Frontiers Music [Release date : 23.05.25]

Don Felder enjoyed two six year stints as a member of The Eagles. The second ended in 2001.

His vocal presence was limited. He was a prolific songwriter, though Don Henley and Glen Frey were the dominant forces in the band (except for ‘Hotel California’, written by all three).

That said, his contribution to the band’s sound is immeasurable. They hired him on for his skills as a guitarist. His solos and slide playing helped the band’s transition away from Country to Rock, and the rest, of course, is popular music history.

The Vault resurrects material written by Felder over those years, from 1974 to the present day. New versions of songs that never made it beyond demo stage, now kitted out in studio finery.

These are songs written by a session musician in constant demand, and more recently two solo albums, Road To Forever (2012) and American Rock’n’Roll (2019).

He’s helped out The Vault by a galaxy of stars, including David Paich, Steve Lukather, Brian Tichy and Lenny Castro.

The album’s key track comes early. ‘Free At Last’, the first teaser trailer, sees Felder’s whispered, processed vocal, quickly changing up into an intimate chorus…Felder : “This song is a heartfelt tribute to the freedom that awaits us beyond this life. It’s about shedding the burdens of this world, and finding peace in the promise that, one day, we will all be Free At Last.”

‘Hollywood Victim’ too delves into dark, moody territory, portrayed in a mix of first-person narrative and vivid imagery. Framed against a backdrop of haunting, bluesy soft rock, Felder reveals the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, and the broken dreams and broken lives of those who lost their way.

We need something a little more upbeat now, and Felder delivers with ‘Last All Night’. Very eighties Van Halen, overlaid with a sheen of westcoast harmonies and an ultra cool chorus.

He reinforces our musical entry to the eighties with the poppy, upbeat ‘I Like The Things You Do’, which ironically, just maybe could have been a Glen Frey single. That’s further emphasised by ‘All Girls Love To Dance’, an echo of the movie inspired synth pop/rock of Harold Faltermeyer.

A cool new recording of ‘Heavy Metal’, the theme song to the controversial 1981 sci-fi movie animation, has preserved the music’s warm, valve driven ambience. Nice move.

Elsewhere, ‘Move On’ entertains us with Felder’s trademark axework, proudly old fashioned, lightly loaded with grain and grit, and the lazily paced ‘Digital World’, fuelled by reggae rhythms and soulful musical hints.

Eagles or no Eagles, The Vault is is an indelible record of a solo artist who has always been at the top of his game. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 16 June 2025

LOVE NOR MONEY Blood Will Tell (Golden Robot Records)
DISCIPLES OF VERITY Break The Cycle (TLG/Zoid)
BLACKLIST UNION Up In Smoke (BLU Records)
ANDY AND THE ROCKETS Cyanide (Valley Music Delapop)
ARCHERS Crooked Smile (SBG Records)
ZETRA So (Nuclear Blast)
HOLLOW SOULS Shotgun (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 16 June 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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