Customer Reviews

Hotel California [Vinyl]

5 star:		(167)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

If you were around in the late 70's and were within earshot of rock and pop radio, you heard the Eagles' 'Hotel California' and if you've listened to classic rock radio since then and till today, you are familiar with this album many times over, possibly even sick of it (as you might be with Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours', Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' and most of Led Zeppelin), as you might be sick of Eagles music in general. However, just this Christmas day, I was with family, and the household happened to have a superb DVD/Dolby surround setup and the man of the house received the DVD-A of 'Hotel California' as a gift. He put it on, and I was there to experience this already time-honored album in glorious multi-channel surround sound. If you thought you've heard enough of the Eagles' best album, you ought to give this a chance -- the classic title track alone makes it worth the purchase. You will hear cymbal swells, guitar parts separated and panned, vocals and all that is the musical brilliance of this album as you never have before. "Wasted Time" sounds so good it will make you weep (this was always one of my favorite Eagles album tracks, as is "The Last Resort", also benefitting from the DVD-A treatment) ... highly recommended for Eagles, classic rock, and music fans in general needing to hear how good either the DVD-A or SACD format can be.

Hotel California was the first Eagles album to feature Joe Walsh. By combining with Don Felder, they created a potent tandem and pushed the band to a harder sound. Like many other residents in the state, the band are not native Californians. Despite that fact, they have become synonymous with Southern California. On this album, they examine all the high and lows of the land of hopes and dreams. The word classic is thrown around a little too often, but the album's title track is one of only a handful of songs that are worthy of the title. From the opening guitar riff, to the cynical and vivid lyrics to the closing guitar coda, the song is a tour de force. Don Henley sings with a snarl in his voice and Mr. Walsh and Mr. Felder trade guitar licks in a can you top this fashion. The song is a masterpiece, became their third number single, won the 1977 Grammy for Record of the Year and one never tires of hearing it. "New Kid In Town" was the album's other number single and Glenn Frey sings with a smooth charm. The song perfectly captures that breezy Southern California sound the Eagles made famous. "Life In The Fast Lane" is the infamous rocker that details the hedonistic lifestyle of the late 70's that the band wholeheartedly embraced. "Wasted Time" is pretty ballad and the orchestral reprise of the song leads into a stinging rocker "Victim Of Love". Joe Walsh's Eagle lead vocal debut is the suprisingly sweet "Pretty Maids All In A Row". Randy Messiness' swan song with the band is the soaring "Try & Love Again". The album's closer, "The Last Resort", almost matches the title cut in power and brilliance. It tells of the pilgrimage from the east coast out to California and that it has to offer. Hotel California was the band's peak and one of the best albums of the 70's.

She'd taped a cool new song off the radio, a friend told me a little less than 25 years ago; she'd play it for me when I'd come to her place after school.

The song was "Hotel California," and my perception of music changed then and there, once and for all. I didn't even really understand the lyrics - I had barely begun to learn English, and apart from everything else I sure as hell didn't know what "colitas" meant. But understanding all the song's words wasn't necessary. From the first chords played by Felder and Walsh, this song was different from anything I had ever heard before. The layers of electric guitar riffs alternating with and ornamenting Don Henley's vocals, soaring in the chorus and culminating in a moving and evocative duet, touched a spot deep inside me that required no further explanation. Nor, really, did the other songs on this album which I instantaneously knew I had to have. I got the message conveyed in the raw edges of "Life in the Fast Lane," Joe Walsh's riffs throughout the song, the two guitar solos and Don Henley's sneering vocals, as well as I could hear the sense of loss in "Wasted Time," "The Last Resort" and "New Kid in Town."

This is not to say, of course, that the lyrics didn't matter to me once I was able to fully understand them. Rather, that understanding deepened my appreciation for the album; and yet another level of insight was added when I came to California for the first time in 1991. By that time I was an ardent fan, and although the Eagles didn't even exist as a band back then, their music has become an inseparable part of my memory of those months - particularly the album which bears the state's name and is so often called the quintessential California rock album (not only of the 1970s) that this description in itself is bordering on cliché now, true as it may once have been.

Since the release of their 1976 studio album, the Eagles have published several other versions of "Hotel California," and I love them all. (I even - sometimes - like the ska version Don Henley and his incredible tour band performed during their recent "Inside Job" tour.) But ultimately, it all comes back down for me to the duet of those two electric guitars which forever redefined the way I listen to music.

Also recommended:
The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
Selected Works: 1972-1999
Long Road Out of Eden Deluxe Edition

She'd taped a cool new song off the radio, a friend told me a little less than 25 years ago; she'd play it for me when I'd come to her place after school.

