The Most Underrated Eagle is ...

[Ive always been a dreamer]

A discussion we were having in another thread gave me the idea for this. It'll be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts, so have at it!

[Tiffanny Twisted]

I voted for tbs cause I was blown away when I saw him live in MAy at his solo show.

I have seen all 4 live solo and TBS just blew me away and suprised me the most.
He's a talented dude.:bow:

[timfan]

No question for me. IMO Timothy is the most underrated Eagle but I think he likes it that way LOL... he just goes off and quietly does his solo touring and recording without assumption or ego.

[TimothyBFan]

No question for me. IMO Timothy is the most underrated Eagle but I think he likes it that way LOL... he just goes off and quietly does his solo touring and recording without assumption or ego.

I agree with you TF. I think he is completely underrated as far as his talent goes but also believe he prefers it that way.

[zeldabjr]

oh could I go on all night? oh yeah but I won't....I know he is underrated because when I was going on my "Timathon" this summer....no one even knew who he was when I said his name! :heart:

[Freypower]

I will go along with Tim being underrated.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm going to hold off on my vote for a bit because I'm torn between Timothy and Randy. I think both of them are extremely talented and both are kind of introverted and intentionally stay out of the spotlight. I probably give the edge to Timothy because of his longevity. He seems to be content with his role in the band and has been a very successful 'fit' with his laid back demeanor. Maybe he had the benefit of being more mature when he joined the band and also his role was clearer because the band dynamics were better defined by the time he came on. So, if Timothy wins this poll convincingly, I may give a vote of recognition to Randy. :cheers:

[Prettymaid]

It's difficult for me to give an informed opinion, because I really don't know nearly as much about any previous lineups as I do about the current one. And I think anyone would have to agree that Timohy is the most underrated Eagle of the current lineup. I think that's why I was so, ummm...supportive when he put out Expando and toured with it. I remember some of you jokingly questioned my loyalty to Joe, because I was so enamored with Timothy. I was just so proud, for lack of a better word, that he was shining so brightly during that time. It was great to see him step out on his own and be recognized.

[WalshFan88]

Felder for me.

But let me clarify something. By underrated I don't necessarily if at all mean his guitar skill (we've all said he's a great guitarist), but rather an underappreciation for his contributions and what he brought to the band and the respect level for him, not so much his abilities as a player. And an underrespect for him as well, and in some cases dislike for him.

Honorable mention would go to either Tim or Randy. Both are underrated as players and as band members.

It's also worth mentioning that outside this forum I've heard many people refer to him as "The Forgotten Eagle". Obviously they can't vote in the poll but I felt it was worth mentioning.

[Freypower]

Felder for me.

But let me clarify something. By underrated I don't necessarily if at all mean his guitar skill (we've all said he's a great guitarist), but rather an underappreciation for his contributions and what he brought to the band and the respect level for him, not so much his abilities as a player. And an underrespect for him as well, and in some cases dislike for him.

Honorable mention would go to either Tim or Randy. Both are underrated as players and as band members.

It's also worth mentioning that outside this forum I've heard many people refer to him as "The Forgotten Eagle". Obviously they can't vote in the poll but I felt it was worth mentioning.

I would appreciate it if you could be more specific about what you feel Felder's contributions to the band were. You use that word a lot. It would be nice to have it spelt out in more detail. From what I can see, both in the 70s & after the reformation, he contributed to a great deal of conflict, which ended with him being fired. I'd like to know more about his positive contributions apart from his guitar playing, because it was not really to do with singing or songwriting, Hotel California apart. You probably think I'm being unfair to you. Honestly, I'm not. I would like you to go into more detail about this.

I assume by 'the Forgotten Eagle' you refer to Felder. It seems to me that his defenders are extremely vocal indeed, and that he has not been forgotten in any way.

I repeat once again, I do not 'dislike' Felder. I have never met him. But I lost a great deal of respect for him after that book, and I can't change that.

[WalshFan88]

You keep using the word 'contributions'. Can you be more specific? In terms of singing and songwrting, there is not a great deal to mention unless you want to go down the usual Hotel California pathway again. If you're talking about the way the band operated, from what I can tell both during the 70s and after the reformation Felder's role was to constantly complain about everything the band wanted to do. I suppose that's simplistic, but I'm afraid it's the impression I have received, and a lot of it is derived from Felder himself.

