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1976
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"...Passage Back To The Place I Was
Before..."
There's something about THE EAGLES that
occasionally gets my goat. Don't get me wrong - as a Seventies kid - I lived
and breathed the band and this music like so many of my pals. But on CD reissue
- this quintessential Americana Country-Rock band have always seemed greedy to
me - just two shades short of rip-off city. And I'm afraid this '40th
Anniversary Expanded Edition' 2CD Reissue of "Hotel California" does
feel like yet another cash-in on a monster album. Having said all of that,
infuriatingly, there is much to love here...
First up - they can't even get the date right.
December 2016 would have been the '40th Anniversary' and not November 2017 - a
whole year late. Second – although the 'Original Album' is a superb Bernie
Grundman Remaster – it was done over 17 years ago in 1999 - so there's no
upgrade or anything new studio-wise. There's no outtakes, no lyrics, no
original poster repro, no inner repro, not even a dedication to Glenn Frey
whose horrible passing in January 2016 took everyone by surprise and saddened
so many. And although the expanded booklet looks pretty enough in places (see
photos supplied) it's over in seconds and hasn't bothered with piddly little
things like liner notes or even a posted history of the copy-shifting beast of
an album so newbees can get an inkling of its place in Rock's History.
Over on the PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CD2 things
are at least new - the HC band line-up with Joe Walsh on fire - but again we
learn it's a truncated disc! You get a well-recorded and exciting live gig from
October 1976 taped across three days at the LA Forum which debuted tracks like
"Hotel California" and "New Kid In Town" as well as containing
other concert killers like Walsh's "Funk 49" from his James Gang
days. But we now know that there's more to the concert - yet it's only
available on the lavish and ludicrously expensive 'Super Deluxe' Edition. So
all tongue-lashing and finger-wagging aside - is this 2CD worth having at all -
I'd still argue yes! The album is a gem of course, but that second disc has
fantastic-sounding Eagles live material - Joe Walsh with the band - their
playing and singing is immaculate. So here are the not-so-new details from the
not-so-new kid on the block...
UK and Europe released Friday, 24 November 2017
- "Hotel California: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition" by THE EAGLES
on Elektra/Asylum 081227933234 (Barcode 081227933234) is a 2CD Reissue and
Remaster. BERNIE GRUNDMAN remastered the Original 1976 Album in 1999: a team of
Engineers in 2017 (see list below) have handled the unreleased Live Concert
from October 1976 on CD2.
Disc 1 – "Hotel California" - The
Original Album (43:27 minutes):
1. Hotel California [Lead Vocals, Don Henley] –
Side 1
2. New Kid In Town [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]
3. Life In The Fast Lane [Lead Vocals, Don
Henley]
4. Wasted Time [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]
5. Wasted Time (Reprise) [Instrumental] – Side
2
6. Victim Of Love [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]
7. Pretty Maids All In A Row [Lead Vocals, Joe
Walsh]
8. Try And Love Again [Lead Vocals, Randy
Meisner]
9. The Last Resort [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]
Tracks 1 to 9 are their fifth and biggest
selling album "Hotel California" – released December 1976 in the USA
on Asylum 7E 1084 and in the UK on Asylum K 53051 - Produced by BILL SZYMCZYK.
It went to Number 1 in both countries and has subsequently sold over 30 million
copies. "New Kid In Town", "Hotel California" and "Life
In The Fast Lane" were all US 45s in December 1976, March and May 1977 –
with both "New Kid In Town" and "Hotel California" hitting
the coveted No. 1 spot.
Disc 2 – "Live At The Los Angeles Forum,
October 20-22, 1976" (48:38 minutes)
1. Take It Easy [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]
2. Take It To The Limit [Lead Vocals, Randy
Meisner]
3. New Kid In Town [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]
4. James Dean [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]
5. Good Day In Hell [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]
6. Witchy Woman [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]
7. Funk No. 49 [Lead Vocals, Joe Walsh]
8. One Of These Nights [Lead Vocals, Don
Henley]
9. Hotel California [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]
10. Already Gone [Lead Vocals, Glenn Fry]
Original Production by Bill Szymczyk - Reissue
Produced by Don Henley and Richard F.W. Davis - Mixed by Jeff Balding at Sonic
Boom Room, Assistant Engineers Matt Coles and Zack Johnson with Additional
Engineering by Kell Katero, Alan Black and Tom Scott.
The three-way foldout card digipak has blurry
repro photos of the original artwork and both CDs reflect the iconic label
artwork. The 16-page booklet has ‘Rare Photos and Memorabilia’ pictured –
concert posters, ticket stubs, the ’77 Tour Program cover, a Trade Advert from
the summer of 1978 as they toured July and August as well as period live photos
of the famous line-up. The BERNIE GRUNDMAN Remaster has always been great –
only amplifying an already beautifully recorded album. And you forget how good
tracks like Joe Walsh’s "Pretty Maids All In A Row", Randy Meisner’s
"Try And Love Again" and the magnificent Don Henley/Glenn Frey
compositions of "Wasted Time" and "The Last Resort". Band
fave and almost sixth Eagle J.D. Souther gets two credits – one for the
impossibly catchy "New Kid In Town" and a co-write with Felder,
Henley and Frey on the hard-hitting guitar-chug of "Victim Of Love".
The big surprise comes with how good Disc 2 is...
The Audio for instance on the live "New
Kid In Town" is fantastic - almost a good as the album version - plus of
course it has a 'newness' to it - the band debuting it for an ecstatic hometown
crowd two months the album hit the shops. The guitar solos are almost
note-for-note perfect and the group harmonies are superlative. I suspect
"James Dean" was the opening song - Walsh ripping into that trademark
guitar sound of his - Meisner harmonising with Frey while Felder licks away on
his axe - Walsh following in that stunning two-guitar combo they had. Huge
slide guitar kicks "Good Day In Hell" into Boogie Mode while
stretching back to the 1972 debut album "Witchy Woman" slinks into
the set with the first lead vocal from Don Henley. It has meaty guitar solos
coursing in its veins as they run alongside that tom-tom beat. What you also
notice is that although Timothy B. Schmit had a gorgeous lead and harmony voice
with the later line-up - unsung hero here is Randy Meisner's high falsetto that
adds so much to a lot of the tracks as he harmonises with either Frey or
Henley.
Joe Walsh breaks up the Folk-Rock and Americana
repertoire with his stunning "Funk No. 49" - a guitar chomping
Funk-Rocker that livens up proceedings before they give the crowd the
number-one hit they crave - "One Of These Nights" - Henley oohing and
aahing and coming up behind you - searching for an angel in white. Felder and
Walsh give it some fab guitar pings as the song romps home - Henley sounding
uncomfortable with those impossibly high notes. Even without introduction
"Hotel California" elicits cheers from a crowd who are clearly
digging the multiple guitars and brilliant words. This could be Heaven or this could
be Hell, Henley sings - luckily this is an audio in-between. The duet guitars
are wildly impressive - Henley finally getting his amazing voice around lyrics
he actually likes and believes in – but there are moments when the in-and-out
audio mix just seems to lose it a tad. The band then brings the whole thing to
a rip-roaring guitar-wailing finish with the bopping rocker "Already
Gone" – feeling strong and singing a victory song.
I suppose you could argue that "The Studio
Collection" 6CD Mini Box Set (1972 to 1979) is a far better way to spend
your money - all those great hits and the one in-between that you've forgotten.
But if you must own a snazzy variant of "Hotel California" - then
this belated 40th Anniversary twofer will make your diddly-daddy happy...his expanded
waistline digging this expanded edition...