The song was "Hotel California," and my perception of music changed then and there, once and for all. I didn't even really understand the lyrics -- I had barely begun to learn English, and apart from everything else I sure as hell didn't know what "colitas" meant. But understanding all the song's words wasn't necessary. From the first chords played by Felder and Walsh, this song was different from anything I had ever heard before. The layers of electric guitar riffs alternating with and ornamenting Don Henley's vocals, soaring in the chorus and culminating in a moving and evocative duet, touched a spot deep inside me that required no further explanation. Nor, really, did the other songs on this album which I instantaneously knew I had to have. I got the message conveyed in the raw edges of "Life in the Fast Lane," Joe Walsh's riffs throughout the song, the two guitar solos and Don Henley's sneering vocals, as well as I could hear the sense of loss in "Wasted Time," "The Last Resort" and "New Kid in Town."

This is not to say, of course, that the lyrics didn't matter to me once I was able to fully understand them. Rather, that understanding deepened my appreciation for the album; and yet another level of insight was added when I came to California for the first time in 1991. By that time I was an ardent fan, and although the Eagles didn't even exist as a band back then, their music has become an inseparable part of my memory of those months - particularly the album which bears the state's name and is so often called the quintessential California rock album (not only of the 1970s) that this description in itself is bordering on clich' now, true as it may once have been.

Since the release of their 1976 studio album, the Eagles have published several other versions of "Hotel California," and I love them all. (I even -- sometimes -- like the ska version Don Henley and his incredible tour band performed during their 2001 "Inside Job" tour.) But ultimately, it all comes back down for me to the duet of those two electric guitars which forever redefined the way I listen to music.

Also recommended:
The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
Selected Works: 1972-1999
Long Road Out of Eden Deluxe Edition

HOTEL CALIFORNIA (1976) not only is notable as the Eagles' most mature and consistent album, but also for the vocal tour-de-force turned in by drummer Don Henley. With this effort the group ceased to be a machine for grinding out compilations of would-be singles, as their previous albums had been (with the notable exception of their cowboy-flavored second LP, 1973's DESPERADO), and became the purveyors of some of the most accessible and timeless rock (and ballads) of their era. "Wasted Time", "The Last Resort" (both essentially solo performances), and the title cut afforded Henley the opportunity to step into the spotlight as never before, and he didn't fumble his chance. Until this album he and Glen Frey had basically split lead vocal chores, but 22 years later it is Henley who is the one most often remembered as the band's lead singer, and with good reason. His singing on the above tracks as well as "Victim of Love" and "Life In The Fast Lane", while versatile, is also powerfully focused. No question, HOTEL CALIFORNIA served notice that Don Henley would soon be a force to be reckoned with as a solo artist. Far from being anyone's individual vehicle, though, this was a band with excellent musicians in it, as well - and never shown to better advantage than on HOTEL CALIFORNIA. Don Felder and Joe Walsh's dueling yet complementary guitars on "Try And Love Again" can still bring a tear to one's eye, and Walsh's plaintive, stately piano on "Pretty Maids All In A Row" adds just the right punctuation mark to his signature caterwauling (in contrast to the band's haunting, seemless harmonies behind him). And Frey shouldn't be overlooked, either - his (and the group's) perfect-to-the-note rendition of "New Kid In Town" manages to wring out just the right portions of irony and wry humor. Sadly, HOTEL CALIFORNIA was to be the Eagles' next-to-last album, and what's that about all good things coming to an end? It is, after all, fortunate that Don Henley went on to a long and productive solo career. It's also a good thing Hell froze over.

DCC deserves tremendous credit. Don Henley had expressed several years ago his dissatisfaction with the sound of the Eagles' catalog. Wisely, the two albums DCC chose to remaster is the Greatest Hits (now the biggest selling album) and this one!

What hits your ears immediately is the bass. The songs have a bottom to them that was lost when issued in the mid 80's. There is also tremendous clarity in the high end as well. The superior sound makes this CD worth the extra cost!

The CD duplicates the orginal album, complete with gatefold sleeve, fold out poster, and inner jacket.

Oh, and let me correct an error in describing an uncollected b-side that would make a contender for an expanded Eagles singles anthology when I reviewed the Eagles Greatest Hits gold disc. I had said that Get You In The Mood (the b-side of Take It Easy) was written by Henley-Frey. In fact, the song was only written by Frey. See, I told you my info on the song was sketchy!

