Hotel California

The birth of corporate americana. The high fructose corn syrup of music. Unbridled commercial drive meets rock solid musicianship, expert recording/production, a few ears for a hook and a great flair for harmony. This combination of endless self pity and smarmy good time smooth easy feeling is the pure uncut essence of boomerism. Overplayed, but for a reason. Perfect lead guitars and some slinky baselines. But God it sucks. Bloated and boring as an album, they're the definition of a greatest hits band.

I’ve obviously heard the title track before but this might be the first time I’ve ever properly paid attention to it. Bloody great song to start off with. Massive drop off for the next song New Kid in Town, didn’t like it whatsoever. I didn’t really get back into the album after that. There were a few songs I liked but nothing that will live long in the memory. Disappointing after such a strong start.

Top Track - Hotel California

The Good: We get to spend some time in a hotel!
The Bad: Seems we are not safe in that hotel…
The Ugly: The stabby with the beast with the knife with the fail with the never leave…

I don’t know about the millenials, or even the Gen Z, however, anyone prior to those lost generations knows this song, no matter where they are from.
From the opening 12-string strum, to the double tom-tom, to the dark desert highway…
Then there are the classic New Kid in Town and Life in the Fast Lane… 1-2-3
That this album lost to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors only goes to show you what a great music hails from that era!

Myself, obviously I know the title song, and several of the other tunes, however, I can’t recall ever having sat down to listen to the album from start to finish… so color me surprised that the album starts off with the title song, the big hit, leading me to think that this could mean a premature ending to the enjoyment. After all, one normally ends with the big hit…

Boy was I wrong. What an album. I don’t believe that there was a single time that I felt the urge to hit skip, or walk away, or do anything but sit and listen with utter enjoyment to the fruits of the bands labor.

And that closing song… what a closer…

So, here’s to one of my new Top -10 albums

The Eagles are an interesting band to me because when I listen to them I oscillate between enjoyment and dissatisfaction, and it seems to happen every other track.

Not much more than Hotel California, I guess.

As a teenager & young adult I loved Hotel California the song. Now more matured (in age only) it doesn’t have the same hold it had on me. It’s more of a nostalgic feeling when I hear that song. The rest of the album had a more nauseous feel to it. Extra star for nostalgia

I knew I’d have to listen to this at some point and here we are. The Eagles are very boring, but I guess that appeals to a lot of people. I was impressed by the bass/percussion on “Hotel California”, I feel like I’ve only ever listens to the guitar/vocals and missed a redeeming quality of the song. “Life In The Fast Lane” is the anthem for office workers who need to feel like their life is still exciting. "Try and Love Again" is also fine. Beyond that, idk, I fell asleep (honestly).

I honestly did not expect to loathe listening to this! I expected kind of "easy listening" dad-rock, and the Eagles are very competent musicians. But... why did it make my soul retreat into my boots? I think how it felt like it had been written and produced in a board-room, sterile, free of any edge or adventure, an going through the motions. It reminded me of my reaction to Steely Dan, but I think this was more of a visceral reaction. Title track is catchy, nothing else merited a listen for me. Couldn't wait for it to end. I give a star as musicianship was great, bass stood out to me. :)

Turn up The Eagles the neighbors are listening!

The Haunting contrast of the verses to the upbeat chorus really bring the song to life. None of the rest of the album is as great, but it's all still good.

They're quite good at making music for mass consumption. Less good at making music for interesting listening, though.

My first 5-star rating! I had only ever listened to the iconic title track before, but the entire album is something I'll be listening to often.

Скажу чесно - вперше послухав цей альбом повністю. Не знаю що й сказати, дефолтна музика, пару пісень окей, все інше абсолютно фоном пройшло. Головна пісня звісно супер хіт, але сприймати її якось об'єктивно доволі важко.

Hotel California: classico.
New kid in town: sonorità troppo country per i miei gusti
Life in the fast lane: ora si ragiona. Bel riff, ritornello memorabile.
Wasted time: ballatona carina, ma un po' lunga
Victim of love: di nuovo un bel riff rock, intervallato da un ritornello molto più morbido.
Il resto continua senza infamia e senza lode.
Non un album molto coeso. Un paio di bei pezzi, gli altri... meh

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I generally think hotel California is over played. But I listened to it with an open mind and quite enjoyed it.

the last two songs stink and wasted time doesn’t need a reprise, but face it: everything else is tight, hooky, and cohesive. this is low hanging hater fruit. kneejerk hate. easy hate.

yeah, i’ve heard these songs too many times too, and it ain’t my favorite either, even as a JOE WALSH GUY, but there are waaay worse albums on this list.

Hotel California is iconic but overall I dont know why this get's listed in various Greatest of All Time lists other than it sold a tonne. It's easy listening that was very popular but theres nothing ground breaking here. 3.5/5. Raising to a 4.

Did not enjoy it :( It's like a weak 2 at most but the attempts at actually rocking out and the really soft MOR tracks on here were really not for me (Life in the Fast Lane, Wasted Time, Pretty Maids All in a Row are weak 1/5 for me) and so I have to go lower. New Kid in Town, Try to Love Again and The Last Resort are both highlights (close to or comfortably a 3/5) and I think they succeeded most when sticking to that kinda soft rock formula but most of these tracks just feel so disposable - even the main big title track (which isn't that overplayed for me and so can say with a clear head that I just didn't like it).

3.67

Better than Coldplay.