Printable View
I've seen speculation/assertions that he uses autotune in the live performances which might allow notes to be sustained after he moves away from the microphone and keep it at a consistent volume throughout. However, I'm willing to believe he's singing along with playback if it's identical from one show to the next. The vocals have a strange processed quality, so I'm assuming there's a lot of autotune whichever method he's using live.
From listening to those Youtube links from chaim, it's so obvious he is using autotune, and in my opinion, it sounds silly, especially Witchy Woman. At times, his voice sounds obviously robotic.
I was talking about lip syncing earlier. Yesterday I was again watching some solo performances from Felder - Take It Easy, Peaceful Easy Feeling etc. All of them looked so fake that again I compared a few performances of the same songs and they were identical vocalwise. Here he misses the word "'cause" in both performances during the sentence "'Cause I'm already standing on the ground".
At 0:55 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnZ2n6HvVm0
At 1:03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjUj8qF47xA
Again I'm not saying that Felder lip syncing is a terrible thing, as he's not a singer but a guitarist. But I think he should at least be honest about it because occasionally he has criticized the Eagles with Steuart, and because so many people - including many journalists - make him out to be such a "real thing" compared to the Eagles. And people who keep bashing Henley & Frey and praising Felder's vocal performances on YouTube should at least know that their hero is not singing live.
If Felder was a bit more humble and kinder towards his ex-bandmates and didn't pretend to be the only "real thing", I wouldn't even be making posts such as this. Plus he has bashed people who lip sync in concerts...:)
I hear the "cos" * in both performances. I don't know if he lip-synchs or uses auto-tune but I don't like the tone of voice.
Od that he calls Peaceful, Easy Feeling a sad song. Jack Tempchin talks about it as knowing he's fine even if he doesn't get the girl ("because I'm already standing on the ground") and that she "can't take me anyway I don't already know how to go".
* I'm not sure if you know that the "cause" in "because" is pronounced "cos" and not like "cause" when it's a single word. I'd never thought about that before.
I think it's a pity in a way as the songs on Road to Forever are fine, and the instrumental performances and arrangements are good.
If Don paired up with a singer with a really good distinctive voice, not necessitating autotune, then I think the album would be much better.
(Please note the word distinctive. Too many times when people team up with singers they end up with someone with a generic voice that sounds like too many other voices. I'm suggesting that Don's album would be better with someone who sings technically as well as Don Henley, but also has a distinctive recognisable voice like Don Henley too.)
Wouldn't 90% of all albums released be better with Don Henley doing the vocals? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Annoying Twit
I think Felder's solo recording career is an indulgence rather than an aspiration.
It's great to see Joe roping Joe Vitale, Waddy Wachtel, Chad Cromwell et al into his band. It demonstrates that he still aspires to something that he thinks he can't reach with regular musicians. :p
I know you're kidding, but Henley's voice is one I like in small doses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Funk 50
I do wonder how the collaboration with Max Carl and Paul Carack would have worked out. I assume, Felder would have just played the guitar. Even Timothy might have struggled to get a lead vocal.
Joe Vitale, Waddy Watchel and Chad Cromwell aren't regular musicians?
The difference between band members and sidemen is quite strange. The sidemen are probably more skilled than any of the artists they support but few people know who they are. Would Felder have been happier if he'd continued to be a sideman?
Well-spotted, UTW.
Felder's main gripe has always seemed to me to be that he was a sideman who craved the spotlight and resented the fact that he didn't get it. He would have been dissatisfied in any band where he was faced with a comparative lack of recognition.
I didn't know that. :-) But my point was that when we hear "'cos" (however it's pronounced) Don hasn't opened his mouth yet. This happens in both performances. Seems that he didn't remember that the sentence starts with "'cos". But the tape did!Quote:
Originally Posted by UndertheWire
I've tried playing both youtube videos simultaneously and while I think there are differences in the lead guitar, the lead vocal track sounds identical. I can't believe a singer as mediocre as Don could achieve such note-for-note consistency at shows 8 months apart, so I agree it's a pre-recorded (and auto-tuned) track.
Here's a recording from 4 years ago where you can't hear Don above the audience and then one of his band members joins in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUpAnEvY3KQ
This one from 2013, also seems to be live - Don speaks to the audience - and his band are singing with him. It starts around 4 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poRct_NIoK4
This one is from the cruise in Feb 2015 and sounds like the recorded track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnRiweAt0XM
In summary, I think Don used to sing live but started using pre-recorded tracks around 2014.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
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.
