Hotel California. This is arguably the best rock song the world has known. Few will agree with me, but I don't care. Few are as familiar with the song as I am. This song was written in the mid 1970s by Don Henley, Glen Frey and Don Felder during the height of their power struggle within the Eagles and during the height of their partying, drinking and drug use. It's a well known fact that rock music can not be written properly without prodigious use of Cocaine, which is the most likely reason for my inability to write grammy winning songs. The meaning of the song remains somewhat mysterious, but the most commonly accepted theme is that it tells a dark tale of the California rock scene of the mid 70s and the effects of drugs. The drugs were (are) a part of that culture and it was not possible to separate the two.
The song opens to a long, slow guitar motif. The music paints a very dark, distant, and depressing landscape in which the story is told. The story tells of a traveler in the California desert who stops at a motel for the night who encounters a woman at this hotel, and finds himself unsure of what may lie ahead. He finds that she's strange, rich, and men dance with her for a variety of reasons, and thus begins the traveler's journey into addiction. Or is it the beginning of the California rock star's spiral into hedonism and greed? The imagination plays a very powerful role in the beauty of this song.
The last passage tells of his attempts to get out of the hotel, only to find that you can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!
After the lyrics end, you are left with a haunting instrumental with two guitar solos. The first by Joe Walsh, then the last by Don Felder. Each in its own right is a remarkable guitar solo that perfectly finishes the painting set forth at the beginning of the song, but the two in tandem gives another dimension altogether.
Aside from the dark lyrics and accompanying composition of the music, there's also the production quality of the song. The original album is very well recorded and allows you to really delve into the intricacies of the composition. You can clearly discern each instrument and it's place on the soundstage. You can hear Timothy Schmidt's bass guiter, as well as the individual guitars of Walsh and Felder. There's an unnatural cleanliness to the drums that lend to that closed in 70s sound. Overall there's a bit of a closed in, clinically clean sound that somehow still has a veil over it that really conveys the dark, overly emotional feeling of the song.
The remastered DVD-Audio release of the album has both a 5.1 surround mix and a high resolution stereo track. The stereo track is clearly superior to the original, with better dynamics, and a more modern accuracy to the instruments. The veil is gone from the original, and while that cetainly makes for a superior recording, it does detract from the mood of the original. The 5.1 surround mix is very interesting. I'm not typically fond of multichannel mixes because rather than putting you in the front row of the crowd, it puts you in the middle of the stage, with sound coming from all around. Somehow though, with this sohg, it helps immurse you into the song in a way that heightens the emotional impact that seems to be somewhat gone from the 2 channel remaster. Another added benefit is that each instrument is more easily discernable and allows you to easily focus in on any that you may want to. You can then take this back to the 2 channel mix and more easily pull them out of that recording.
Yet another aspect to this song is their live performance of it. While the Eagles are known for providing live music that sounds very similar to their recordings, with Hotel California, they always bring a new dimension to it. Whether it's an acoustic set like on their outstanding "Hell Freezes Over" release, or their newest live album where they replace the guitar intro with a horn section. As we approach the 30 year anniversary of this historic song's debut, it remains as fresh and poignant as it was when it was new, perhaps more so if we compare it to the garbage that pollutes the popular music stations now.
Take some time to explore this song. If you don't have an audio system that's up to the task, find a friend or a local hi-fi store (not best buy or circuit city!) and give this cd a spin. Listen to just what this song is made of, and you might find that it's a far more complex composition than you had previously realized.
If I ever learn to play the guitar, I'm going to start an Eagles cover band called the Turkeys.
1 comment:
For anyone who made it through Jim's LONG post ... this is a glipse of what life is like with Jim ... and that is why I love him ;) I, too, have become familiar with this song (not as familiar as Jim, because when I close my eyes on the couch and listen to music, like he does, I usually end up falling asleep). We have also spent many hours listening to it over and over again at high-end audio shops (intermingled with Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty). It really is a kick-ass song when you listen to it, and I mean REALLY listen to it.
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