I had a good streak of luck at the CD store
yesterday, even if I may have overdone it. Last night Sheila and I played games
and listened to all of them. I’ll review them when I randomly roll them, but
here’s a teaser:
·
A box set of Patti Smith’s first five albums (I already had two of them, but
I am seriously digging Patti Smith right now, and couldn’t pass up the deal).
·
Tom Petty – “She’s the One” (solid record that completes my Tom Petty
collection).
·
Hayes Carll – “Lovers and Leavers” - this is an awesome record.
·
Green River – “Dry as a Bone/Rehab Doll” – the precursor to Pearl Jam is
the foundation of grunge.
·
Sturgill Simpson – “A Sailor’s
Guide to Earth” – Nashville will never accept Sturgill as long as he keeps
making music as interesting as this. Good for him.
·
Bonnie Prince Billy – “Superwolf” – one of two remaining BPB albums I was
on the hunt for. Too quiet to appreciate over a games night, but I have high
hopes.
Now on to the music review!
Disc 881 is….Hotel California
Artist: The
Eagles
Year of Release: 1976
What’s up with the Cover? Welcome to the iconic Hotel
California. As you can see from the antennae, we have Wi-Fi.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve known this album since it
came out and my brother bought it. I have had the vinyl edition for years, but
I bought the CD when our friend Gord was selling his CD collection.
How It Stacks Up: This is the only Eagles album I own, so it
doesn’t really stack up.
Ratings: 4 stars, but just barely
I have
more Don Henley albums than Eagles albums, which I guess shows I’m not a huge
Eagles fan. If you were to only have one Eagles album, though, “Hotel
California” is the one to have.
This
record is widely regarded as one of rock’s great classics. I would amend that
statement by saying it is an album that has some of rock’s great classic songs,
but as an album it is pretty uneven.
O, but
those classics are such classics, aren’t they? The title track is a five star
song about the excesses of rock and roll. Has any other song been as talked
about as “Hotel California”? How
about a song that is over six minutes long and still gets regular radio play?
Maybe “Stairway to Heaven” but that’s
about it.
And
there’s a good reason for this; “Hotel
California” is a perfect song. From the unmistakable and haunting guitar intro,
to the easy groove of the drums this song makes no missteps. Henley’s vocals
(and lyrics) put the unease into the otherwise dreamy sound, creating a
dissonance that never gets tired, despite hundreds of repeat listens.
Side One
continues on a good run from here, with “New
Kid In Town” and “Life In the Fast
Lane.” “Life In the Fast Lane”
has one of rock’s great guitar riffs, and a reckless energy that perfectly
matches the out-of-control couple it depicts. “New Kid In Town” is a perfect depiction of what it is like to be
the new kid:
“There's talk on the street; it
sounds so familiar
Great expectations, everybody's
watching you
People you meet, they all seem to
know you
Even your old friends treat you
like you're something new”
It also
marks the rare occasion of me saying anything nice about Glenn Frey (who co-wrote
it and sings lead). What have I got against Glenn Frey? Plenty. His solo career
is so risible that he is a founding member of a mythical group I invented
called Def Gorf. Other members of Def Gorf are: Art Garfunkel, John Oates, Andrew
Ridgley and Def Leppard’s drummer. Not exactly a super group.
But I
digress…
Back to the
record which after a strong start loses a lot of its energy and direction. “Wasted Time” meanders all over the
place, but never achieves the high emotion that Henley is so desperate to
infuse into it.
However,
not content with one song called “Wasted
Time” the band decides to start Side Two of the record with “Wasted Time (reprise).” You wasted
enough time on this song the first time around, guys.
“Victim of Love” has another great guitar
riff to help bolster Side Two, but the chorus strips a lot of the energy out of
the song.
Joe
Walsh then steps in to take his turn at dragging the record down, with the
meandering and schmaltzy “Pretty Maids
All In a Row.” “Try and Love Again”
is a good song, but it made me think of that pop/country crossover sound in mainstream
country music that has been so terrible in the years that followed.
The
album ends with “The Last Resort,” a
slow moving narrative that sounds like what Don Henley would go on to do in his
solo career. Unlike a lot of people, I like a lot of Henley’s solo career,
particularly when he sounds like this – all sad and full of regret. “The Last Resort” isn’t a great song (and
at 7:27 it goes on way too long) but it is a guilty pleasure.
The great
songs on “Hotel California” are enough to just barely pull this record into 4
star territory but heretical as it may sound, I don’t think this is one of the
greatest records of all time. I’ve just heard too many that are better.
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