Jackson Browne and The Eagles- Take It Easy

It was a very sad performance. It was slowed down a tick and everyone looked sad.

quote:

---

Just hit me on the gaping hole The Eagles now have without the presence of Frey.

---

That and the fact they are old as hell.

Yes they looked sad. It's like they couldn't wait to get off the stage. But I can understand.

is this online anywhere? Its the only part of the grammys I wanted to catch

LINK

The lyrics for Hotel California were about Browns wife who committed suicide. Henley penned the lyrics to the guitar tracks that Don Felder had laid down and giving to him.

quote:

---

No Felder, no care. And if he doesn't make the (rescheduled) Kennedy Center Honors show (and I don't expect it, with as petty as Henley has become in his old age) - I won't watch that, either.

---

Id always heard and read that Felder was negative force in the band. He was super jealous of Frey and Henley who were the genius behind the band.

Dude - Felder created some guitar licks/riffs/progressions. That is not the same as writing songs. Felder thought he was as big as Henley or Frey - big mistake and pretty idiotic.

Also, Felder was brought in to replace Bernie Leadon (another guitarist/band member who got too big for his britches) and was a huge improvement. Walsh was the one who put on the hard edge rock'n roll.

Felder created some absolutely iconic guitar sequences but he screwed himself over all by himself by thinking the band was some sort of democracy instead of an outfit founded and driven by Frey and Henley. Too bad, really.

quote:

---

Dude - Felder created some guitar licks/riffs/progressions.

---

I don't know where people get this. Songwriting (the music) IS about coming up with a unique melody and chord progression. That actually IS songwriting from a musical standpoint. It is hilarious that Henley and Frey describe everyone else's contributions in this way, but describe what they do (the exact same thing) as songwriting.

The lyrics, no question, Henley and Frey were great lyricists.

The third thing involved in creating music is arranging. That is largely what they consider the rhythm section contributions to their bands songs. They do not get songwriting credit for that - and, by and large, guitarists don't get credit merely for adding a solo over the top of a composition, unless the solo influences the composition or the guitarist otherwise contributed to the melody or progression. This is also what Henley and Frey did with most Eagles songs (arrangement) even if they didn't cowrite the song. This is also what producers often do without songwriting credit.

Now - having said that, Don Felder was not as prolific as Henley or Frey. Not only did they write the lion's share of the songs, they also really dominated the band's lyrics. I'm not trying to take anything away from them, but the band sounds like Long Road Out of Eden without Felder (even with Joe).

Joe's main contribution to the band's hit songs was Life in the Fast Lane (other than songs he wrote the bulk of and sang, such as Pretty Maids and In the City, which are 2 of my favorites).

If you want to hear the change - just listen to Take it Easy, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Tequila Sunrise, Desperado and Best of My Love - that was pretty much what you were going to get without Felder.

THEN listen to One of These Nights and Take it to the Limit - Felder doesn't get co-writing credit on either of those songs - and I used those as examples because that was a Henley/Frey and a Meisner composition, respectively. But Felder's guitar work makes those songs stand out from the bland, milquetoast, "old people" music they were doing before.

Felder was the primary songwriter on Hotel California and Victim of Love. Those songs and Life in the Fast Lane are the only real "rock" songs on the Hotel California album.

Walsh continues to be and has always been the coolest Eagle, IMO.