#316: Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

Emily: As with any album we listen to on here, I do a little research by perusing the album's Wikipedia page. Some have a long diatribe about the making of the album and its influence on future music, while others have nothing more than a title and a track listing. The page for Hotel California leaned toward the former, so I was able to actually learn a bit about the album. It sold millions upon millions of copies and won two Grammys for the songs Hotel California and New Kid in Town. However, it lost the Album of the Year prize to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I had that in mind as I was listening, wondering whether the loss was warranted. At least in my opinion, it was. Hotel California is a solid classic rock album with a few great songs, but it didn't really do anything new. Rumours, on the other hand, is a classic not because of its era, but because of how its musicians came together to create something uniquely emotional and powerful. While Hotel California was certainly a pleasant respite for 45 minutes, I think I'd rather relisten to Rumours again instead.
Favorite Tracks: Hotel California; Victim of Love; Wasted Time

Zack: I don’t know much about the Eagles. In fact, I know so little that it took me an uncomfortably long amount of time to realize I hadn’t accidentally started playing American Wedding by Frank Ocean when I started listening to the title track that leads off the album. The little I do know comes from this Bill Simmons article. So I know there was a lot of bickering and animosity, which honestly just sounds like I’m describing any rock band ever. It’s probably good that I know so little, since I do have at least enough presence of mind to know that a lot of people dislike the Eagles for some reason. I went in without any real bias against them, but I didn’t really come out on one side or the other. Hotel California was okay. It definitely had its moments, and I didn’t really notice any completely shitty tracks. I thought a majority of the album was made up of solid rock songs, with a few really awesome ones sprinkled in here or there. It wasn’t as completely mesmerizing as other classic rock albums we’ve come across. But it had a very distinct “classic” feel to it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t really blown away on a first listen, but I enjoyed it enough that I would be willing to give it subsequent listens to see if I’m missing anything. I will also say that I’ve listened to American Wedding by Frank Ocean twice while writing this review, so you could maybe just spend your time listening to that song a few dozen times instead.

Favorite Tracks: Hotel California; The Last Resort; Wasted Time