Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 273 - MoMA Collection-Style Timeless Live Albums - Part 1: American Rock Edition

A masterpiece where their full abilities are fully showcased

This special feature on essential live albums is moving its stage from Japan to overseas. This time, the article is featuring the live album by the Eagles, who built one of the great peaks of rock music with the massive success of the American rock classic Hotel California. With its stylish artwork featuring a tour equipment case on the album jacket, Eagles Live is a milestone album where the glory of American rock can be fully heard.

■ Recommended Album: Eagles – Eagles Live (1980)

After releasing The Long Run, the follow-up to their album Hotel California, the Eagles soon disbanded. “Hotel California” became a massive hit beyond anyone’s expectations. However, conflicts among the members and overwhelming pressure crushed the band, and it seems the primary reason was that they could no longer create songs that surpassed the masterpiece Hotel California. It’s not hard to imagine that the record company was also pushing them. This double-LP live album is packed with enough volume and material to escape those kinds of demands.

Most of the tracks recorded for this live album were captured during a period when tensions among the band members were at their worst. As is often the case, the members barely saw each other, and the album was completed by producer Bill Szymczyk. Among Eagles fans, it is widely said to be “the coldest live album in history.” That said, the songs included are a fairly good selection, giving it the feel of a best-of compilation, and the performances themselves are excellent. Still, one can’t help but wish that the classic “One of These Nights” had been included on the album.

In creating this double album, the tracklist also includes “Life’s Been Good”, a song from guitarist Joe Walsh’s solo album that was added to make up for the lack of material. I have seen the Eagles perform live myself, and Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good” was also played during their Japan shows. Overall, the performances are tightly put together, and as a band performing American rock, the album unquestionably earns a passing grade.

The members already had solid careers to begin with. Walsh had been the leader of the band James Gang, and guitarist Don Felder had made a name for himself as the lead guitarist for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before joining the Eagles—he also possessed strong musical-director-level skills. In the West Coast scene, the Eagles were truly a gathering of top-tier musicians.

The members are skilled instrumentalists, but their most remarkable strength lies in their vocal harmonies. American bands are generally good at harmony singing, but every member of the Eagles has the ability to take on lead vocals. Their voices blended exceptionally well, and their choral work is superb. Vocalists Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh also possess the skill to play keyboards. Eagles songs frequently feature keyboard instruments such as acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, and strings. A defining characteristic of this live album is that all of these keyboard parts are performed by the band members themselves.

Recommended Track: “Hotel California”

Producer Bill Szymczyk has stated that the studio version of “Hotel California” contains more than 30 edited parts. In other words, a considerable amount of work went into creating the studio recording. Live recordings often fail to reproduce the feel of the studio tracks, and it is common for listeners to feel disappointed. However, listening to the tracks on this live album makes it clear that the Eagles are not that type of band. The fact that they can maintain this level of quality in a single take is proof that they are a truly first-class band.

The live version of “Hotel California” begins with Don Felder’s arpeggios on the 12-string neck of his Gibson SG double-neck. Most of the rhythmic backing is handled by Glenn Frey’s acoustic guitar chord cutting, while a mysterious roadie(?) plays reggae-style cutting on a Telecaster. Much of the ensemble is carried by the harmonized obbligatos and riffs performed by Don Felder and Joe Walsh. Aside from the acoustic guitar, the two electric guitarists rarely play chords, and this is a major structural point of “Hotel California”. The guitar ensemble is impressively well thought out in terms of live reproducibility.
The final twin-lead solo section is reproduced almost exactly as in the studio version, with only slight differences. Even the final triplet melody is only mildly altered. Many audience members likely attend the show specifically to hear this twin-lead section, and the performers seem fully aware of that.

In 1994, during the height of the unplugged boom, the Eagles’ reunion album Hell Freezes Over featured a recreated version of “Hotel California,” but the twin-lead section by Felder and Walsh was completely different from the original take. The performance felt more like they were simply improvising over the chord progression, and although they returned to the original pattern for the final triplet phrase, the result only highlighted how meticulously crafted the original take truly was. Unlike jazz, rock music makes solo balance much more difficult, perhaps because rock treats the guitar solo as part of a single “package” that defines the song itself.

Recommended Track: “I Can’t Tell You Why”

This song was released as a single from the album The Long Run, the follow-up to Hotel California. At the time, AOR was at its peak, and you can easily imagine how that influenced its production. Instead of starting with guitar, the track begins with a Fender Rhodes electric piano, showing heavy AOR influence. The Rhodes was played by Glenn Frey. The strings that enter in the fifth measure (KORG PE-2000) were played by Joe Walsh. The main vocalist is Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced bassist Randy Meisner. Don Felder is the only one playing guitar on this track, while the other two guitarists move over to keyboards. It’s revealing just how versatile and musically flexible the band truly was.

Recommended Track: “New Kid in Town”

This song comes from Hotel California. I’ve played it in a band myself, and my impression was that it’s actually more complicated and considerably more troublesome to perform than “Hotel California”. Like several other Eagles songs, it begins with a Rhodes piano, and from the chorus onward, a Hammond organ joins in. The vocal harmonies are also intricate. In actual live performances, Glenn Frey played the Rhodes piano while Joe Walsh handled the Hammond organ. The ability to incorporate these keyboard instruments while also delivering beautiful harmonies is possible precisely because the band is made up of multi-instrumentalists. Being able to listen to live performances that match the high standard of the studio recordings is, for a band of this style, quite remarkable.

Musicians, Albums, and Recommended Tracks Covered in This Feature

• Artists: The Eagles, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Randy Meisner, etc.
• Album: Eagles Live
• Recommended Tracks: “Hotel California,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “New Kid in Town”

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