Wednesday 21 March 2012

Hotel California (reprise)

i like this blog
i wrote it when i first started blogging
it reads nice
and spirits me with the upcoming hotel california show in LA
and for the record
we will be staying in a hotel in california

craig

just back from a heavy night in jersey
we did the hotel california album
tough album
we first took it on 7 years ago
we thought it was going to be campfire songs
but no
the album immediately began kicking our asses

i remember this funny thing one of the cats in the eagles were talking about
they said that they had all the fancy cars
exotic houses
a private jet
tons of drugs
everything they wanted
and then they released hotel california

there's some funny skits by a comedian named bill hicks
he goes on about how all the music we loved
was made by guys fucked up on drugs
now don't get me wrong
i'm not a drug advocate
but this is a valid statement
and i get this sense from the eagles
but
whatever you want to say about them
they made a perfect album
and there's only a handful of artists in the world that can make that claim

hotel california sounds like a sun setting
listen to 'pretty maids all in a row'
it's the joe walsh track
the beauty of this song is the restraint
the song is slow
with a groove that sets slowly
when we do this song live
rob phillips sings with grace
i know we all rush towards 'life in the fast lane' and the title track
but this gem is a song that any serious music lover should seek out

'new kid in town' is a massively complex song
i don't understand how frey got around to writing this song
it twists and turns and there are layer after layer of creamy vocals
i kissed my first girl to this song
i was glad when it won grammy of the year back in 1856

'wasted time' is the song that we relive bad relationships to
this is henley baring it all
the drugs had turned
the money was meaningless
someone - maybe stevie nicks - took his heart from his chest and slap chopped it
(note that stevie nicks wrote 'sara' about henley - the key line "when you build your house - call me)
i can't move when i hear this song
nick hildyard sings it when we perform it
it's strange because nicky owns the zep when he sings it
it's his signature within CAL
but he sings henley perfect
he's able to find the depth of the lyrics and force them into your being
he destroys me when he does 'wasted time' live

bands like the eagles go down with the sun
that's their role
not to overplay
not to overkill
not to over market
but to go down with grace
and soar another day

craig martin
march 20, 2011
11:50 pm - sipping whiskey

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