Don Felder in the Press/Blogs/etc.

[chaim]

On the Joe & Don subject...Joe is always praised as a guitarist and showman, but for me he was much more than a "guitar battle partner" for Don. I've always been amazed by what he did on New Kid In Town even though he didn't even touch a guitar. The electric piano and organ parts are both brilliant. A very nice touch on the organ in I Can't Tell You Why. Very beautiful (and far from obvious) chord voicings on the piano in Pretty Maids All In A Row.

Don has often said that he wrote guitar parts for him and Joe to play on Hotel California. But whenever Don was making a significant contribution like that, Joe was making some other significant contributions elsewhere - like the ones I mentioned above. It's not like people were just waiting for Don to give cool parts for them.

This belongs in another thread, but I felt I need to say something on this Don F/Joe thing. Just to remind myself that Joe wasn't in the band just to be a "guitar battle partner" for Don.

[UndertheWire]

How would guitar players rate Waddy Watchel compared to Don Felder? Seeing Joe interact with Waddy, I wondered what Don could bring to Joe's act apart from his name.

If I was a journalist interviewing Don, the question I'd want to ask is "Will we get to see you play with Joe Walsh again?" and I think that's what happened here. Unfortunately, the mention of managers, made his reply sound too calculated.

If Joe's solo tour sells well, it puts him in a different league to Felder and his casino show.

[SilverAcidRayne]

Did Joe actually have issues with Felder too? I remember hearing that he didn't have any issues with anyone in the band and that he came in when all their problems was starting to unfold and so he wasn't really involved. I have seen Felder pop up on facebook once or twice after a long while of being quiet though

[shunlvswx]

I went back to Don's book to find out what Joe said to Don when he called Joe after he got fired. Joe didn't say anything to say don't call me again.

The only reason I can think of as to why Joe and Don never worked together again is Joe probably didn't want to make Don and Glenn mad. I could be wrong, but that kinda makes sense now. Since the Eagles are no more and Glenn is gone, Don thinks Joe can now work with him. He has nobody to tell him he can't work with him. I don't know. Maybe it was Joe's decision to not talk or work with Don after he got fired so he won't make Don and Glenn mad. I don't know if he feels that way today.

I know Don said he hopes to work with Joe again, but has Joe ever said that he wants to work with Don again?

[glennthegreat]

I take issue with the first (bolded) part. I think they were a guitar team not just on HC but even on older songs. When they played their solos they played off of one another and they competed in a friendly way. Their playing styles melded together perfectly, and they really did enjoy playing together. They were a true team up to the point of the firing and IMO, they were the best guitar duo ever.

The second half of this I agree with, I loves Joe's part in HC as much as Felder's.

Glenn Frey was one of the greatest musical minds and band leaders ever! We will never know the full three sides to his problems with Felder - But we know for sure the great music (unequaled in some cases) that the band created. To dismiss and bring down their respective talents and contributions, is short selling the legacy of the band.

Joe played live with the band on many instances prior to joining, where Glenn and everyone else recognized his chemistry with Felder and the rest of the band. Without such chemistry, Glenn would have never made him a member.

For proof of chemistry beyond just Hotel California, "the song" check out Joe's live album before joining the band called "You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind" - It features two guitarists - Joe Walsh and Don Felder.
The Hotel California tour, and even the Long Run Tour, Joe's solo album "There Goes The Neighborhood", especially "Rivers Of The Hidden Funk".

Their tone and energy are almost interchangeable, and not just on the uptempo stuff.

Felder, - whatever some fans may think of him ( he sometimes seems like a big act to me - but maybe it's not, who knows) is one of the greatest melodic rock guitarists of all time and highly respected musically by his peers. His subtlety, precise sound elevate the songs to higher levels. It's ok to bash him for his book, depiction of Frey/Henley (some may argue that it was within his rights) his ego etc. But I don't think there's any merit to lowering his genius on the guitar and contributions to the band.

I would have put Joe and Don higher in this countdown, but I'm bias.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXtg9zg1ggc

[Freypower]

I went back to Don's book to find out what Joe said to Don when he called Joe after he got fired. Joe didn't say anything to say don't call me again.

The only reason I can think of as to why Joe and Don never worked together is Joe probably didn't want to make Don and Glenn mad. I could be wrong, but that kinda makes sense now. Since the Eagles are no more and Glenn is gone, Don thinks Joe can now work with him. He has nobody to tell him he can't work with him. I don't know. Maybe it was Joe's decision to not talk or work with Don after he got fired so he won't make Don and Glenn mad. I don't know if he feels that way today.

I know Don said he hopes to work with Joe again, but has Joe ever said that he wants to work with Don again?

Not to my knowledge but I suspect that if he did he would feel he was being disrespectful to Glenn.

Felder should move on & find other people to work with. 'Those days are gone forever; he should just let 'em go'. When he talks like this he comes across as very sad, clinging to the past.

[travlnman2]

IMHO the only thing I feel that Felder deserves to be a part of is the KCH. Anything that's a tribute to Glenn he should stay away from.

[chaim]

Felder, - whatever some fans may think of him ( he sometimes seems like a big act to me - but maybe it's not, who knows) is one of the greatest melodic rock guitarists of all time and highly respected musically by his peers. His subtlety, precise sound elevate the songs to higher levels. It's ok to bash him for his book, depiction of Frey/Henley (some may argue that it was within his rights) his ego etc. But I don't think there's any merit to lowering his genius on the guitar and contributions to the band.

Personally I've seen more people (sometimes even Felder himself) exaggerate his contributions than minimize them. Not around here, but on YouTube etc. (IMO there are people who genuinely think that the Eagles were musically nothing without Felder, and then there are people who have learned to think that way. And these people can't tell Glenn from Felder - you can see it for example when they praise Felder's lead guitar parts in the studio version of ICTYW and compare it to Steuart's playing etc. I'm not saying that I can always tell Glenn from Felder, but I don't pretend I do.)

[Funk 50]

I was shocked when I heard the announcement that Felder had been sacked from the Eagles. It was clear that the Eagles wouldn't continue with him involved. I'm sure Joe and Tim were happy that the Eagles continued.

Felder's response to the sacking has caused much anger to me. He's definitely and intentionally brought his former band into disrepute. All the Eagles have every right to be hurt and angered by Felder's actions.

I'm pretty sure that all Walsh and Felder's combined efforts are Eagles based. Joe's 1975 live album was a project to see if they could work together on stage. It's no coincidence that Glenn and Don are also involved. Felder's involvement with But Seriously Folks! was probably from time the Eagles were in the studio making The Long Run, as was the co-writes from Joe's later albums. Don Felder's album Airborne contains a few tracks that were worked on during The Long Run sessions. Felder openly says that Bad Girls has a duel guitar part played by him and Joe. He doesn't explain why Joe's part isn't on the official release.

Joe had a successful career before the Eagles. He's now working on a post Eagles career. His loyalty to the Eagles means he's very unlikely to work with Felder again.

Maybe we'll learn more when Joe's book comes out but I'll be quite disappointed if it muck rakes even in Felder's case.

Incidentally, I love Waddy Wachtel. His rockin' credentials are stellar. I love his, play anything that rocks, covers band. I've spent several hours checking out the YouTube links; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DK1FHxWYjk . Wish I was there!

[chaim]

Having said all that above, I can see why Don F may feel sad because he can't work with Joe. Joe was in a difficult position. But then again Don wasn't exactly kind to Joe either when he discussed his sacking in the book. I wonder if he has tried to apologize Joe at some point.