Don Felder Television Appearances

[Delilah]

Here’s a link to the interview, or at least part of it. He discusses the double-neck guitar used in HC. It includes a video clip (fwiw, I think Felder looks great).

https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/video...uses-for-hotel

[chaim]

Gotta check it out. I guess he says that he needs a doubleneck to play the 12-string part when he's not playing the guitar harmony parts. But he could have given the 12-string part (capo on the 7th fret) for Glenn to play live. Instead Glenn played a part (capo on the 2nd) that, as far as I can hear, isn't even on the album, except possibly in the choruses. Someone said that Glenn gave the TALA solo to Don when they played it live. Later he gave him the ICTYW solo. Why couldn't Don give Glenn that main 12-string part? It would even have sounded more like the original on an acoustic. Was it too difficult for Glenn to play accurately (some of the chord shapes are not easy that high on the neck)? Or was it important that the guy who wrote it played that distinctive part? But it wasn't necessary later in ICTYW...

[chaim]

What I'm saying is that he needs a doubleck only if HE has to be the one playing the part with a capo on the 7th fret.

[Delilah]

Maybe I’m not following you but why would Don give away the 12-string part that he wrote? That guitar intro has now become an iconic and recognizable part of the song. True that Glenn wrote the guitar solos for TALA and ICTYW but given that Don’s role was that of lead guitarist, it makes sense that he would play them live. Glenn was a fine guitarist but he wasn’t as technically proficient as Don. Glenn was also a pragmatist who wanted the best for the band. We don’t know how many takes were needed for Glenn to record his solos but Don seemed to have no problem playing the ICTYW solo live. I’d love to hear his TALA solo.

If Glenn was intent on playing the 12-string part but didn’t b/c Felder balked or complained too much, he could have done so when Steuart Smith came on board. Instead Smith played(s) a double-neck same as Felder.

[chaim]

Well, it had been played that way for decades, so it made sense to do it that way with Steuart. I already said why it would have made sense to give the part for Glenn in my opinion: It would have sounded more like the record with an acoustic 12-string.

In no way did I mean to imply that Glenn wanted to play it, but Don refused. Perhaps my words were badly chosen. I'm pretty sure the idea of somebody else playing it live never even came up. But it's not unheard of that people in bands play parts they didn't play in the studio.

[chaim]

Actually I think Bernie doubled Don's 12-string part on an acoustic 12-string in the Hall Of Fame performance.

[WalshFan88]

Gotta check it out. I guess he says that he needs a doubleneck to play the 12-string part when he's not playing the guitar harmony parts. But he could have given the 12-string part (capo on the 7th fret) for Glenn to play live. Instead Glenn played a part (capo on the 2nd) that, as far as I can hear, isn't even on the album, except possibly in the choruses. Someone said that Glenn gave the TALA solo to Don when they played it live. Later he gave him the ICTYW solo. Why couldn't Don give Glenn that main 12-string part? It would even have sounded more like the original on an acoustic. Was it too difficult for Glenn to play accurately (some of the chord shapes are not easy that high on the neck)? Or was it important that the guy who wrote it played that distinctive part? But it wasn't necessary later in ICTYW...

Agreed, chaim. I certainly don't hear that 2nd fret capoed part on the record. Glenn IMO was more than capable of playing that part on his 12 string.

Glenn was a very generous and giving individual and quite humble. I still think his playing on ICTYW is better than Felder or Smith doing it live. In actuality, the fact that Felder was more technical kind of made his ICTYW solo sound more clinical and didn't have the more soulful loose interpretation of the original that Glenn played. The fact that Glenn played guitar the way he did is why the solos on ICTYW, WW, and AG are as great as they are. A schooled player would have made it sound robotic. Felder, on the other hand wanted to be in the spotlight and he wanted to play it. So it wasn't as problematic as he made it seem. He chose to play both parts, so he got a doubleneck guitar to be able to do so. It's not like it was a task that he absolutely had to do all of it himself. And that's fine that he did, but he didn't have to. Glenn was more than proficient enough to play that part correctly. He wanted to be the one out front doing it all (except Walsh's solo). He probably wouldn't have wanted to give any of his guitar parts away. Which is fine.

Glenn was a very capable lead guitarist, he just chose to delegate that task to other people. Kind of like when Joe gave Steuart his solo on Life's Been Good so he could clown around on the helmet cam in the F1 period. He tried doing it himself at first (like on the F1 video) while moving around but later on just let Stu play it, which was cool. It gave him the freedom to interact with the crowd and be fun. It was cool.

[WalshFan88]

Glenn was a fine guitarist but he wasn’t as technically proficient as Don. Glenn was also a pragmatist who wanted the best for the band. We don’t know how many takes were needed for Glenn to record his solos but Don seemed to have no problem playing the ICTYW solo live. I’d love to hear his TALA solo.

While he wasn't as technical of a guitarist, the fact he did play with a more loose soulful bluesy style made his solos the way they were. When a more fluid schooled player plays them, they sound too perfected. The beauty is in their simplicity and the loose phrasing and feel. That's certainly the case with ICTYW. Glenn's guitar playing is heavily underrated and I feel he more than held his own with Felder and Walsh.

Also, I don't think Glenn had to do that many takes of his solos to be able to play them, that almost infers that he had trouble playing them compared to Felder, which isn't true. It's true he wanted the best for the band, but I really don't think he struggled all that much with the solos he created. I think he executed them very well and it takes a player of his more laid back style to do them exactly. Felder and Stu play all the notes in all the right places and so it sounds right, but the feel of them is different. The best way I can describe it is that it's more clinical, and doesn't have that loose feel of the original. It's too polished. Which on a song like ICTYW, isn't always the best thing. Sometimes you want something a bit "from the hip". Perfection was Glenn's thing in the Eagles, but his guitar style exuded more rawness than that of Don Felder.

[WalshFan88]

In no way did I mean to imply that Glenn wanted to play it, but Don refused. Perhaps my words were badly chosen.

I didn't infer that from your post. I highly doubt Glenn insisted on playing that part.

[Delilah]

I'm pretty sure the idea of somebody else playing it live never even came up. But it's not unheard of that people in bands play parts they didn't play in the studio.

This sounds like the most reasonable explanation.