Don Felder in the Press/Blogs/etc.

[UndertheWire]

He has a picture of Ringo Starr on his chest! That's someone else who is looking good.

[SilverMoon]

I'll say it - apart from about 5 or 6 songs when Felder was dead on in concert I genuinely can't tell an audible difference for his absence. That's the trouble with being the type of guitarist Felder is: Smith can copy him note for note. You could never in a million years replace Walsh's sound but Felder's you reasonably can. The biggest hole left for me is the fact that they lost his capabilities on things like mandolin and steel pedal. I feel for the iconic loss of him and Walsh, the Hotel Cali outro and all that but if you were to give a selection of the 'they're just a cover band' outraged brigade two audio tapes (one Smith playing Hotel Cali and one Felder playing Hotel Cali) I would be amazed if anyone could tell them apart and give a reason why. Some obviously would, but not many.

Steuart Smith is a good guitarist and can play the notes, but he doesn’t sound like Don Felder. It’s not a matter of playing the notes, it’s how you play the notes. Don’s playing is subtle and nuanced and his sound is distinctive. I think the Eagles sounded better with him.

[SilverMoon]

I wonder if there are any Felder fans that don't like The Eagles. I've never heard anybody say his solo stuff is better then his Eagles stuff. They must love the Eagles and hate them too.


Who was the best addition to the Eagles line up?

1: Joe Walsh
2: Timothy B Schmit
Last: Don Felder

Who was the greatest loss to the Eagles?

1: Randy Meisner
2: Bernie Leadon
last: Don Felder

Who is/was the most insignificant member of the Eagles?

1: Don Felder


The Eagles don't sound like a copy band. They sound like a bunch of old men performing tracks they first performed when they were young men.

But they're still fillin' 'and still thrillin'

To say that Don Felder was the most insignificant member of the Eagles is wrong and unfair. He was instrumental in changing the Eagles’ sound from country-rock to mainstream rock, and he was the one who came up with the music for Hotel California, without which I doubt the Eagles would be so big and iconic. They have many good songs, but they still fill big venues mostly because of Hotel California. A lot of people go to their shows just to hear that song, and if the Eagles stopped playing it, those people wouldn’t go to see them.

[Funk 50]

To say that Don Felder was the most insignificant member of the Eagles is wrong and unfair. He was instrumental in changing the Eagles’ sound from country-rock to mainstream rock, and he was the one who came up with the music for Hotel California, without which I doubt the Eagles would be so big and iconic. They have many good songs, but they still fill big venues mostly because of Hotel California. A lot of people go to their shows just to hear that song, and if the Eagles stopped playing it, those people wouldn’t go to see them.

How can you know why thousands of people, all over the world, pay huge sums to see the Eagles perform live?

A few years ago the Eagles started playing shorter set lists. They found it more difficult to sell tickets, so they went back to playing 3 hour shows. The sell outs returned. It wasn't about Hotel California, they always performed that, I think it was more to do with, perceived value for money.

The major reason why, I believe, the Eagles are still playing to sell out audiences, is that they got rid of Felder. If he had somehow managed to get himself reinstated in the band, there wouldn't be any Eagles concerts for people to attend.

[Freypower]

To say that Don Felder was the most insignificant member of the Eagles is wrong and unfair. He was instrumental in changing the Eagles’ sound from country-rock to mainstream rock, and he was the one who came up with the music for Hotel California, without which I doubt the Eagles would be so big and iconic. They have many good songs, but they still fill big venues mostly because of Hotel California. A lot of people go to their shows just to hear that song, and if the Eagles stopped playing it, those people wouldn’t go to see them.

Total generalisation. The band cannot be reduced to one song, no matter how famous it is.

There is no evidence AT ALL that some only go to see them to hear HC. I am sorry but if you are going to make such a claim you have to provide specific examples.

I can only speak for myself, but I find the thought that someone would pay a lot of money to see a band for the sake of ONE SONG grotesque. I have an example. I love the song Africa by Toto. It was the only song by them I liked. Would I have gone to see them just to hear them play that? No.

In any case, they are now seeing it performed by Steuart Smith. If what you claim is true, that's a tribute to Steuart's skills, not to somebody who hasn't been a member of the Eagles since 2001.

[UndertheWire]

I put forward an untested theory that the people who would only see the Eagles for Hotel California are the same people who say they won't see the band without Don Felder. Don's "An Evening at the Hotel California" show is designed for them.

[Brooke]

How can you know why thousands of people, all over the world, pay huge sums to see the Eagles perform live?

A few years ago the Eagles started playing shorter set lists. They found it more difficult to sell tickets, so they went back to playing 3 hour shows. The sell outs returned. It wasn't about Hotel California, they always performed that, I think it was more to do with, perceived value for money.

The major reason why, I believe, the Eagles are still playing to sell out audiences, is that they got rid of Felder. If he had somehow managed to get himself reinstated in the band, there wouldn't be any Eagles concerts for people to attend.

Completely disagree! Why do you think it was more difficult to sell tickets? From reviews here nearly all those shows had huge crowds no matter the length of the show. And they still do.

And if Felder were reinstated there would be no concerts? Huh? Really? That doesn't even make sense to me. Sorry!

[UndertheWire]

Possibly a new interview http://www.centraljersey.com/article...e996838692.txt but it's the kind that sets my teeth on edge.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

How can you know why thousands of people, all over the world, pay huge sums to see the Eagles perform live?

A few years ago the Eagles started playing shorter set lists. They found it more difficult to sell tickets, so they went back to playing 3 hour shows. The sell outs returned. It wasn't about Hotel California, they always performed that, I think it was more to do with, perceived value for money.

The major reason why, I believe, the Eagles are still playing to sell out audiences, is that they got rid of Felder. If he had somehow managed to get himself reinstated in the band, there wouldn't be any Eagles concerts for people to attend.

What concerts a few years ago weren't sold out? The ones I went to, not only were they sold out, but tickets went quickly. The Atlanta/Alpharetta show went so fast they had to do a second one. I'm not sure where you got this information, but I'd like to have it.

[Freypower]

Possibly a new interview http://www.centraljersey.com/article...e996838692.txt but it's the kind that sets my teeth on edge.

And next year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Hotel California album. ”That to me will be the big one,” he says. “Whether I choose to do anything or not, we’ll see.”

Yeah, because it's HIS album. Nobody else had anything to do with it.

The '27 years' bit is wrong because it wasn't 27 consecutive years. I supppose if he's going to insist on that we just have to put up with it.

Another name on the list of musicians he claims to have worked with there: Paul Simon. When?

As for people at Eagles shows yelling out 'heavy metal' to me that sounds like he just wanted to throw in a reference to one of his songs which the Eagles never used. I would have thought nobody expected that type of music from the Eagles.