Eagles - hotel California
It's no accident that The Eagles Greatest Hits might one day pass Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all time-- the Eagles made great singles. By contrast, their albums could be spotty and strained by self-conscious artistry. 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. 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." "New Kid in Town" was an equally fine albeit much more traditional Eagles ballad. "Life in the Fast Lane" aspired to hard rock but largely gunned its engine without taking off. 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. --John Milward
tracklist:
Eagles - 01 - Hotel California
Eagles - 02 - New Kid In Town
Eagles - 03 - Life In The Fast Lane
Eagles - 04 - Wasted Time
Eagles - 05 - Wasted Time (Reprise)
Eagles - 06 - Victim Of Love
Eagles - 07 - Pretty Maids All In A Row
Eagles - 08 - Try And Love Again
Eagles - 09 - The Last Resort