Rock Report: Don Felder Feels Free Not Having to Write for Eagles

Former Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder says that writing the songs for his second solo album, the newly released Road To Forever collection, was a liberating experience. Road To Forever features such high profile guest appearances by Graham Nash and David Crosby, Steve Lukather of Toto, and Tommy Shaw of Styx.

Felder was fired from the Eagles in 2001 following monetary disputes with Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Eagles manager Irving Azoff. The case was settled out of court the following year and 2006, Felder published his memoir, Heaven And Hell: My Life In The Eagles.

Don Felder told us that by following his muse on Road To Forever -- rather than the Eagles' strict musical guidelines -- it opened up a whole new world for him: "When I was writing for that band, it was very much like writing for a sitcom, where you know the cast of characters and how each one is, and how well they cam play and their style of playing. So, I had to kind of write songs, and write music, and write ideas for that group of people. In other words, I couldn't write stuff that was too complex, or too jazz oriented, or, y'know, required too many drum fills in a certain style. I had to really write specifically for that group of people in that band."