mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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eagles desperado one of these nights hotel california hell freezes over
Eagles If the Band sounds too loose for your tastes, the Eagles might be a better pick for you. The members of Eagles are better instrumentalists, have cleaner production and the arrangements are worked out to perfection. However, because of all those things, the Eagles lacks any kind of originality, emotion and relevancy. A poorly pop-country band that is easily lost in the grey, uninteresting mainstream. They have musical ideas and visions, no doubt about it, but somehow they fail to deliver. One of their biggest problems is that they are too concerned with getting everything just right. It becomes a rather lame listening experience. Which is a bit strange, since the album is produced by Glyn Johns. A man who been involved in rough sounding and loose recording sessions before with mostly great results. Let It Be (and not George Martin, before Phil Spector stepped in), Exile On Main Street and also worked as engineer on albums such as Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. Needless to say, this album comes as a shock, even though the combination Eagles and Glyn Johns seems perfect in theory. But, this group wouldn’t be one of the best selling bands ever if there weren’t any enjoyable songs. Here we have“Take It Easy” and “Nightingale”. Two up tempo songs with catchy melodies. Sadly, that’s about it. There are other numbers that you might enjoy, such as “Take The Devil”, “Witchy Woman” and “Tryin’”. To me, they all sound banal, though. With a couple of exceptions, such as “Peaceful Easy Feeling” but it still doesn’t do very much for me. At least the Band could fall back on some interesting lyrics if the music wasn’t amazing. The Eagles doesn’t have that safety net. Get Desperado instead.
Desperado A nice album, indeed. Sure, it’s not very challenging or experimental and nearly over barely slick, but there are great musicianship displayed and the melodies works really well without sounding too banal or ordinary. And it’s not all pretentious, the banjo-driven “Twenty-One” is a good example of that. Yes, opening “Doolin-Dalton” and the title track might be accused of being pretentious, but the chord changes and nice melodies makes it hard to resist the beauty of the songs. Especially “Doolin-Dalton” with it's affecting harmonica work. There are less successful moments too, which is a shame. “Out of Control” sounds like a bad Slade-number, “Outlaw Man” seems more like Neil Young and Crazy Horse because of thin vocals and the distorted guitars. These numbers are fine though, and will probably pass by un-noticed. Easy to ignore. “Saturday Night” first comes off as boring but the precise harmony vocals lifts it and makes it a standout track here. The huge hit, “Tequila Sunrise” has a similar feel to it, but isn’t quite as good. Still good and relaxing, though. Thinking about it, the album is quite diverse but what holds it together is the production and the nice harmony vocals. The Eagles aren’t exactly the Beach Boys, you know, but still they know what they’re doing. The closing track is proof enough and displays everything that's good about the band. Nearly magical.
One of These Nights A surprisingly good Eagles-album and arguably their very best. They also manages to make something good out of the title track. Just a quick glance tells you that idea should stink. Not very good lyrics as usual, a disco inspired arrangement and that clean production that sticks to Eagles like glue. Well, the boys somehow makes it work, probably thanks to a great lead vocal and a good melody, but also it just sounds different, or should I say that it feels different. The production is clean and slick as usual, but there is something there that I just can’t put my finger on. Something that makes me realize that the Eagles did more than try. Something that makes me tap my feet and hum along without feeling ashamed. And so it continues through out the album. Yes, the second song, “Too Many Hands” is definitely a lesser song and isn’t close in touching the opener, but yet again, you can tell that something is going on. It’s not the usual professional crap coming out of the speakers. Could it be that the Eagles actually cared this time? That they were inspired on an emotional level? The instrumental “Journey of The Sorcerer” is proof of the group trying to do something new. It’s a rather dark piece of music, but yet catchy lead by a dobro guitar (I think) but also lots of moody strings and synthesizers that blends into something Star Trek-ish, but at the same time so down to earth that it makes John Fogerty green of envy. Overlong as it may be, it is still interesting and something very unique on an Eagles-album. Now, there are a couple of great country ballads here, which certainly is more familiar ground to the Eagles than “Journey of The Sorcerer”. Catchy, memorable and competent songwriting defines “Lyin’ Eyes” and “After The Thrill Is Gone”. If the band had decided to write a few more of those, this album would most probably have been an essential country-pop album Sadly, the easy, good and highly satisfying feeling the ballads generates is interrupted by some generic rocker on the second half of the album. I guess they felt they had to do something for the fans of the up-tempo material as well. Sadly, it doesn’t work nearly as well as the introvert and storytelling of the slower, acoustic songs. But as I said in the beginning, there is something about this album that makes even the worst moments tolerable and you might get a kick even out of the rockers too. As all Eagles-albums, One of These Nights is inconsistent, but maybe less shaky and fragile than the others, with Desperado offering the only serious competition. I’d go with One of These Nights, though.
Hotel California This is the most successful Eagles album. Commercially, speaking. And not counting the endless stream of compilations that floods the market. It isn’t half-bad artistically either. The title track is a good song. Overplayed as it may be and you probably know every beat and bar by heart. But did you realize that some of those guitar parts during the verses is disguised reggae? Overall, it’s a great piece of music that has enough little bits here and there to keep you interested, highlighted by that guitar party towards the end. Then, we’re back at familiar Eagles territory. Clean slickness and production that seems covered with the latest car wax to make it extra shiny topped with the ever banal lyrics we all gotten used to by now. However, just as the case is on Desperado, sometimes the melodies are strong enough to survive even the most boring moments. The ultra cheesy Elton John-sounding “Wasted Time” is a good example of that. Nice piano and good singing. Just ignore the lyrics and you’ll do fine. Even the stiff “New Kid In Town” is quite rememberable. “Try And Love Again” has some nice harmony vocals that pulls it up a notch and makes it a stand out in it's surrounding. The rest of the album are filled with the usual Eagles-sins and mistakes being repeated from previous albums. The flat-out ugly closing track, the unnecessary instrumental reprise of “Wasted Time” and the morbid “Victim of Love”. Just taste that title, “Victim of Love”.... Makes me shudder. This is is not the fantastic album the title track might lead you to believe. It’s pretty good for an Eagles-album, though. Don’t expect to be amazed. If you feel the need to own “Hotel California” (the song), look up a greatest hits-album. Or get this album. They all sound the same anyway.
Hell Freezes Over After their fourteen year vacation (as the band refers to their break up) it was time for a comeback. So, they got together and recorded four new songs which they added to this re-union live album. The new stuff sounds pretty good, but even slicker than in the old days and I must admit that they pale quite a lot when compared to the classic songs presented in a live format. In fact, a live album should be the ultimate thing for the Eagles. They perform the songs pretty much just copy the original versions note by note, but that unbearable slickness is somewhat lost in a live setting. Thinking about it, this is how the studio albums should sound like whilst the live stuff should be even rougher. There are a couple of questionable song choices, but all in all a good alternative for a greatest hits album. Maybe a few more up tempo songs such as “Heartache Tonight” and “In The Long Run” would have been a good idea to add some diversity in the set. As it is now, “Take It Easy” stands quite lonely among the ballads, even though they throw in a couple of rockers towards the end. However, ballads were the Eagles strength so they pull it off anyway, even if there are some tired moments. There are highlights too, and most notable is the acoustic treatment of “Hotel California”. It is very successful and may not surpass the original, but it is damn close. The other material is very professional performed and works best when the group focus on the acoustic instruments (which means the earlier songs). Far from essential, but it’s probably a good way to start your collection. If you don’t like this, you won’t like the albums either.
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