The peaceful, easy feeling the Eagles exuded in the early 70s had, by 1976, given way to a darker, more ominous sentiment. To begin, the band parted ways with producer Glyn Johns and recruited Bill Szymczyk to help finish off On The Border, their third album. They followed that up with One Of These Nights, which stormed the charts, won a Grammy and raised the Eagles to headlining status. Then guitarist Bernie Leadon left, taking the country influences with him. Don Henley was coming into his own as a distinctive singer and songwriter. Glen Frey was also rising to the occasion while bassist Randy Meisner and guitarist Don Felder continued to excel in their respective roles. Once Joe Walsh stepped in, the stage was set to take things up a notch. The result was no less than a trip to the Hotel California.
Released in December 1976, Hotel California was certified platinum in a week and hit number one within a month. It would eventually sell in excess of 10 million units. It boasted two number one singles, the nefarious title track and “New Kid In Town.” The hard rocking “Life In The Fast Lane” scraped inside the Top 20. To this day, the album is a stellar reminder of the budding talent the Eagles had been nurturing since backing Linda Ronstadt. Ironically, it is a record that chronicles the Eagles’ disillusionments with the music scene. Having over-indulged themselves with all the fringe benefits that come with success, the lyrics are biting in their assessments of ‘life in the fast lane,’ angling off with such utterings as “Eager for action / Hot for the game / The calling attraction / The drop of the name / They knew all the right people / They took all the right pills / They threw outrageous parties / They paid heavenly bills…” So much for taking it easy!
Of course, the elegant title song drew a lot of ire from various factions. Subject to a thousand interpretations — from drug addiction to the occult to everything in between — Henley has never really come clean on what it all means when he sings: “They stab it with their steely knives / But they just can’t kill the beast…” Zealots of every distinction imaginable crawled out from under rocks to denounce the song, but even they weren’t really sure. They even tried to play it backwards, thinking that somehow it was blooming with hidden messages. The Eagles, of course, relished in all the attention and laughed all the way to the bank. When the fuss died down, the song was awarded a Grammy for Record of the Year. Meanwhile, “Life In The Fast Lane” and “Victim Of Love” both demonstrated the band’s edgier leanings while “The Last Resort” remains one of the Eagle’s most affecting moments on record. As Henley articulates, “We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds / In the name of destiny and in the name of God,” it’s easy to see that the triumph of the Eagles weighed heavily on his mind.
~ Shawn Perry
