Released on 8 December 1976, Hotel California is the fifth studio album by the Eagles. The album was recorded by Bill Szymczyk at the Criteria and Record Plant studios between March and October 1976. It was the band’s first album with guitarist Joe Walsh, who had replaced founding member Bernie Leadon, and is the last album to feature bassist Randy Meisner. The front cover is a photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel by David Alexander.
Hotel California topped the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. Three singles were released from the album, with two topping the Billboard Hot 100, New Kid in Town and Hotel California, whilst Life in the Fast Lane reached No. 11.
Hotel California is one of the best-selling albums of all time. It has been certified 26× Platinum in the US, and has sold over 42 million copies worldwide, making it the band’s best-selling album after Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975). It has been ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2003 and 2012, it was ranked No. 37 on Rolling Stone’s list of ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time’.
The first song written for the album was Hotel California, which became the theme for the album. Don Henley said of the themes of the songs in the album: ‘They’re the same themes that run through all of our work: loss of innocence, the cost of naiveté, the perils of fame, of excess; exploration of the dark underbelly of the American dream, idealism realized and idealism thwarted, illusion versus reality, the difficulties of balancing loving relationships and work, trying to square the conflicting relationship between business and art; the corruption in politics, the fading away of the Sixties dream of “peace, love and understanding.”’
Track Listing
Side One
- Hotel California
- New Kid in Town
- Life in the Fast Lane
- Wasted Time
- Wasted Time (Reprise)
- Victim of Love
- Pretty Maids all in a Row
- Try and Love Again
- The Last Resort
Producer: Bill Szymczyk
Format: Vinyl / 12” Album
Label: Rhino
Barcode: 081227961619
Release Date: 22 Dec 2014