The people who gave this album "OMG WORST ALBUM EVAR!!!11" type reviews are just trolls. Ignore them. The others do a little better and criticize the music style, which is at least a legit complaint. To them I say that Hotel California is great not for the music in of itself, but for the lyrics and attitudes expressed in the music and the lyrics. I would liken in to comparing Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd; Zep tended to have the better tunes musically, but Floyd blew them away when it came to lyrics and albums on a whole. To those too simple minded to understand that a song does not have to just 'sound good' to be great, I am sorry.

The Eagles were always better at recording singles than whole albums. At least, they were until guitarist Joe Walsh joined the fold for "Hotel California" in 1976. Give Walsh credit. He already had a successful solo career, and didn't need to merge with Henley, Frey and company to enhance his popularity. What Walsh managed to do was improve the band's songwriting and give it a stronger sonic edge. That is readily apparent on the title track, which is the band's best song. Without Walsh's expert picking, the song simply wouldn't be the same.

"Life in the Fast Lane" and "New Kid in Town," were also radio hits, but unlike previous Eagles albums the remaining songs don't sound like mostly filler material. Walsh even gets in a lead vocal on "Pretty Maids All in a Row." Ultimately, "Hotel California" is a true group success, with all five members contributing equally, a major feat given the egos that must have been involved.

Overall, "Hotel California" deservedly ranks as The Eagles' best studio album.

The title says it all. I scrouged $5 of pocket money from my parents in 1977 to buy the vinyl LP and it stayed on my turntable for about a year (only occasionally to be replaced for a breif moment by other greats such as Dark Side of the Moon). This is the Eagles at their absolute peak and not a throwaway track on the album. 30 years later it is on my iPod. The title track is haunting and the ripping guitar solo at the end is a simply brilliant guitar interplay between two of the most brilliant under-rated and genius rock guitarists about, Joe Walsh and Don Felder. The album is a nice blend of hard ripping rock (Felder's solo on Victim of Love is simply "wicked" - supposedly done "live in the studio" with no overdubs) and lovely melodic softer tunes (I really like Randy Meisner's often passed over "Try and Love Again"). Only bands of the quality of the Eagles can do this variety on one album and pull it off. The guitars are alternatively, haunting (like Henley's vocals), melodic (like G.Frey) and hard edged. Lyics are bitingly cynical and still relevant today... how many people still say the famous line "...you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave?"
Sadly they never could rise above this peak and their more recent offerings are nowhere as good as this. In particular, the departure of Don Felder in 2001 (he wrote all the music to Hotel California's title track) has rendered their latest offering (the Long Road out of Eden) a terribly bland and overproduced yawn...
If you like this classic you will also like Joe Walsh's "You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind" CD - after all it featured most of the Eagles as well as Joe Vitale and Jay Ferguson.
Pity they never really released any decent DVD footage from this era - the boys might have been stoned on cocaine for most of the shows (see Don Felder's book "Heaven & Hell") but they could still put on a decent live performance back then.

Though often the favored target of rock's more esoteric critics, and prone to many of the ego clashes and chemical excesses of most rock bands, the Eagles nevertheless had a strong discipline when it came to creating records. This was true on every studio album they ever made, but particularly so on their monstrous 1976 smash HOTEL CALIFORNIA.

This time around, the band became more hard-rock oriented, thanks to the departure of lead guitarist Bernie Leadon and the addition of Joe Walsh just prior to beginning work on the album. In many ways, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, like their 1973 classic DESPERADO, is a concept album with various themes consistently running through it, thanks to the combustible nature of Glenn Frey's and Don Henley's songs. Whereas DESPERADO was centered around the Old West, this album is centered around the dark side of urban life in Los Angeles--what one might call SoCal Gothic. The almost supernatural feel of the title track and the highly-charged "Life In The Fast Lane" contrast quite well with Frey's heartbreak classic "New Kid In Town" and Henley's epic closer "The Last Resort." The most poignant moment of the album is almost certainly Henley's own "Wasted Time", inspired in large part by a real-life breakup with girlfriend Loree Rodkin.

Propelled further by the dual guitar work of Walsh and Don Felder, and Randy Meisner's exceptional bass playing and vocals, HOTEL CALIFORNIA proved to be the band's biggest studio album in terms of sales (fifteen million and still climbing), but also a very hard act to follow, which sadly caused the band to disintegrate a short three years later, not to return until 1994, when, as we all know, Hell froze over. Knowing this history, however, does not dampen the impact of either the band or this incredible 1970s chronicle. It is one of rock's essential albums, without dispute.