Album Review: Hotel California by the Eagles

Photo from Wikipedia

Words by: Anna Julia

Technical details
Year: 1976
Genre: Rock
Length: 43:28 minutes
Country: United States

Sometimes, it’s better to return to classics. I’ve done so with this review -after the one I did of the synth-packed Bastille debut, this classic rock record, totally infused with summer vibes, is the perfect album to ease.

Little did the Eagles know about the success of their bittersweet, Route-66-sounding hit Hotel California, but after its release, it became clear that the fame they had previously achieved was consolidated. With time and years, this Californian band has become one of the most remembered in rock history, and the song that gives title to the album, a timeless anthem. But not only have the Eagles written this song, and the Hotel California LP is a great start to get an idea of what was the music they played. 

We could divide the songs in this album in two types or styles. The first one comprises Hotel California, Life In The Fast Lane and Victim of Love. These are songs with a hard-rock component -especially the two latter-, and a badass beat, powerful basses and killing guitars. The three talk about pleasures and tragedies of youth, and about living it up while you still can. They are great mainstays, which create an integrity all over the album.

And then we have this bunch of more slow-paced tracks, the first and more representative of which is New Kid In Town. These songs do for an interesting counterpoint to the energetic rhythm of Victim of Love, for example. They remind me of 70s slow dances in a bunting-ornated back courtyard, of retro cars parked in front of little cottages, of ingenuous flirts and innocent town gangs. The band leaves their harder side aside to play a soft rock with an obvious retro feeling, and the result is pretty beautiful.

A really interesting point of the album is the reprise of Wasted Time, which uses an orchestral instrumental background -quite unusual in a rock band- and no lyrics, and ends calmly the anterior song.

Nonetheless, maybe the order of the songs isn’t the best one, as the strong pillars of the album are all in its beginning (Hotel California and New Kid In Town, probably the best songs in the record, are also the first two, for example), and the three last songs seem a bit spare, and therefore cannot be as appreciated as the first ones.

All in all, Hotel California is definitely a memorable album, and, though with a few flaws, one of the most awesome of this last few decades’ rock music.
Tracklist
1.- Hotel California
2.- New Kid In Town
3.- Life In The Fast Lane
4.- Wasted Time
5.- Wasted Time (Reprise)
6.- Victim of Love
7.- Pretty Maids All In A Row
8.- Try And Love Again
9.- The Last Resort

Singles:
1.- New Kid In Town
2.- Hotel California
3.- Life In The Fast Line

Outstanding tracks:
-Hotel California
-New Kid In Town
-Victim of Love
-Life In The Fast Line

Final rating:
7/10