Hotel California showcases both the best and worst tendencies of Los Angeles-situated rock, but more strikingly its lyrics present a convincing and unflattering portrait of the milieu itself. Don Henley, handling five of the eight vocal tracks, expresses well the weary disgust of a victim (or observer) of the region's luxurious excess.
The frequent orchestration, however, doesn't always fit. "Pretty Maids All in a Row" employs glistening, high-pitched string synthesizer to good effect, adding a reserved tension to the slowly paced arrangement; but the approach fails on "Wasted Time," an overarranged wash embodying the worst of rock-cum-Hollywood sensibilities. What does work is the elegant fullness of "The Last Resort," whose concluding words sum up Hotel California: "You call some place Paradise...kiss it goodbye."
- Charley Walters, Rolling Stone, 2/24/77.
Bonus Reviews!
This long-awaited album of new Eagles material more than lives up to its highest expectations, as hundreds of thousands of concertgoers who heard the L.A. quintet in person this summer and fall performing songs from the upcoming LP can attest. The casually beautiful, quietly intense, multileveled vocal harmonies and brilliant original songs that meld solid emotional words with lovely melody lines are all back in full force, keeping the Eagles at the acme of acoustic-electric soft rock. At least three of the cuts are among the group's best ever and would seem likely to make memorable singles, if preliminary album-cut airplay is any reliable indication. With the exception of the lengthy Procol Harum-type title cut, the group isn't trying out any new departures here. But the album proves that there's a lot more left to explore profitably and artistically in the L.A. countryish-rock style. And Joe Walsh's hard rock lead guitar adds just enough extra impetus on a few effective change-of-pace uptempo tunes. However, the Eagles are still best on pretty ballads that grab the ear by smooth sound textures, and there's plenty of this on the LP, which ships platinum. Best cuts: "New Kid In Town," "Wasted Time," "Hotel California," "Try And Love Again," "The Last Resort."
- Billboard, 1977.
Speaking strictly as a nonfan, I'd grant that this is their most substantial if not their most enjoyable LP -- they couldn't have written any of the songs on side one, or even the pretentious and condescending "The Last Resort," without caring about their California down deep. But though one strength of the lyrics is that they don't exclude the Eagles from purgatory-on-earth, Don Henley is incapable of conveying a mental state as complex as self-criticism -- he'll probably sound smug croaking out his famous last words ("Where's the Coke?"). I'd also be curious to know what Mexican-Americans think of the title tune's Spanish accent. B
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
Don Henley once called this best-selling of all Eagles' albums "the zenith of our career." On this album the Eagles lineup consisted of Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh and Randy Meisner. Hotel California generated two US number one singles, the title track and "New Kid in Town," and spent eight weeks on the top of the LP chart. "Life in the Fast Lane," a moderate hit single, reinforced the use of its title phrase to describe a particular seventies lifestyle. Henley and Frey's "The Last Resort" was a major extended piece.
"We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest," Henley said of the Eagles. "'Hotel California' was our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles. It was meant to be a metaphor for the United States, for the excesses this country has always been known for. It wasn't meant to be just about California or Beverly Hills. It was more or less taken that way, but we had broader intentions than that. When you love something, you have to point out the things that are going wrong."
In 1987, Hotel California was chosen by a panel of rock critics and music broadcasters as the #48 rock album of all time.
- Paul Gambaccini, The 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time, Harmony Books, 1987.
Rock history records, as indeed to the sleeve notes, the painstaking care in the writing and recording of this money-spinning softly rocking classic. Compact Disc now reveals the intricacies and qualities of a recording that is said to have taken eight months of studio time. Compact Disc has pushed out into the frequency extremes with electric bass guitar and cymbals now reproducing with a focus and precision unheard from the average LP pressing.
Current Polygram UK pressings have lost a brittleness and boxy quality heard on early pressings. The clean easy-on-the-ear sound provides a window on the full dynamic range of these tapes -- the title track having a new hard-driving determination. Joe Walsh's gutiar now fair burns through your system in "Life In the Fast Lane." Again only a slight softening of bass lines and the faintest tape hiss gives the game away about the age of the masters.
- David Prakel, Rock 'n' Roll on Compact Disc, 1987.
The addition of Joe Walsh brought a harder, more rock edge to the band's material which made this their strongest album statement. Gone are the gunslingers of the past; it's tough enough to stay alive on the mean streets of Beverly Hills. In the end, it's a pretty hard look at the seamier side of success, still packaged for the adoring mass audience, and it works. They may not have been sincere, but they were pros; and Henley and Frey were among the era's better writers. The CD's sound, while sometimes a bit bright in the vocals, is big, spacious, detailed, and a decided improvement over the LP. B+
- Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock on CD, 1991.
A concept album about the dissipated life of Southern California rock stars, from being the "New Kid in Town" to living "Life in the Fast Lane" to holding up in the "Hotel California" fearing it's all been "Wasted Time" and turning to "The Last Resort." This album and Pink Floyd's The Wall are aural versions of A Star is Born for the rock generation. * * * * *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Hotel California made the most of the momentum of the Eagles' 1975 singles collection Their Greatest Hits, 1971-75, an album that established them as one of rock's top groups of the time. Bolstered by the addition of Joe Walsh's stinging guitar solos and a collection of poignant, pointed songs, Hotel California is as much a cultural barometer as a great rock 'n' roll album. * * * * *
- Gary Graff, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.
Regarded by many people as the epitome of dusty California cool, Hotel California proved paradoxical in a number of ways. The easy feeling displayed on the record is not, in any way, reflective of the dynamic of the band at the time. Glen Frey and Don Henley had angered bassist Randy Meisner, whose marriage was collapsing. This unsteady nucleus was spiked further by the addition of a new, already famous Eagle, Joe Walsh. Eventually completed in October 1976, Hotel California was rush-released on 8 December, just in time to catch the Christmas rush. Powered by its three opening hits, the title track, "New Kid In Town" and "Life In The Fast Lane," the album proved to be a swansong for that particular brand of West Coast rock music.
- Collins Gem Classic Albums, 1999.
The album that took the LA out of Shangri-La, this snide aside on the California lifestyle rocks more than previous efforts, thanks to the triple-threat guitar attack from Don Felder, Glenn Frey and new member Joe Walsh, who play a game of one-upmanship, and Don Henley's ability to paint a picture, especially on the sultry title track. Like the great line "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" (who hasn't looked for that creepy hotel?), this masterpiece attaches itself forever. * * * * *
- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.
In pursuit of note-perfect Hollywood-cowboy ennui, the Eagles spent eight months in the studio making Hotel California, polishing the vocals and guitars in take after take after take. As Don Henley recalled, "We just locked ourselves in. We had a refrigerator, a pingpong table, roller skates and a couple of cots. We would go in and stay for two or three days at a time." With guitarist Joe Walsh replacing Bernie Leadon, the band backed off from straight country-rock (glorious exception: "New Kid in Town") in favor of the harder sound of "Life in the Fast Lane." The highlight is the title track, a monument to the rock-aristocrat decadence of the day and a feast of triple-guitar interplay. "Every band has their peak," Henley said. "That was ours."
Hotel California was chosen as the 37th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.
- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.
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