New Kid in Town > Hotel California
*hides, but yes I am being serious*
I hear ya though WF88, the Eagles's music from all periods of their existence has helped me a lot over the years.
New Kid in Town > Hotel California
*hides, but yes I am being serious*
I hear ya though WF88, the Eagles's music from all periods of their existence has helped me a lot over the years.
If I wanted guitars, I'd listen to Cream or Santana and if I wanted two guitarists, then Wishbone Ash. But by then, the trend was away from guitar heroes. Hotel California was the time when the Eagles became mainstream - my mother bought the album - and I was looking for something else.
I agree with Austin HC was a great guitar album and Joe and Felder should be up there with Hendrix and the likes.
I've never followed Joe's solo career so I only know him from the Eagles. I've always thought of him as an all-around musician in the Eagles more than a guitar hero. I think it's because New Kid In Town is one of my favorite songs ever, and Joe not only plays the electric piano in the song, but the organ part too. I think his keyboard parts are a big part of the song's charm. Of course he plays piano in Pretty Maids..., organ in I Can't Tell You Why etc. I play guitar myself, but I rarely listen to guitarists when I listen to music. So I think of Joe as a musician who played whatever made the song better. And I'm not knocking Joe. On the contrary. I respect a person who can step outside of his regular instrument that easily. Of course he's a great guitarist, but...
Having said that, I do occasionally notice a great guitar solo or a great rhythm part when I hear them. The guitar solos in Hotel California are among the greatest I've ever heard. I think Don's bits in that particular section are MUCH better than Joe's, but Joe's bits do work nicely with Don's. Hmmm, this thread is probably too far off-topic already...
I consider Hotel California to be a musical masterpiece. IMO, the music, lyrics, vocals, and melody blend together perfectly to create what I consider to be a perfect song. I don't think I'll ever tire of it. I can appreciate the opinions that it may not be someone's favorite song because what each of us likes is, of course, very subjective. But what makes me roll my eyes is when I hear detractors proclaim that it is a bad, horrible song. That didn't happen here because I believe that most folks are like Soda in that they can, at the very least, appreciate the song's artistic merit. It may be hard to appreciate the cultural impact and significance of the song if you weren't around in the 70's, but I can tell you, it was a BIG deal.
So love it or hate it, the bottom line is that this band, with the help of this song, is largely responsible for bringing rock and roll it into the mainstream of our culture. Many people back in the day demonized rock and roll, and the Eagles helped change that. Although they had a lot of detractors, their music was so ‘listenable’ with the amazing harmonies, great melodies and music, and intelligent lyrics that it appealed to the masses and gained widespread acceptance. People just couldn’t help but like the way they sounded in spite of the fact that they were long-haired hippie rockers.
"People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
Glenn Frey 11/06/1948 - 01/18/2016
-Austin-
Resident Guitar Slinger
Fan of the Eagles from 1972-2016 #NOGLENNNOEAGLES
RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."
The verses, particularly the first verse, have a reggae tempo.
I'm afraid I have almost diametrically opposed views to this.I don't think of the Eagles as a 'guitar hero' band. To me this is overstating the case & overemphasises the Walsh era. For me their vocals & lyrics are more important than their guitar work with a few exceptions (Life In The Fast Lane). The lyrics of HC are more important than the solos for me. And as for how much I love it; nowhere near as much as I used to. It would be in my Top 20 these days but not my top 10.
There are a couple of my favourite songs which I can never hear too often. HC is not one of them (New Kid In Town is).
I don't see a problem with overemphasizing the Walsh era. He really injected some life back into the band and made them what they are now.... They appealed to a much wider audience with classic rock n' roll than they did as smooth Cali country-rockers. Make no mistake about it, Hotel California turned a pretty successful country band into a rock n' roll supergroup right up there with the likes of Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc. Without him, I honestly doubt they would have ever reached the success that they did with him. And it's not that Bernie was bad, just that rock n' roll and a harder edge appealed to a broader audience and Bernie wasn't into that, so he left. The early days will always be a part of the band's history but they really became big with the success of the Hotel California record and single.
-Austin-
Resident Guitar Slinger
Fan of the Eagles from 1972-2016 #NOGLENNNOEAGLES
RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."
Wintertime is a razor blade that the devil made
It's the price we pay for the summertime - J.W. '69