and it seems like they "fed" musically off of one another.

[GettheLeadonOut!!]

Felder and Walsh are outstanding guitarists, but Bernie Leadon is the architect of the Eagles guitar sound.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

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.

[WalshFan88]

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.

+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.

[MikeA]

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.

[jdubfan]

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...

[WalshFan88]

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...

I agree. A combo show would be great. Don't know if it would happen though.

[chaim]

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.