Of course Hotel California being the strongest one. But also his great parts and arranging and playing on songs like the lead riff for Already Gone (not the first one, that's Bernie. But the second descending riff.) as well as one of the two solos (the other being Glenn). The slide on Good Day In Hell. The great guitar fills and solo on One Of These Nights. The clean electric guitar on New Kid In Town. Slide guitar on Love Will Keep Us Alive. Helping to write Victim Of Love and of course the great intro to that song. Not all "technical" songwriting credits, but that doesn't change the fact that he did those things. I'm sure I'm forgetting some but that is the bulk of it. He contributed just as much as any other member of the band (excluding DH/GF).

As far as blaming Felder for the band tension or trying to be a pain in their backside, I'm afraid I completely disagree. I don't know where you would have come up with that conclusion at all. They were all equally guilty, AFAIC, for the breakup and the tension.

I assume by 'the Forgotten Eagle' you refer to Felder. It seems to me that his defenders are extremely vocal indeed, and that he has not been forgotten in any way.

Indeed. Obviously "his defenders" are going to pipe up when we feel he is disrespected, and we will praise his work as well. But by the general public I feel he is underappreciated by FAR. His fans and the people that dislike him are FAR outweighed by the people who don't realize what he contributed or who he even is or those that forget about him. Joe Walsh is much more of a household name than Don Felder is. He hasn't been forgotten by this group. :rofl: I don't want to turn this into the other thread, so I'll leave it at that.

I repeat once again, I do not 'dislike' Felder. I have never met him. But I lost a great deal of respect for him after that book, and I can't change that.

Truth is, we don't know what happened. Perhaps they were unfair to him and wrongly treated and he was upset by that, perhaps he's exaggerating. Who knows. We may/probably will never know.



....

[EaglesKiwi]

I would like to put forward Bernie as underrated. Perhaps because he doesn't have lead vocals on any of their hits (Randy has TITTL), he just seems to me to be the one who doesn't get the same amount of attention or fan-love as the others!

[sodascouts]

I agree with EaglesKiwi. Bernie gets almost no love! Even people who appreciate his work with the Eagles rarely go beyond that. Ironically, coming into the Eagles, he was the best known of the four thanks to his work with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Certainly Longbranch Pennywhisle, Shiloh, and the Poor weren't up there with the FBB in terms of name recognition (to put it very mildly).

With regard to Felder:


Obviously "his defenders" are going to pipe up when we feel [Felder] is disrespected, and we will praise his work as well. But by the general public I feel he is underappreciated by FAR. His fans and the people that dislike him are FAR outweighed by the people who don't realize what he contributed or who he even is or those that forget about him. Joe Walsh is much more of a household name than Don Felder is.

Yeah, I think this is true among the general public. I know it was for me before I became a big Eagles fan. He was never a "star" of the band, and even those who remember there was a fifth Eagle at one time might be hard-pressed to remember his name. That's why he is always introduced as "Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles" - to jog people's memory. The fact that this intro is often followed with ".... and he [co]wrote Hotel California" also indicates that people outside of the hardcore fandom aren't expected to know that.

[Topkat]

Well, this is an easy choice for me. Timothy is not only underrated, he's underused......This guy has the most amazing voice, and he get's to sing 1 lead song during the show!! To me that's practically criminal!!

His background vocals, & contributions to other bands, such as Toto, Steely Dan & CSN are testament to what others think of his talent.....Tim's voice adds that extra dimension to a song that really brings out the beauty of every song the Eagles do...
He's also a hell of a bass player.
Tim's solo shows are amazing. He totally had me mesmerized! Go watch the video I posted in his thread of a montage someone put together of his solo show in Tim's video thread...That really speaks for itself!

My second choice here would have to be Fleder......I'm not even going to get into this one because I have stated my feelings about his talent in other places on the board, but he's totally underrated!

[TimothyBFan]

Well, this is an easy choice for me. Timothy is not only underrated, he's underused......This guy has the most amazing voice, and he get's to sing 1 lead song during the show!!



I like that "underused"!! You got that right!!! Very good point.

[Brooke]

I voted for Timothy too. And I'd also say he is 'underused' in the band. He really is an amazing talent that really isn't showcased with the Eagles much. But I also think he prefers it that way.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Well, per my previous post, I am torn between Tim and Randy. Since Tim is getting his proper due here which is well-deserved, I decided give my vote to Randy. I'm honestly surprised that he hadn't received any votes yet. But, there is definitely no right or wrong here. I think you can make a pretty strong case for most all of them, as well as the band as a whole, being underrated. :bow:

[TimothyBFan]

I think you can make a pretty strong case for most all of them, as well as the band as a whole, being underrated. :bow:

:nod: But I still HAVE to make a point that it seems Timothy is "winning" this one by a landslide! Finally, some recognition!!! :grin:

[WalshFan88]

Yeah, I think this is true among the general public. I know it was for me before I became a big Eagles fan. He was never a "star" of the band, and even those who remember there was a fifth Eagle at one time might be hard-pressed to remember his name. That's why he is always introduced as "Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles" - to jog people's memory. The fact that this intro is often followed with ".... and he [co]wrote Hotel California" also indicates that people outside of the hardcore fandom aren't expected to know that.

