Number 41

Supposedly in one of the windows is a silhouette of a man. Some think the person is....Satan! Because nothing says devil worship like a mildly rocking Country band.

Continuing my favorite CD countdown is this masterpiece of So Cal rock from 1976...

Number 41 - The Eagles Hotel California (1976)

To me, there are sort of two bands that call themselves the Eagles. There were the really mellow Country rockers that released Greatest Hits 1971-1975 and then there are the sort of mellow Country rockers that released Hotel California. Both versions of the band were led by drummer/vocalist Don Henley and guitarist / vocalist Glenn Frey, so what was the difference? One guy, guitarist/vocalist Joe Walsh.

The Eagles were known for easygoing Country rock like "Take It Easy" or "Peaceful Easy Feeling". Country boy harmonies, lyrics about desperados and tequila sunrises, slowly strummed acoustic guitars and a laid back rock beat characterized their lucrative sound. But by 1976, The Eagles decided to toughen up so they added ex-James Gang member Joe Walsh to a lineup that included guitarist Don Felder and bassist Randy Meisner. The result was a rock classic.

On Hotel California, the Eagles went for a loosely themed concept album about the decline of western civilization. The songs carried a feeling of isolation and loneliness masked by a superficial jadedness. Frey's country flavored "New Kid in Town" and Henley's epic ballad "Wasted Time" brought the emotional core into focus. My favorite song on the album, "Life in the Fast Lane", spun tales of hard partying, drugs and car crashes about people who lead otherwise empty lives.

But it's the immortal title track that most people know. From the mysterious opening acoustic guitar to the dark tale of stabbing beasts and never being able to leave to the phenomenal twin guitar lines at the end the song has sunk into public consciousness.

Hotel California is the Eagles that I like, a band that can offset the Country harmonies with slamming guitar riffs like on the surging "Victim of Love". Unfortunately, the success of Hotel California eventually led to the undoing of the band as they broke up a few years later because they could not live up to Hotel afterwards (well, most say mainly Henley pressured the band to maintain the degree of quality established here). It created a standard that many modern bands still aim for in musical approach and theme.