As I'm not good at comparing guitar licks, I'd welcome the opinions of those who know more about the subject. How different is Felder's Good Day in Hell from the one played live* before he joined the band? Obviously, the slide guitar is clearer and louder in the mix in the studio recording, but is he playing essentially the same licks?
* The live version is on the recoding from November 1973 discussed (and linked to) in this thread.
ETA: I'm listening to them both, going from one to another and Don's slide adds a great deal to the song. In the studio version, a guitar intro has been added, and Felder's guitar growls under the lead vocal throughout. The solo in the middle has the same "melody" as the live version but of course, it's crisper and stronger. There's another bootleg version (from the same site as the Nov 73 one) from May 1974 which has Felder, playing so that's next on my list.
ETA2: I've listened to the May 1974 Good Day in Hell. It has a slightly extended solo/jam near the end. It sounds better than the November version - possibly a better recording and maybe more practice but they all sound better, not just the guitar. It also has the guitar under the vocals as in the studio version. (Overall, I'm not keen on that bootleg because I feel Felder wasn't fully integrated and his playing kind of "treads on the toes" of the other band members - he's too busy)
Last edited by UndertheWire; 07-13-2016 at 10:15 AM.
Felder plays lead guitar during Outlaw Man. I dunno who played it before he joined.
Joe learned all Bernie's guitar parts when he joined the Eagles. When they played James Dean after Felder was sacked, Joe played the lead guitar intro (they didn't have big screens in the 70s) so I reckon Bernie played it originally. Barring solo tracks, Dirty Laundry and You Belong To The City, Walsh stays clear of parts that Felder played. Steuart Smith plays those.
According to Wikipedia;
Don Felder – lead guitar ("Already Gone"), slide guitar ("Good Day In Hell") (credited as "late arrival")
Liner notes:
ALREADY GONE: Lead Vocals: Glenn, Solo Guitars: Glenn & Don Felder, Written By: Jack Tempchin & Robb Strandlin
JAMES DEAN: Lead Vocal: Glenn, Solo Guitars: Bernie, Written By: Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, John David Souther
GOOD DAY IN HELL: Lead Vocals: Glenn & Don Henley, Slide: Don Felder, Written By: Glenn Frey & Don Henley
The liner notes for Desperado don't say who played lead on Outlaw Man. However, there's video of a performance in 1973 (a televised concert in The Netherlands) that has Bernie, Randy and Glenn all getting the chance to play a solo but Bernie's solo is in the same place as the one on the album. Interestingly, Bernie seems to be playing rhythm during the verses with Glenn playing lead, then when Bernie plays the solo, Glenn switches to rhythm. Teamwork.
Last edited by UndertheWire; 07-13-2016 at 11:01 AM.
No way Bernie played the part I'm talking about. If so, he never played it live, and sonically, as a guitar player, it's not in his vocabulary. I'm not saying better or worse, I'm saying it's like comparing Chet Atkins to Joe Perry. It's just not in his wheelhouse. The fact he never played that part live leads me to believe it's Glenn, and that the "solo guitars" credit is for the solo, which is Bernie. But that fast lead intro has to be Glenn. I agree with chaim entirely here.
I listened to the intro to James Dean starting at 14 seconds and my first reaction was it was too fast for Glenn. But then I watched a video of Glenn playing the solo on Tryin' in 1973 and I can see and hear that they are similar. So I agree with you, Toni and Austin that that part is played by Glenn. I'm also not surprised that Don Felder would play it live - getting it right in a show when you also have to sing lead is a different proposition to getting it right in the studio where you can have multiple takes and add the vocals later. Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Agreed UtW. It's so far removed from Bernie's repetoire and there is no doubt it would be in Glenn's repertoire or even JW/DF even though they didn't create it. It's more of a rock thing, and Bernie was more of the twangy country guy. I've always loved that song.
Another thing...Unlike Bernie Glenn gave some of his solos to other people when they played live. If neither Bernie nor Glenn played the intro "solo" live, from this viewpoint it makes more sense too that it's Glenn on the original. (If it's not Felder)
Glenn wasn't a technically advanced player at that point, but the "fast" lick is a lot easier to play than it may sound.