Exactly. That's why I think as the fifth Eagle he is forgotten. I've seen many times where people on forums who don't know Eagles history talk about the Hotel California solo and say it was Joe Walsh and "that other guy". :hilarious: Even in some cases I've seen where they say the whole solo was Joe alone. But the ones that are Felder fans obviously know it. But I think also you could say the same for TBS - not a household name. When I talk to people who have heard or even like Eagles music but not hardcore fans or history buffs, they mainly only know of GF, DH, and JW as being members of the band. I don't know if that's because of their solo careers or what. As much as I think Joe is underrated as a player by the general public compared to other big name guitarists, I think it seems pretty much everyone knows the name, what groups he was in or at least the Eagles and solo, etc. I think to me it's obvious he's the most well known Eagles member other than DH or GF. Just from my experiences anyway.

[Prettymaid]

:nod: But I still HAVE to make a point that it seems Timothy is "winning" this one by a landslide! Finally, some recognition!!! :grin:

Yes, some recognition that Timothy does not get enough recognition. Lol!

[TimothyBFan]

Yes, some recognition that Timothy does not get enough recognition. Lol!


What a catch 22 this is!

[Grey Sadler]

I like Tim...and will always have a soft spot for Randy...but my vote goes to Bernie!
I just can't deny my bluegrass/Johnny Cash roots...sometimes I wish they had finished the 3rd album with Glyn Johns, then done OTB...?!

[Freypower]

Well, someone here voted for Glenn. He is underrated to some extent, by critics & some reviewers. This applies to his vocals, his songwriting & his guitar playing. This has also unfortunately carried over to a couple of books, notably To The Limit.

The tour next year is being advertised as 'Eagles Legend Glenn Frey'. The reality is I don't think they could just have used his name by itself. (I have a signature of the ad which I will use soon).

[Troubadour]

Tim is my pick from the current line-up, but I must agree that I think Bernie is very underrated. Being a Flying Burrito Brothers fan, I realise how talented he is and I love his quiet, folksy presence. He always looked like he was having a lot of fun in the Eagles performances too (eg: Kirshner and the BBC show.) He was just more of the Gram Parsons school than the rock school, and they went in different directions. He contributed a huge amount to the Eagles early sound, though.

[Topkat]

Quote Sodascouts

Yeah, I think this is true among the general public. I know it was for me before I became a big Eagles fan. He was never a "star" of the band, and even those who remember there was a fifth Eagle at one time might be hard-pressed to remember his name. That's why he is always introduced as "Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles" - to jog people's memory. The fact that this intro is often followed with ".... and he [co]wrote Hotel California" also indicates that people outside of the hardcore fandom aren't expected to know that.
__________________

I have to disagree with this statement. I think lots of people know who Don Felder is & that he was a "star" in the band.
Maybe to those who have more recently become Eagles fans, Felder may not be well known, but anyone who knows the Eagles from the 70's are well aware of him.

Look at any Youtube video (whatever may be left out there) & you will see lots of comments on how Felder was mistreated & kicked out of the band. Many fans have deserted the Eagles because of it. You may not want to believe that to be true, but I do know people who have a lot of ill feelings about Henley & Frey for this very reason...and refuse to go see them live.

I think it is more of an "age thing". Lot's of the "over 50" fans think the Eagles have become "Corporate Rock" and are only about the money. This is not my opinion, but I do see many of these type of comments out there.

[Jonny Come Lately]

I regard Bernie Leadon as the most underrated Eagles member. He was (indeed is) a terrific musician capable of playing a great variety of instruments, which proved extremely useful to the Eagles in their early years, especially on the Desperado album (which I consider to be the finest from this period), where he contributes some excellent banjo, mandolin and dobro parts as well as guitars. As the predominant lead guitarist on most of the early singles, with the exceptions of Witchy Woman and Already Gone, he defined their original country rock sound and I love his solos on Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise and of course his masterful solo on Peaceful Easy Feeling. Songs like Outlaw Man and James Dean show that he could play rock and roll pretty well too (although admittedly not quite as well as Felder and Walsh, although I consider both to be exceptional rock players).

