‘Hotel California’

It is a familiar tune, sung over the years by many artists around the world. Unfortunately, no cover could elicit the same warm response that the original band did from its listeners. There is simply no way that copycats can duplicate the magic of the Eagles’ iconic hit, Hotel California.

Or so I thought. It thus came as a complete surprise to me when, listening to the same song being performed by the same band, it didn’t make me want to give it a standing ovation. There was nothing wrong with my ears or with the sound system playing the song. We were seated comfortably inside Alvin Ong’s acoustically superb home theater watching the DVD concert of The Eagles’ Farewell 1 Tour - Live From Melbourne. Now, Alvin (a.k.a. alvinthx in the videophile fraternity) is known in the home theater community as having one of the best systems there is.

Filmed live in three separate dates at the Rod Laver Arena in 2004 but later released the year after, The Eagles performed more than 30 songs in this three-hour concert. But everyone in the Arena was nonetheless giddily focused on only one song. Hotel California started out with a glitzy, solo trumpet overture leading into Glen Frey’s acoustic guitar, segueing into Joe Walsh’s electric fingering, and finally into Don Henley’s vocals. More traditional than the earlier versions, the song was laden with a blend of percussion and keyboards with sporadic horns for surround sound effect.

This is not the first time the band has modified the song. I’ve heard it probably a hundred times, in its original studio version (CD, LP) and in its 1994 Hell Freezes Over reunion concert version (CD, DVD and LP), and both had what it takes to please even the most discriminating audiophiles around. So what gives? As the music progressed to the part where guitars were to take center stage, there was no Don Felder to mix it up with Walsh. In Felder’s stead was a guy named Steuart Smith who gave a credible but dry fingering of the tune on his two-neck guitar. The missing ingredient — Felder — is Hotel California’s creator, although the lyrics were co-authored by Frey and Henley.

On February 6, 2001, Felder was fired from the Eagles. He countered by filing two lawsuits against Eagles Ltd., Henley, Frey and other John Does for wrongful termination, breach of implied-in-fact contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, seeking $50 million in damages.

Felder alleged that from the 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour onward, Henley and Frey had “insisted that they each receive a higher percentage of the band’s profits,” whereas the money had previously been split in five equal portions. Felder also accused them of intimidating him into signing an agreement under which Henley and Frey would get three times as much of the “Selected Works: 1972-1999” proceeds as would Felder. This box set, released in November 2000, had sold approximately 267,000 copies at about $60 apiece. Henley and Frey then counter-sued Felder for breach of contract, claimed that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a “tell-all” book. The book, Heaven and Hell, was published in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2007, but the initial American release was originally canceled after publisher Hyperion backed out in September, when an entire print run of the book had to be recalled for further cuts and changes. The American edition of Heaven and Hell is now out on the market after publisher John Wiley & Sons agreed to do it.

In Hotel California, The Eagles tells of a luxury resort where “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” The song appears to be about a weary traveler ensnared in a terrifying hotel that at first seemed harmless and inviting. But the song is generally understood to be a metaphor, painting California as a shady, bizarre world of rakishness. It is likewise a sad commentary on the fleeting nature of success, which drives one to excess. The song also tells about romantic disappointment; and finally it draws a broad, cynical view of America — its values and morals. Such deeper meaning in the lyrics, of course, will sink in only after one has totally appreciated the Eagles’ music at their peak.

At the outset, the group couldn’t rock convincingly. In their start-up days in the ‘70s, they were at a loss as to how to get a sound that would help them achieve stardom. Undergoing some changes in producer and staff, and as their creativity matured, Hotel California instantly gave the band what seemed like a completely new face. Felder joined The Eagles before Walsh. The two took over for Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon as lead guitarists, with Timothy Schmitt (bassist) completing the makeover.

Felder’s Hotel California had made it all happen. With the song, and the smash-hit album of the same name, The Eagles became worthy of the tag “classic rock” artists. It is also the band’s biggest-selling album release and one of the most successful rock albums ever, having sold a staggering 16 million copies in the US alone. Without Felder, however, The Eagles remained trapped in the shadows of the hotel Felder built.

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