The Best Concerts of the Eagles

[Mrs Frey]

May I offer my humble opinion on the Don Felder/Steuart Smith debate that I have picked up on on these pages . Of course, in the three years or thereabouts that I have been listening to the Eagles' wonderful music, I always thought all their guitar solos were wonderful, before I even knew who the guitarists were . In the last three months since I have become an Eagles fanatic, I obtained "Farewell 1", and thereby also discovered that Don Felder had been fired from the band (us South Africans are always the last to hear the important celebrity news - the media are too busy printing news about Paris Hilton ).

Although it's a pity that Don Felder is no longer with the Eagles, since he was part of the Eagles, rather than just a band member as Steuart now is, and also an original, I do think Steuart is an excellent musician. I certainly do not agree that the Eagles' music has suffered since Don left the band.

To be fair to Don, however, Steuart very seldom (to my ears, anyway) deviates from the original solos played on Eagles records. He plays Don's solos note for note, as it should be. Certainly, Glenn and Don Henley are such perfectionists; they would not pick anyone less than excellent to join their band. Glenn has always been on a mission, since the earliest days, to have a strong band, with no weak links. Believe me, I've been in a similar position in bands, where there were weak links, and a band can never excel, as the Eagles clearly have (even without Don Felder), with weak links.

One of my friends, and my guitarist bandmate, went to see the Eagles in Switzerland towards the end of last year, and he thought Steuart (without knowing who he was - he was unaware of Don Felder's departure) was great, although he missed seeing Don. It was the first time he'd seen the Eagles live in concert, having been a long time fan. My friend plays a mean "Hotel California" solo .

Marco, you seem to be an Eagles music buff. I'm trying to obtain all of their studio albums, and I'm getting there, believe me! Welcome to the Board - I see you're already enjoying yourself!

[Freypower]

Although it's a pity that Don Felder is no longer with the Eagles, since he was part of the Eagles, rather than just a band member as Steuart now is, and also an original, I do think Steuart is an excellent musician. I certainly do not agree that the Eagles' music has suffered since Don left the band.

I presume by 'original' you mean 'talented'. Don Felder was not an original member of the Eagles in the sense of being there from the beginning.

Regarding the music having suffered since Felder was fired, it hasn't suffered in live performance. But frankly, there is not enough recorded music to make a definitive statement, unfortunately. We have had the grand total of five songs, one of which has already been unceremoniously dumped (One Day At A Time).

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Mrs. F - If you are interested in getting all of the studio albums, you may want to consider buying the box set. It contains all six studio albums, plus the Live album, and a single CD with Please Come Home for Christmas and Funky New Year. The CDs are all packaged exactly like the original records. You can usually find some good buys on the Internet. I got a really good price on mine through Amazon.

Regarding the music having suffered since Felder was fired, it hasn't suffered in live performance. But frankly, there is not enough recorded music to make a definitive statement, unfortunately. We have had the grand total of five songs, one of which has already been unceremoniously dumped (One Day At A Time).

As I said before, I don't think the music in the live performances has suffered with Steuart, however, I do miss Felder's stage presence and interactions with Joe.

FP, as far as dumping ODAAT, it may be that it will be on the new album, and they will resume playing it live when they tour for the album.

[Glennsallnighter]

Mrs. F - If you are interested in getting all of the studio albums, you may want to consider buying the box set. It contains all six studio albums, plus the Live album, and a single CD with Please Come Home for Christmas and Funky New Year. The CDs are all packaged exactly like the original records. You can usually find some good buys on the Internet. I got a really good price on mine through Amazon.

Regarding the music having suffered since Felder was fired, it hasn't suffered in live performance. But frankly, there is not enough recorded music to make a definitive statement, unfortunately. We have had the grand total of five songs, one of which has already been unceremoniously dumped (One Day At A Time).

As I said before, I don't think the music in the live performances has suffered with Steuart, however, I do miss Felder's stage presence and interactions with Joe.

FP, as far as dumping ODAAT, it may be that it will be on the new album, and they will resume playing it live when they tour for the album.

I'm looking out for the box set as well. Thanks for the advice Dreamer. I have a lot of the Eagles albums already either on CD or downloaded from legalsounds.com, but I do think a box set is a nice way to preserve music. Downloading is great for using the ipod but its not the same as having a 'real' album if you understand what I mean.

FP, I'd love to see ODAAT on the new album. Joe did it really well in Dublin (this weekend) last year in Dublin, and its one of my favourites.

MF I agree The Eagles music hasn't suffered with Steuart joining the band after Don was fired. It'll be interesting to see how he plays on the new album (when it finally arrives) and hopefully the next round of concerts (Dare we hope they include South Africa?). And I too am sick of the publicity being given to Paris Hilton at the moment.

[glenneaglesfan]

There are two boxed sets - the first came out just after the millenium concert and is a selection; the other is a reproduction of all their albums in a cd format and includes Please Come Home For Christmas and Funky New Year.

I bought the first boxed set off ebay, but it never arrived and the seller had to give me a refund. It's worth getting hold of for the Millenium concert alone. Those Shoes and Old 55 live are worth the money.

[Mrs Frey]

Although it's a pity that Don Felder is no longer with the Eagles, since he was part of the Eagles, rather than just a band member as Steuart now is, and also an original, I do think Steuart is an excellent musician. I certainly do not agree that the Eagles' music has suffered since Don left the band.

I presume by 'original' you mean 'talented'. Don Felder was not an original member of the Eagles in the sense of being there from the beginning.

I was referring to Don Felder's originality as a guitarist, having devised so many of those wonderful guitar solos on Eagles songs, most notably "Hotel California", that we've come to know and love.

Dreamer, thanks for letting me know about the Eagles boxed sets. I have already begun buying their albums individually, as fortunately, they have recently become available. I can imagine that it would be quite expensive (for me, anyway) to buy all of them at once , but I've never seen those boxed sets of the Eagles locally. It sounds fantastic, though.

[glenneaglesfan]

FP, I'd love to see ODAAT on the new album. Joe did it really well in Dublin (this weekend) last year in Dublin, and its one of my favourites.

I missed this before. Joe didn't play it on the Saturday night, and I hadn't heard of it on any of the other European setlists, so you had a special treat! I'd love them to include it - it's a good upbeat and inspirational song about a serious subject.

[Freypower]

I must say it surprises me greatly that ODAAT was done at one show when as far as I knew it was dropped altogether in early 2005. Perhaps it was also played occasionally at other shows, but the Eagles' setlist is so rigidly programmed that it doesn't seem very likely.

I think it would be a big mistake for them to include ODAAT & NMCD. This is supposed to be an album of new material.

[sodascouts]

Odds are good that at least NMCD will be on there, I think. They seem to have really banked on that one in that past.

[glenneaglesfan]

I think NMCD will be on it. Although most dedicated fans will have heard it during the F1 tour, I'm not sure how much of the general public will be aware of it. The cd single has had no publicity over here at all. I think it would be an omission to leave it out - it deserves to be on a studio album.