He also contributed significantly more to the songwriting process than Randy did - IIRC Randy wrote or co-wrote 7 songs, the same as the number he sings lead on (albeit not always the same songs), Bernie has 11 writing credits, including the classic Witchy Woman as well as Saturday Night, On The Border and Hollywood Waltz. Yet, with the possible exception of TLHTM, the seven true Leadon Eagles tunes (I consider these to be his 6 lead vocals plus Journey of the Sorcerer) are largely ignored outside of the core Eagles fanbase. I consider this a great shame, as My Man is a simply beautiful tribute to Gram Parsons while the brooding acoustic Bitter Creek apart from being an excellent track which captures the loneliness of the desert is crucial in setting up the finale of the Desperado album. More unusually I also really like Earlybird and Journey of the Sorcerer. The former is a true feel good song to me and I love how it brings together bluegrass (Bernie's banjo) with rock (Glenn's slide guitar), the harmony vocals are stunning too. As a huge Pink Floyd fan I enjoy listening to long instrumental songs and I've always liked the atmosphere of JOTS. I like Twenty-One for its energy and his playing, he really owns that track. I am not wild about I Wish You Peace although this is partly due to arrangement (I'd prefer it acoustic without the strings, which don't add anything to it IMO), it's not a bad song in itself.

Additionally, Bernie did not appear on Hotel California. While I think the arrival of Walsh meant the band did not miss him on this album, this has ensured that, regrettably, his contribution remains widely overlooked. I can understand this lack of recognition as I when I first listened to HC I had no idea who he was, let alone know that he was once the band's most important musician - it was only when I looked through the liner notes of my parents' OOTN CD did I read about him.

Of course, Bernie was very prominent on the massively successful Greatest Hits Volume One, but even on this there are plenty of people out there who think it was Joe Walsh playing his guitar parts... He doesn't have any lead vocals on the album either, which doesn't help (of course this was due to him not singing any hits, but that wasn't his style, songs like Bitter Creek and My Man were never likely to be hits).

Therefore I think Bernie receives too little recognition for his great contributions to the Eagles during his time in the band.

I notice that no one who has voted so far considers Don Henley or Joe Walsh to be the most underrated band member (fair enough - they are both very widely recognised and acclaimed, in part due to their very successful solo careers) but was surprised to see as many votes for Glenn as the most underrated as there were for Randy. I wouldn't disagree with that actually, I really like Glenn's vocals and his guitar playing is certainly underrated.

[thelastresort]

Can't disagree with anything JCL said. Bernie was the epitome of the early Eagles sound that I fell in love with, and whilst I'm not enamoured to some of his songs (TLHTM and Earlybird mainly), I love the sounds he added - the lonesome banjo on D-D/DR, the divine mandolin on Saturday Night and of course his faultless Tele playing - Peaceful Easy Feeling probably being the best example of that. He's not too bad as a vocalist either. So glad he's back and playing such a prominent role in the tour, I just wish he's was given a little bit more of a chance to show his ability - he does have his fair share of time in the spotlight, but I would love to see him on steel pedal or mandolin as he was oh so often back in the day.

[DJ]

I loved Timothy when I saw him live with Poco, but I must say, IMO Randy was better at both vocals and bass. Sorry no offense. Much appreciation for TBS contributions.:)

[DJ]

I regard Bernie Leadon as the most underrated Eagles member. He was (indeed is) a terrific musician capable of playing a great variety of instruments, which proved extremely useful to the Eagles in their early years, especially on the Desperado album (which I consider to be the finest from this period), where he contributes some excellent banjo, mandolin and dobro parts as well as guitars. As the predominant lead guitarist on most of the early singles, with the exceptions of Witchy Woman and Already Gone, he defined their original country rock sound and I love his solos on Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise and of course his masterful solo on Peaceful Easy Feeling. Songs like Outlaw Man and James Dean show that he could play rock and roll pretty well too (although admittedly not quite as well as Felder and Walsh, although I consider both to be exceptional rock players).

He also contributed significantly more to the songwriting process than Randy did - IIRC Randy wrote or co-wrote 7 songs, the same as the number he sings lead on (albeit not always the same songs), Bernie has 11 writing credits, including the classic Witchy Woman as well as Saturday Night, On The Border and Hollywood Waltz. Yet, with the possible exception of TLHTM, the seven true Leadon Eagles tunes (I consider these to be his 6 lead vocals plus Journey of the Sorcerer) are largely ignored outside of the core Eagles fanbase. I consider this a great shame, as My Man is a simply beautiful tribute to Gram Parsons while the brooding acoustic Bitter Creek apart from being an excellent track which captures the loneliness of the desert is crucial in setting up the finale of the Desperado album. More unusually I also really like Earlybird and Journey of the Sorcerer. The former is a true feel good song to me and I love how it brings together bluegrass (Bernie's banjo) with rock (Glenn's slide guitar), the harmony vocals are stunning too. As a huge Pink Floyd fan I enjoy listening to long instrumental songs and I've always liked the atmosphere of JOTS. I like Twenty-One for its energy and his playing, he really owns that track. I am not wild about I Wish You Peace although this is partly due to arrangement (I'd prefer it acoustic without the strings, which don't add anything to it IMO), it's not a bad song in itself.

