Good article analyzing "Hotel California"

Thanks.

craigb


That was cool I might have to check out some others from there.

(Mexican Reggae??!  Yikes!)

Many great tunes have questionable starts.  Lol.

I also love this - The lyrics by Don Henley and Glenn Fry were actually inspired by Steely Dan, who's vague lyrics they called "junk sculpture." Fry remarked in a BBC radio interview that "one of the things that impressed us about Steely Dan was that they would say anything in their songs, and it didn't necessarily have to make sense."

As a person that is into Steely Dan/Donald Fagen, I concur wholeheartedly.  I often try to make sense of their lyrics to no avail.   

"one of the things that impressed us about Steely Dan was that they would say anything in their songs, and it didn't necessarily have to make sense."

I tend to write that way anymore. To me, the more it doesn't make sense, the more options there are that it will make different sense(s) to listeners:)
Painting an image is the key.

By the time this line has come and gone, the listener is still looking at her (in the doorway:)
"There she stood in the doorway"

Mooch4056


You can't be a musician and not respect the musicality of the Eagles. It's just not possible. You can quote me on that. 

Consider it done.
 
HTH
 

BGG?

Hi,

Honestly, I find it more interesting to hear about Aldous Huxley writing "The Doors of Perception" than The Eagles writing their song and album.

Too much of this stuff is just plain fooling around and experimenting, but anytime that Mosh says it here, a couple of folks get upset. heck, Bapu probably devised Am while he was in the shower ... and he's not telling us ... but then, even Lord Byron used to say that the best poetry was written when he was in the bath! Or that Mary used all of Polidori's experiments and medical items and wrote Frankenstein, but that's not interesting to you ... but some words like "reggae" is ...  or when I talk (in the other thread) about the krautrock experiments and drugs, even Bapu kicks in his I don't bapu on Saturday nights!
 
All in all, it is about putting it all together and HOW you do it is not as important as going through it, which teaches you the most about using an instrument and learning to express yourself with it. YES, the Eagles got even better with Joe Walsh, mostly because he forced them to clean it up and get solid and tight ... and it made a difference. Funny no one is discussing that! Before then, even in concert, The Eagles were either very good, or just plain ... totally off! Since then, there is no such thing as a bad night because they know they can now go back to "basics" ... and do it!
Oh well ... que sera ... sera!

Well, you know, a very learned fellow once said, "you can't be a musician and not respect the musicality of The Eagles".  Which just goes to show how dangerous a little learning can be;-)

I've read occasionally that The Eagles were inspired to write HC after supporting Jethro Tull in the early '70's and hearing them play this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgO7MamJnqM

Uh oh.

Joe Walsh shops at GC.

Oh what a world, what a world.

jamesg1213


I've read occasionally that The Eagles were inspired to write HC after supporting Jethro Tull in the early '70's and hearing them play this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgO7MamJnqM

The first (and only) time I heard The Eagles in concert they were a brand new act and were opening for...wait for it...YES.  Now that was a very interesting double bill.  First, "Witchy Woman"  and then "Roundabout".  Quite a night.  I do remember they did impress me with their vocals tho.  But I was there to see (from about 4 feet away) Rick Wakeman. 
 
 
PS:  They should've sued.
 

I think you mean Steve:-)

that would have been an odd but fantastic combination!

I've said it before here. My first concert.

Cat Mother and The All Night News Boys (produced by Jimi Hendrix)
Chicago Transit Authority (later to just be Chicago)
Jimi Hendrix.

That's about as weird as it got for me, except my second concert

Brian Auger & Trinity
Elvin Bishop Blues Band
The Chambers Brothers
Led Zeppelin

Plus they did two full sets in that rotation. My friend and I talked with Robert Plant for about 10 minutes between the rotations.

bapu


"The third and final version with both the music and the lyrics now more refined was cut at Criteria in Miami and was actually made up of the best pieces out of 5 takes. In fact, the master tape of the song had 30 edits!"

[naiveMusicLover}
You mean you can do that?


I thought all bands just played in a room and the tape recorder was turned on.


No wonder so many songs sound different live. I don't like that. I want the song live to sound just like the record. You know.... how they played it then.
[/naiveMusicLover}

So much for live music and appreciation of it!
 
But yeah ... it is a very clean album all around, not just one song! And worth having!

And I bet I can get all but one of you (just to cover my bases) to have the last verse of the song (and probably the lead) running through your heads just by saying "Mirrors on the ceiling..."

(Damn...  I forgot that it works on me too!  Oh well...)