Don Felder videos on YouTube and other video sites

[chaim]

He even changes the lyric "I wanna sleep with you in the desert tonight" in the 2013 performance. You can tell by the bass player's reaction that the change wasn't planned. So yeah, I agree that he used to sing live. I don't understand why he doesn't anymore since he can sing just fine for a guitarist who's not really a singer. In a live situation I'd rather hear a real performance where perhaps every note isn't in tune than a pre-recorded track where you can hear Autotune on every note.

But like I said before, it's not a big deal to me that he seems to lip sync every song today. What bothers me is that he gets away with it while people constantly bash Frey & Henley about all kinds of things.

[WalshFan88]

I can see now the similarity in the two videos. I still don't hear backing tracks. Autotune, maybe.. It doesn't have that robot thing that I associate with an autotuned voice. It's a very smooth sound. But there is a definite similarity in the two videos posted by chaim, I'll admit. I don't know why he uses it because I think he's a fine singer. I have my bones to pick with him as of late but I gotta give credit when due. I think people try to compare him to the other guys too much sometimes.

I feel calling Felder a mediocre singer is a bit extreme. He has a softer voice without a lot of power. It's very smooth without the rasp someone like Henley has or the twang in Glenn's voice or the gravely nature of Joe's voice. I feel the only thing it's similar to is TBS but still unique. As I've said, he's not as good as Don or Glenn, but I feel he's a better singer than some and even the band gave him credit for. It's just a lot different than the other guys, that's all.

[Freypower]

I can see now the similarity in the two videos. I still don't hear backing tracks. Autotune, maybe.. It doesn't have that robot thing that I associate with an autotuned voice. It's a very smooth sound. But there is a definite similarity in the two videos posted by chaim, I'll admit. I don't know why he uses it because I think he's a fine singer. I have my bones to pick with him as of late but I gotta give credit when due. I think people try to compare him to the other guys too much sometimes.

I feel calling Felder a mediocre singer is a bit extreme. He has a softer voice without a lot of power. It's very smooth without the rasp someone like Henley has or the twang in Glenn's voice or the gravely nature of Joe's voice. I feel the only thing it's similar to is TBS but still unique. As I've said, he's not as good as Don or Glenn, but I feel he's a better singer than some and even the band gave him credit for. It's just a lot different than the other guys, that's all.

I don't really want to continue the discussion on vocals in this thread when there is an existing thread, but a) you are being unfair to Tim; b) to call Felder's voice 'unique' is extravagant praise which I would have thought most people would not claim it deserves. I also wouldn't call his voice 'smooth'. He has a rasp, like Henley, but he doesn't use it in the same way. It was Glenn who made the blunt statement that Felder is 'not a singer' and I concur with that.

[sodascouts]

Well, preferences are subjective. If people like Felder's voice, I don't begrudge it. I personally don't think it's awful or anything. I just think it's not that exceptional. However, that's just my opinion.

[WalshFan88]

I don't really want to continue the discussion on vocals in this thread when there is an existing thread, but a) you are being unfair to Tim; b) to call Felder's voice 'unique' is extravagant praise which I would have thought most people would not claim it deserves. I also wouldn't call his voice 'smooth'. He has a rasp, like Henley, but he doesn't use it in the same way. It was Glenn who made the blunt statement that Felder is 'not a singer' and I concur with that.

I thought this was the thread I was supposed to come to... I can't win I guess.

I don't think I'm being unfair to Tim, I think you are being unfair to DF.

[Freypower]

I thought this was the thread I was supposed to come to... I can't win I guess.

I don't think I'm being unfair to Tim, I think you are being unfair to DF.

To be fair, they overlap. I was nitpicking.

Soda is right. Preferences are subjective.

[WalshFan88]

Soda is right. Preferences are subjective.

Agreed.

[chaim]

I still want to make it perfectly clear that personally I like Felder's voice, and my opinion of him as a singer has nothing to do with the fact that I believe he has used a prerecorded vocal track for some time. I have posted only a couple of examples here, but I've noticed the same thing on every song I've checked. IMO Felder could sing live, although I don't think he could nail those high "wails" in Witchy Woman.

But this is what bothers me:

People tend to see (and mention) every negative thing about the members who are the bosses in a band and ignore them in the other members. There are tons of people on YouTube who keep bashing Henley & Frey for all kinds of things from personal to musical, but ignore all the "lip sync" comments concerning Felder and the similarities between different versions. It's the same thing with KISS. For example, it's a widely discussed issue that Simmons and Stanley might have been more or less bald for a long time without some "help". They are the bosses in KISS, so it's ok to discuss that. On the other hand, Frehley seems to be bald too. There's a video where you can see he has no hair left on top, but everyone ignores this. I have mentioned it a coupe of times on a KISS forum and posted the video, but there have been no comments while everyone always talks about Simmons's and Stanley's lack of hair. Frehley has never been a leader in KISS so it's nice to see him as an underdog. And underdogs get away with even the same things the bosses don't.

In other words, if people bash Henley & Frey for all kinds of things, they should be able to admit that Felder could be using a prerecorded vocal track.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

As I said in another thread, I don't think Felder is a bad singer, but I also think his voice is better suited for backup and harmony rather than lead vocals. I don't think there is anything particularly unique about his voice or delivery that sets him apart from the average singer.

And I will say, if I go to a concert, I go to hear/see a 'live' real-time performance both vocally and instrumentally. Now, that's not to say that there should never be anything pre-recorded in the show. However, if someone is promoted as a frontman or solo artist, then I feel they should be capable of performing most of the songs live without lots of backing tracks, auto-tuning, or other trickery. If they can't be the performer they are representing themself to be, then, to me, they are selling their audience short.

[UndertheWire]

I don't think this has been posted before. It doesn't have anything new, but it's fairly comprehensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knIC_liaqeA