I thought this was the thread I was supposed to come to... I can't win I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freypower
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
Soda is right. Preferences are subjective.
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freypower
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.
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.
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
Thanks!
So here is a fresh perspective on Don Felder. My 14-year-old son plays guitar and has been learning HC. He doesn't know anything about Felder's history with the band except that he isn't in it anymore. My son wanted to show me Felder's HC tutorial on Youtube, so we started watching it and after a minute or so of Felder talking my son said, "He's so nice..."
I thought to myself, "Son, if you only knew what is said about him!" :hilarious:
Felder is a very nice guy. A bit full of himself at times, but I think it comes with the fact he had a big hand in one of the biggest rock anthems of all time, plus being a killer player.Quote:
Originally Posted by MaryCalifornia
For those interested in watching him take a critical drubbing on the matter of his vocal talents(or lack thereof) in real time, a totally amusing clip from a couple of years back of infamous radio & TV talker Don Imus savaging Don Felder's performance of "Hotel California" on Fox's morning show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz4pWGe1I3E
The main action lasts from 0:15--4:44.
I watched it, but I have no clue what the point was. They could just say they don't like Felder's singing instead of going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Why do something like that on TV? :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by WS82Classics
I know this is mean, but after getting excited about a JD Souther performance of Heartache Tonight, I thought I'd listen to one by Don Felder. I wasn't expecting to like it but I was surprised at just how bad (and hammy) Don and his band were.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7GZD5VviiI
Dons version of HC with Tommy shaw is really great though. I wish Felder would use his natural voice and not heavily auto tune it. I really do enjoy that version. Felder has a natural bass tone to his voice. But the auto tune makes sound to tight and robotic. Props to Tommy Shaw who is a natural singer.
Unfortunately, that Heartache Tonight video is blocked here. I wish Don F wouldn't use auto-tune either but the man is pushing 70 now and I guess his voice isn't as strong as it used to be. He's not just singing ballads, he's taking on some rockin' songs. Kudos to him for going out and still doing his thing.:thumbsup:
He plays HT three semitones lower, so it sounds a bit different. But of course, he could never sing the chorus - let alone the bridge - in the original key.
Gotto agree underthewire, move over Michael Buble! It's almost cabaret. Who would've thought, JD Souther out rocks Don Felder... and that inane grin, it may be fine in interviews but when your singing about heartache?Quote:
Originally Posted by UndertheWire
The audience seemed to enjoy it though!
Youtube is useful. I managed to listen to Airborne yesterday. I think it's a good album, but it doesn't really stand out as excellent. However, comparing Eagles albums to solo albums by Don H/Glenn H you can hear what Don F contributed to the Eagles sound. Even though Joe has a rocky background, he has a different style from much of what appeared on Eagles albums IMHO. My favourite song on it (after one listen) is 'Never Surrender'. IMHO the Allmusic review that implies that song is a second rate 'Life In The Fast Lane' is unfair.
I love Don's voice and I love his version of HT. I also thought the Imus thing was OTT. I find Don's grin fine, as I think it's genuine as he's a pleasant guy.
Don playing Hotel California with Kiss minus Paul Stanley.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...72269936169964
Thanks for that Chaim. Don's voice sounds tired but he looks good! It's cool he gets to perform with so many well-known musicians.
I loved watching Don play with Kiss, because I love both bands. 8-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Delilah
There's some Vegas footage of Felder and Styx on YouTube.
Here's Take It Easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SZgRHl34M
Don sounds kind of different singing Take It Easy here; his voice is less husky or something. You can tell he still enjoys performing. Thanks, F50!
I wouldn't judge Don's vocals from this Vegas footage, as I think they are really poor quality audio. I have seen Don several times the past 3 years & vocally he has come a long way, He sounds much better than even when he was an Eagle. Ever since his album came out a few years ago & he toured as a solo act, he has really picked up in the vocals. There's no back up bunch of vocalists so he's stepped up his game.
If you have the chance to see him, do go. It's well worth it.
These videos don't do him justice.
I understand cell phone audio is not the best. In the other clips from the Vegas show he sounds more like himself. It was just TIE where I thought he sounded off.
If he ever comes to my area, I will definitely try to see him. It would be thrilling to see the guy who wrote the music for Hotel California actually perform the Eagles' most famous, iconic song.
Don has recorded a video for a string manufacturer. Naturally, the best parts are when he plays his guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWWci8ud93g
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3_qP27CJWA