Hotel California

This is a review of the Japanese-import SACD version of the album. In short, it's great. I previously owned the DVD-Audio version of this surround mix but decided to sell it after it went out of print and prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately, I missed having the album in 5.1; fortunately, the SACD version is just terrific. In fact, it may even be better. The DVD-Audio was amazing, but I actually prefer the slightly softer feel of the SACD. The mix, as far as I know, is identical to the one that was done for DVD-A, but SACDs just seem to have a bit more warmth. Of course, you don't get the visual extras, which included some nice photos and one of the most attractive DVD-A menus I've ever seen. If your focus is the music, that obviously won't matter to you. And for those who don't remember or weren't around ... well, the Eagles were probably at the creative peak on this album. The title track, "New Kid in Town," "Life in the Fast Lane," Victim of Love," "Try and Love Again" and "The Last Resort" all became FM radio rock standards, and in fact were so overplayed in the 1970s and 1980s that some fans (myself included) needed a long break. But there's no denying the talent on display here. Drummer/singer Don Henley was at his swaggering best. Bassist Randy Meisner's songwriting contribution ("Try and Love Again") was the best of his career. Glenn Frey, Henley's most frequent writing partner, was often overshadowed in the band, both instrumentally and vocally, but his wistful vocal on "New Kid in Town" and wicked Clavinet on "Fast Lane" were superb. Finally, the dual leads of guitarists Joe Walsh and Don Felder just shredded everything in their path. Felder would later be dismissed by Henley and Frey, with the result being a legal mess. Walsh returned to the fold after many years, but my understanding is that, financially, he's never been a full partner. Tim Schmidt took over bass duties for Meisner after this record, playing on "The Long Run." The latter was a decent album, but it didn't stand up to its predecessor. There were a few great songs ("King of Hollywood," for example) but also a few too many few duds -- "Teenage Jail," the duh-hey "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks." "Hotel California," by contrast, is the Eagles signature record. The 5.1 mix isolates the instruments beautifully; on every nearly every song, there is at least one moment that emerges as breathtaking: 1. The separation of the acoustic and electric guitars on the title track, plus Henley's ghostly percussion. 2. Walsh's first organ riff on "New Kid." 3. The opening-note onslaught of the electric guitars on "Fast Lane." 4. Henley's vocal on the final stanza of "Wasted Time"; he sounds both suitably exhausted and engaged. 5. The clarity of the orchestra at the end of "Wasted Time (Reprise)." 6. The ENTIRETY of "Victim of Love." On the runoff track of the original pressing of the album, the careful eye could find this message: "V.O.L. is five-piece live," meaning there were no studio overdubs. The performance of the song was spot-on and crackled with energy. 7. Walsh's battered, nasal but somehow perfectly suitable voice on "Pretty Maids All in a Row." 8. Meisner's entirely unbattered, stratospheric singing on "Try and Love Again." 9. And finally, Frey's glorious but restrained piano on "The Last Resort"; on the 5.1 mix, you can actually hear the hammers striking the strings in one passage. Great album, great mix, and a great look back at one of the landmarks of 1970s rock.

"ONE" of the most perfect pieces of Music EVER released. This particular record just REALLY jelled with me when I moved from Elementary School to High School. That particular summer was a really significant summer in my life & this Album just fit on all points. Loved every track, still a significant chunk of music in my life. Listen/hear Hotel California almost every single day.

Received with a cracked case, but nothing inside was damaged. It was sealed. It played both SACD stereo/multi channel and standard CD format (44k) just fine. Love the sound, but still like my vinyl version more. But these come really close. I have way too many old CD cases laying around so easy to replace.

My computer is down so this is David's wife, Kathleen, writing this review. On any album or compilation of music, there are usually one or two songs that the buyer doesn't really like that well. On this album, there are none. Our son and daughter are eight years apart in age and they like this album. I had an old fashioned record of it that I wore out, as well, but that was in ancient times and not so uncommon. I am very careful of my CDs. If one accidentally gets soiled (and it's truly not my fault), I just wash it in light washing liquid and tepid water, carefully rubbing any spot that doesn't come out in the correct way. When I first noticed this CD sounding kind of muffled, I checked it for dirt or fingerprints but there were none. Then I blamed it on the system I was using. When I put it into our Bose system and it still sounded muffled, I realized, I'd worn out a CD! When the new CD arrived, it sounded just the way it should have so I guess the old one had run its course! I am very happy to have a new version of this Masterpiece to play and highly recommend it to anyone who likes Eagles' music. Even if you don't, give it a try. You'll be in for a treat - it's a combination of soft rock, ballads and a bit of harder rock; but the best thing is that it's a great album from the Eagles when they were at their very best!

The Eagles are one of my top 3 Classic Rock bands and I had to have this in my collection when I saw it was an anniversary edition of one of their best albums of all time. I bought two, when I bought my copy I also bought one for my mom as a gift at the time. I also want to have the vinyl version for that part of my collection.

This is without a doubt the biggest album of the Eagles career; and if anybody has actually and does continue too listen to the whole album it is not difficult to hear why!! Stand out tracks are there for sure; the title track - well, that really goes without saying, just listen to it and you'll understand. Then we have "Life In The Fast Lane" , "Wasted Time" & "New Kid In Town". They were the hit singles; so most everybody knows them. That is almost half the album too - we only have nine tracks in total and one of them is an instrumental reprise of little more than a minute in length! It is without further doubt the memorable & classic album it has come to be and truly deserves to be remembered and appreciated as. You have great melodies accompanied by the guys amazing harmonies. You get to hear lead by more than one of the guys too; though admittedly the main front man here is of course Don Henley; - but you also get the now late Glen Frey on "New Kid In Town", Joe Walsh does "Pretty Maids All In A Row", he does this rather good live too - check out "Hell Freezes Over" DVD. The we have "Try And Love Again" by Randy Meisner. For those who don't know Meisner was with the Eagles 1971-77. All I can really finish by saying is; if you want to hear, certainly one of the best albums ever recorded then here it is!!! So, what are you waiting for; an invitation!?!

OK

イーグルスのレコードは持っていたのですがCDも欲しくなって購入。 録音も良く素敵な音です。 SACDを購入出来て良かった。

Es gratificante escuchar este álbum clásico en sonido multi canal, la remasterización está de primera. El SACD no le pide nada en calidad de audio a los otros formatos como el dvd o el blu ray.

+ PROS Very fast delivery from Italy to Sweden. - CONS Remember when you order that the CD doesn't come in a padded envelope, this resulted in a crack in the CD jewel case! But I had extra jewel cases at home.