Additionally, Bernie did not appear on Hotel California. While I think the arrival of Walsh meant the band did not miss him on this album, this has ensured that, regrettably, his contribution remains widely overlooked. I can understand this lack of recognition as I when I first listened to HC I had no idea who he was, let alone know that he was once the band's most important musician - it was only when I looked through the liner notes of my parents' OOTN CD did I read about him.

Of course, Bernie was very prominent on the massively successful Greatest Hits Volume One, but even on this there are plenty of people out there who think it was Joe Walsh playing his guitar parts... He doesn't have any lead vocals on the album either, which doesn't help (of course this was due to him not singing any hits, but that wasn't his style, songs like Bitter Creek and My Man were never likely to be hits).

Therefore I think Bernie receives too little recognition for his great contributions to the Eagles during his time in the band.

I notice that no one who has voted so far considers Don Henley or Joe Walsh to be the most underrated band member (fair enough - they are both very widely recognised and acclaimed, in part due to their very successful solo careers) but was surprised to see as many votes for Glenn as the most underrated as there were for Randy. I wouldn't disagree with that actually, I really like Glenn's vocals and his guitar playing is certainly underrated.

I agree with you on Bernie, he is a great musician/songwriter, but where is his solo stuff, does he have any? I've never seen it has anyone else?

[Jonny Come Lately]

I think Bernie has released two solo albums, the first one called Natural Progressions which he made with the Michael Georgiades Band was released in 1977, and the second, Mirror was released some twenty-seven years later (almost as long as the gap between The Long Run and Long Road Out Of Eden). I haven't heard anything from either album, frankly without checking I'd have had no idea that he'd released any solo work either.

In truth since he left the Eagles in 1975 he kept a relatively low profile until the HOTE tour kicked off, I think he mainly did session work. Unlike Don and Glenn, his most widely recognised non-Eagles music was made before he joined the band, with the Flying Burrito Brothers and Dillard & Clark. Randy of course was in Poco before joining but he after he left did have a couple of solo hits (notably Hearts On Fire), Bernie cannot claim this.

In any case I've found both of Bernie's post-Eagles studio albums on allmusic with the respective tracklistings:

Natural Progressions
http://www.allmusic.com/album/natural-progressions-mw0000661534

Mirror
http://www.allmusic.com/album/mirror-mw0000329150

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Soda has a few audio and video files for download on BernieLeadonOnline for anyone that wants to check some of them out. Here is the link to the Download page ...

http://www.bernieleadononline.com/downloads.htm

[DJ]

I think Bernie has released two solo albums, the first one called Natural Progressions which he made with the Michael Georgiades Band was released in 1977, and the second, Mirror was released some twenty-seven years later (almost as long as the gap between The Long Run and Long Road Out Of Eden). I haven't heard anything from either album, frankly without checking I'd have had no idea that he'd released any solo work either.

In truth since he left the Eagles in 1975 he kept a relatively low profile until the HOTE tour kicked off, I think he mainly did session work. Unlike Don and Glenn, his most widely recognised non-Eagles music was made before he joined the band, with the Flying Burrito Brothers and Dillard & Clark. Randy of course was in Poco before joining but he after he left did have a couple of solo hits (notably Hearts On Fire), Bernie cannot claim this.

In any case I've found both of Bernie's post-Eagles studio albums on allmusic with the respective tracklistings:

Natural Progressions
http://www.allmusic.com/album/natural-progressions-mw0000661534

Mirror
http://www.allmusic.com/album/mirror-mw0000329150

Thanks I've never seen these. :)

[MaryCalifornia]

The tour next year is being advertised as 'Eagles Legend Glenn Frey'. The reality is I don't think they could just have used his name by itself. (I have a signature of the ad which I will use soon).

What is this Glenn tour next year of which you speak, FP?

[Freypower]

What is this Glenn tour next year of which you speak, FP?

MC, this is an old thread & you need to read the date. I wrote that in 2012, the year before Glenn's Australian tour.

[MaryCalifornia]

My bad. I saw two pages of 12/30/2014 posts and didn't catch that. Sorry.