Of course, the lyrics kick in some time after one has appreciated the album's music, which marks a peak in The Eagles' playing.
On the six songs to which he contributes, Henley sketches a thematic statement that begins by using California as a metaphor for a dark, surreal world of dissipation comments on the ephemeral nature of success and the attraction of excess branches out into romantic disappointment and finally sketches a broad, pessimistic history of America that borders on nihilism. An even more important aspect, however, is the emergence of Don Henley as the band's dominant voice, both as a singer and a lyricist. As a result, the album marks a major leap for The Eagles from their earlier work, as well as a stylistic shift toward mainstream rock. The album was also their first to be made without Bernie Leadon, who had given the band much of its country flavor, and with rock guitarist Joe Walsh. The Eagles took 18 months between their fourth and fifth albums, reportedly spending eight months in the studio recording Hotel California. 'That was ours.' (Rolling Stone Magazine) 'Every band has their peak,' Henley said. We would go in and stay for two or three days at a time.' With guitarist Joe Walsh replacing Bernie Leadon, the band backed off from straight country rock in favor of the harder sound of 'Life in the Fast Lane.' The somber 'New Kid in Town' ponders the fleeting nature of fame, and the title track is a monument to the rock-aristocrat decadence of the day and a feast of triple-guitar interplay. We had a refrigerator, a ping-pong table, roller skates and a couple of cots. As Don Henley recalled, 'We just locked ourselves in. In pursuit of note-perfect Hollywood-cowboy ennui, the Eagles spent eight months in the studio polishing take after take after take. The rest is okay, but nothing more than secondary Eagles songs that happened to be nestled into the album that came to define the `70s supergroup.
Life in the Fast Lane aspired to hard rock but largely gunned its engine without taking off. New Kid in Town was an equally fine albeit much more traditional Eagles ballad.
The title tune reflected the album's theme of paradise lost in California, painting this picture with a musical arrangement that punctuated strumming guitars with dramatic drums, and perhaps the band's most famous lyric: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Hotel California was arguably the band's best single album - it was certainly the Eagles' biggest original disc - and it also underscored the band's need to make a big statement.
0 kommentar(er)
