Is It Classic?: Hotel California

Hotel California – Eagles
Best Song: Hotel California (duh)
Best song that isn’t Hotel California: Wasted Time


Oh boy is this album is a-not-so-great. Now it will always be considered in any list of great albums mostly by the virtue of the title track. While there is plenty of vile and hateful things that can be thrown at the Eagles’ music: sterile production, basic melodies, no innovations, too pretentious, ect. ect. if you hate this song you need to get your ears checked. The ultimate anthem of decadence and materialism there is no denying its biting power. The guitar duel at the end is amazing and the bass throughout it one of my favorite bass parts ever.

Too bad the rest of the album is no where as good. New Kid in Town is pleasant but not at all memorable. As for the two big rockers Life in the Fast Lane and Victim of Love... well neither is bad, in fact Life in the Fast Lane even kicks some ass. But they are so sterile that I can’t consider them first rate songs. There are only two other songs on the album that I think are worth even being included on an album with Hotel California. The ending epic Last Resort and Wasted Time; the former is saved by great orchestration that really helps the song reach its peak while the latter is almost ruined by hollywoodish strings that almost hide the great melody (but fail to in the end). Wasted Time also has one of the best vocal melodies on the record.

So while Hotel California will never really offend the listener it is not an album that can hold up to the greatest song on it. In fact I wouldn’t even call this the Eagles best album (you would be better of getting Take It Easy or Hell Freezes Over, or actually a greatest hits package it the best for them there Eagles).


Final Verdict on Reputation: Undeserved

Is It Classic?: Slanted & Enchanted

Slanted & Enchanted - Pavement
Best Song: Zurich is Stained

Pavement - Zurich Is Stained download

found at bomb-mp3 search engine

A yes, the great lo-fi album that (to quote allmusic) “help[ed] establish a brand new subgenre of rock and roll”…a good album but not as unique or ground breaking as the critics would have you believe. This is kind of twist on pop music had already been done by both Big Star on Third/Sister Lovers and some John Lennon songs. In fact John Lennon was way more lo-fi then Pavement and Third/Sister Lovers was a way more out there deconstruction of pop music.

So when it comes down to it why should any one give a damn about Slanted & Enchanted? Because it is a solid and cleverly produced record. Every single song on here is interesting backed by either a solid hook or some well calculated atmosphere. This is not an accident the production is actually well done. Compare this to anything considered lo-fi today or hell any early Lennon track this album will seem almost Spectorish by comparison. I mean you clean up the distortion a bit and In The Mouth A Desert wouldn’t seem out of place on a Cure album. Flame Throwa is a patently ridiculous song that sounds like every part was originally intended for a different song, but it wouldn’t work any other way.

As for the best song that is a tough one. I think it would have to be Zurich Is Stained; the twangy “almost out of key”-ness of it all is great and it is also a nice break from the formula othe rest of the record. So when it comes down to it did Pavement really create an album that ushered in a new way of music? No but that didn’t stop Abbey Road or Tapestry from being classics and it sure doesn’t stop Slanted & Enchanted.

Final Verdict on Reputation: Deserved

Is It Classic?:London Calling

London Calling - The Clash

Best Song: London Calling vs. Lost in the Supermarket

01 london calling- download

found at bomb-mp3 search engine

10 lost the supermarket- download

found at bomb-mp3 search engine

Is this album really all that good?

The short answer is, “Yes, but you have to work hard for it.”

The Clash is one of the hardest bands to assimilate. If you can honestly say you know your feelings about The Clash after listening to one of their albums once you are lying to yourself. There sound is much too dense and diverse and clever to be enjoyed that quickly but seldom does a song of theirs bore you too sleep upon first listen.

London Calling has made tons of lists of “Greatest Punk Albums” but it will never make mine. And that is because this album is not punk, at least not musically (lyrically I guess it is) . This is not bare-boned Rock ‘N Roll taken to the basics like on The Ramones. This is some world class ska music. Now it is worth noting that ska influenced punk and then punk influenced third wave ska so it is a really hard cycle to keep up with. But this falls outside of “influenced by” and directly into “is”.

Which is not a bad thing! Punk is a great genre but it is also limiting musically to pretty trivial (but kickass) instrumentation and the music on London Calling is anything but trivial. Like most ska and reggae a lot of these songs are groove based instead of melody based. But if you allow yourself the time to let these songs grow on you not a single one is bad.

The two songs I most recommend are the title track, which is the most biting track both lyrically and musically, and Lost in the Supermarket. Lost in the Supermarket is this kind of dreamy rock that would, nine-years later, be used by Sonic Youth years later on Daydream Nation, though Lost in the Supermarket is better then anything on that album.

Final Verdict On Reputation: Deserved