Eagles

Hotel California

Sounds as good as ever. . .

Review Score:

(10/10)
. . .the Eagles took me through high school and college. I can't remember a time when they didn't have a single on the radio from 1972 through 1979. This album was so, so different from the earlier ones. It wasn't just Joe Walsh joining the group and adding his wild guitar playing and personna, either. By 1976, the group was at the top of its game, and moving a little bit away from "country" rock (or "Crock" as some music critics called it back then). You can still hear a little bit of the "country" flavor in "New Kid in Town" up until you reach the bridge part in it, and also the intro to the title track, as well as "Try and Love Again." The rest of it is rock until you drop:) What to make of the title track, by the way? Some people say it was symbolic of the group members' trying to walk away from the partying, drugs, casual sex, and Satanic worship they'd dabbled in, and how even though you can stop those things, you still have the bitter memories and regrets for the rest of your life. Others say it doesn't mean anything. . .Glenn Frey and Don Henley & Co. were just up to their usual great storytelling tricks. It's still a fun song to listen to, as much for the great instrumentation as the story. By the way, most people think it's Joe Walsh doing all that great guitar work that follows the last lyric, but it isn't. It's really Don Felder, the blond-haired tall drink of water who said little and played much. Joe's influence is heard on many of the other tracks here, such as "Victim of Love" and "Life in the Fast Lane."

Many of my younger friends discovered the Eagles' work during their reunion tour, when their new album featured a more "unplugged" version of "Hotel California." But as far as I'm concerned, the definitive version of their sound is here, in the original production. This, and Volume 1 of their Greatest Hits, are must-haves for Eagles fans, old and new.

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