With the departure of guitarist Bernie Leadon and Joe Walsh being his replacement, it was always likely that the next Eagles album would to some degree move away from country rock to a harder edge, given Walsh's most prominent piece of work, at least in the UK, was the hard rock/blues influenced "Rocky Mountain Way".
"Hotel California" represented a change of direction in several subtle ways. It contained two songs which might be considered to be hard rock, "Life In The Fast Line" and "Victim of Love", as well as the anthemic title track with its lengthy dueling guitar outro, showing that the Eagles now wanted to rock. The move away for their traditional country rock was also illustrated by Glenn Frey having only one lead vocal, on the gentle "New Kid In Town", which in any case was dominated by electronic organ rather than acoustic guitars. More importantly, with Don Henley was now lead vocalist on five songs of which two of these could be considered to be piano ballads, in addition to "Pretty Maid In A Row" sung by Walsh, which also fitted that description.
Lyrically the songs tended to concentrate on the loss of innocence, failed romances, or the dark side of capitalization. The only uplifting song was Randy Meisner's "Try and Love Again" which ironically was the only track I didn't properly remember, drifting to PP Arnold's "The First Cut Is The Deepest" when trying to recall the line "I'll try and love again" !
That said, "Hotel California" was an outstanding release without a poor track on it, and was their break-through album to global megastars, at least from the eyes of the UK.
Much has been written about the title track "Hotel California" a soaring classic of over 7 minutes, covered by many artists, including a Spanish flamenco version by The Gypsy Kings, and well-known for the alternate guitar solos by Felder and Walsh, before harmonising for the finish. The song contains several lines that have gone down in folklore such as "You can check-out anytime, but you can never leave", "Here mind is Tiffany twisted, she's got the Mercedes bends", & "Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice, she said we are all just prisoners here, of our own device". Incredibly, it remains The Eagles only top 10 release in the UK, peaking at number 8.
"New Kid In Time" was perhaps an odd choice for the first single from the album, although it was probably the closest to their previous portfolio. Featuring a prominent organ melody, gentle guitars, Frey's vocal, and traditional Eagles harmonies, it wouldn't have been out of place on the 1971-75 Greatest Hits album.There are several interpretations on the lyrics, but I see them more on as being a commentary on the music industry, one minute they are the flavour of the month, and then somebody new comes along that everyone fawns over.
The rock and roll "Life In The Fast Lane" has a classic guitar riff but apart from that is the most ordinary song on the album, and when chosen for the third single from the album, it failed to chart in the UK but reached number 11 in the USA. I bought the single for 10p in a shop that sold old juke-box singles !
Closing Side One is the piano ballad "Wasted Time" sung by Henley, which increasingly features strings as the song develops. A song on broken relationships the memorable lines include "you didn't love the boy too much, you just loved him too well" before closing with "So you can get on with your search, baby, and I can get on with mine. Maybe someday we will find, that it wasn't really wasted time".
"Victim of Love" is the second rock and roll song on the album, which plods along nicely with a mid-tempo, another Henley vocal, picking up with a great chorus and memorable guitar solo. "I could be wrong but I'm not".
"Pretty Maids In A Row" is Joe Walsh's main written contribution to Hotel California, and unexpectedly has a piano intro and a slow temp. Walsh delivers a tremendous vocal, and together with nice harmonies and a tender guitar break, it is a memorable melancholic ballad.
The mood changes with Randy Meisner's "Try and Love Again", which 45 years later is stunning to hear again. After a pleasant guitar intro, Meisner fabulous high pitched vocal, great harmonies and a pedal steel guitar solo make it a joyous song, slightly out of place with the rest of the LP. "Will I lose or win if I try and love again". I had forgotten just how good this song was !
The album closes with "The Last Resort", another slow piano ballad sung by Henley. A critique of capitalism and concerns over the environment, there are many striking lyrics. "They even bought a neon sign, Jesus is coming" refers to the first neon light on Hawaii being by the Church, but there is also "some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught them". and "you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye". It is a beautiful song, with perhaps the highlight being the soft, solo piano before the powerful last verses.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Hotel California
2. New Kid In Town
3. Life In The Fast Line
4. Wasted Time
1. Wasted Time ( Reprise )
2. Victim Of Love
3. Pretty Maids In A Row
4. Try And Love Again
5. The Last Resort
UK Chart Position : 2
Singles :
New Kid In Town ( No 20 - 1976 )
Hotel California ( No 8 - 1976 )
Life In The Fast Lane ( - 1976 )
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