Don Felder is a true 21st century renaissance man for all seasons. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is probably most known for his contributions as an Eagles lead guitarist, co-writing and performing the memorable solo on the band’s “Hotel California” with Joe Walsh, while contributing songs such as “Vision” (where he sang lead vocals) on One of These Nights in addition to earning writing credits on “Victim of Love” and “Those Shoes” from Hotel California.

Since leaving the band – first in 1980 when they went on hiatus, then for good in 2001 — Felder has kept busy, releasing three solo albums, including his 1983 debut Airborne, followed by 2012’s Road to Forever and 2019’s American Rock ‘n’ Roll, which featured a who’s-who of collaborators like Slash, Mick Fleetwood, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Orianthi, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, Bob Weir, Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Jim Keltner and Peter Frampton.

The Vault (Fifty Years of Music) is Felder’s highly anticipated fourth solo release – his first in five years and debut for notable indie label Frontiers Music Srl. A look back at his half-century in the music business, the album consists of re-recorded demos from throughout his career that were never finished, including several originally submitted to Glenn Frey and Don Henley for Eagles records.

The opening rocker “Move On,” is a rousing breakup/goodbye tune written by Felder in 1974 for inclusion on Eagles’ One of These Nights. As Felder recounts, Henley cheekily suggested it be called “Slide On” in favor of his prowess on slide guitar, a skill legendarily taught to the Gainesville, Florida native as a teenager by pal Duane Allman.

“I originally recorded this slide [guitar] demo on a TEAC four-track playing drums on a cardboard box,” he remembered. “Don Henley thought it was cool and suggested the title. I was constantly writing song ideas for them. A lot of these demos I hadn’t heard for decades.”

Like all Felder solo efforts, The Vault’s backing cast features longtime collaborators like Toto’s David Paich, Steve Lukather, Joe Williams and Greg Phillinganes, drummers Greg Bissonette, Brian Tichy, Jim Keltner, Todd Sucherman and Chad Cromwell as well as bassist Nathan East, percussionist Lenny Castro, vocalists Nina Winter, background vocals by Brett Simons.

“Free At Last,” the first single and one of the more recent (written last year), echoes the title track to Felder’s 2012 solo album Road to Forever, a reflection of his devotion to transcendental mediation and, in his own words, 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.”

The sardonic “Hollywood Victim,” another focus track first penned by Felder in the early ‘90s for the Hell Freezes Over tour, could be the companion piece to “Hotel California,” a tale of innocent dreamers who gravitate to a land of broken promises, reminiscent of the latter’s telling lyric, “You can check out anytime you like/But you can never leave.”

Felder’s eclectic stylistic approach features a pair of ‘80s-influenced tracks, the reggae/techno “Digital World,” a satiric jab against the current fascination with social  media prompted by seeing his son’s face buried in his iPhone marked by Steve Lukather’s winding guitar solo, and the funky, synth-based “All Girls Love to Dance,” with its nod to both Rick James and Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” (“We love it!”) background vocals.

The rocking third single, “I Like the Things You Do,” is another more recent creation, an unabashed celebration of female beauty, a nod to his current girlfriend Jaden, with lyrics like “I like the taste of your luscious lips/The way you sway your curvy hips.”

The only previously released song, “Heavy Metal,” is re-recorded in a new, hard-rocking version once intended for Eagles’ The Long Run, but now irrevocably remembered as the intro to the psychedelic, animated film. “Let Me Down Easy” is a rock star road song from the female point of view, with lead vocals by Nina Winter.  “Blue Skies,” the album closer, is a swelling acoustic epilogue dedicated to Glenn Frey, who passed away in 2016, with a heavenly chorus intoning, “I’ll be forever wishing you blue skies.”

The multi-talented Felder is also a best-selling N.Y. Times author (Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles), a TV host (the MTV spoof FTV) and soundtrack composer (contributing two tracks to Heavy Metal and the score for the 1986 CBS cartoon series Galaxy High). He originally joined Eagles in 1974 after he was asked to provide slide guitar to two tracks from On the Border, “Good Day in Hell” and “Already Gone,” at the recommendation of the group’s Bernie Leadon, a fellow Gainesville high school classmate with whom he shared a band as teenagers, the Continentals, where Bernie had replaced a young Stephen Stills. Another Gainesville High School classmate of Don’s included his teenage guitar student Tom Petty. Among the artists he’s collaborated with over the course of his career are the Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Andy Gibb (through his association with producer Albhy Galuten) as well as contributing guitars to Stevie Nicks’ first two solo albums.

Felder continues to maintain a rigorous road schedule, both on his own and as part of this summer’s “Brotherhood of Rock” tour with Styx and the Kevin [REO Speedwagon] Cronin Band. “I have a beautiful black RIMOWA suitcase that I live out of most of the time,” he laughs. “Otherwise, I’m busy in my recording studio, writing, producing or working on tracks. I love fleshing out musical ideas.”

Lucky for us, Don Felder is still going strong, 50 years later.

“I’ll continue to write and produce music until I can’t do it anymore,” he insisted.  “I embrace the transition. I look forward to leaving this planet with all my relationships healthy and positive, then stepping across the line to whatever’s next.”