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Rating: The breakup of the Eagles, due to significant internal conflicts within the group following the 1980 live album recorded during The Long Run tour, seemed like one of those without the possibility of appeal, so much so that Don Henley, interviewed several years later on the subject, stated that the reunion would happen, "when Hell freezes over" ("when Hell freezes over"). Presumably, the drummer considered it highly unlikely (even though from the well-known Dante's passage we know that Lucifer is immersed in ice up to his waist), but it's known that (always quoting the Great Poet) afterwards more than pain (of playing together again) could fasting (for rustling big bucks)...
So in April 1994, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit find themselves all together passionately for a live organized by MTV, later released in audio and audio-video formats under the title (evocative of the famous phrase) Hell Freezes Over. The version I will discuss is the one on DVD, which, beyond the video content, contains two more tracks than the CD and allows for an enjoyment of a recording in DTS 5.1 of truly remarkable quality (I understand that it is still used in many listening rooms in amplification-speaker tests).
But let's get to the tracks on the album. After 14 years, can you perhaps present yourself to the public without some new pieces? Obviously not and obviously taking care not to disappoint anyone, so here is a rocker like hundreds of others already heard (Get over it), a slow ballad (Love will keep us alive) and one decidedly more country (The girl from yesterday). An exception, despite the somewhat cliche chorus repeated endlessly at the end, is the interesting New York minute, with evocative bass lines, the surprising appearance of a muted trumpet, and a sombre text entrusted to Don Henley's voice in great form.
The band's more classic pieces are the ones enhancing the setlist, thanks also to the voices of the four(!) singers who, despite the years and the abuse of alcohol and drugs, are still very bright (but it's undoubtedly Henley who delivers the most emotional performances). The indestructible usual classics (I cite the famous I can't tell you why, Take it easy, Desperado), although the performances are, in my opinion, generally very (too) adherent to the studio versions, and after about fifteen years maybe some effort to reinterpret them more would be reasonable to expect: is it really too much to ask for even the slightest variation on the guitar solos?
An exception is the acoustic version of Hotel California with a splendid introduction of guitar and congas and, quoting the review by Grasshopper of the album of the same name, if a beautiful song were enough... well, this beautiful reinterpretation of that beautiful song (or was it a reinterpretation itself? See the comments on the HC review) would be worth listening to the album alone. Noteworthy is also the acoustic version of Tequila sunrise, while the execution of In the city is too polished and not incisive enough: so softened, it wouldn’t be put anymore in the closing titles of Warriors of the Night...
Overall, a solid and successful commercial operation (Wikipedia cites it as the best-selling DVD in music history) with great expertise and some commendable high notes, but unfortunately, a few beautiful songs are not enough to make a great album.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Hotel California (07:30)
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, (Any time of year) you can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain
'Please bring me my wine'
He said,'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, (What a nice surprise) bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in their master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man
We are programmed to receive
You can checkout any time you like
But you can never leave!
02 Tequila Sunrise (03:09)
Tequila Sunrise
It's another tequila sunrise,
stirrin slowly across the sky,
I said goodbye,
he was just a hired hand,
workin on the dreams he planned to try,
the days go by.
Every night when the sun goes down,
Just another lonely boy in town,
And she's out runnin round.
She wasn't just another woman,
And I couldn't keep from comin on,
It's been so long.
Oh and it's a hollow feelin,
When it comes down to dealin friends,
It never ends.
Take another shot of courage,
Wonder why the right words never come,
You just get numb.
It's another tequila sunrise,
And this old world still looks the same,
Another frame.
06 Learn To Be Still (04:38)
It's just another day in paradise
As you stumble to your bed
You'd give anything to silence
Those voices ringing in your head
You thought you could find happiness
Just over that green hill
You thought you would be satisfied
But you never will-
Learn to be still
We are like sheep without a shepherd
We don't know how to be alone
So we wander 'round this desert
And wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another
And they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah
Meets a violent farewell-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still
Now the flowers in your garden
They don't smell so sweet
Maybe you've forgotten
The heaven lying at your feet
-Solo-
There are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
(We keep asking)
How do I get out of here
Where do I fit in?
Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken
And someday you will-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still
You just keep on runnin'
Keep on runnin'
07 Pretty Maids All In A Row (04:26)
Hi there,
How are 'ya?
it's been a long time
it seems like we've come a long way
My, but we learn so slow
and heroes, they come
and they go
and leave us behind as if
we're s'pposed to know why
Why do we give up our hearts to the past?
and why must we grow up so fast?
And all you wishing well fools
with your fortunes
someone should send you a rose with
love from a friend,
it's nice to hear from you
again
And the storybook comes to a close
Gone are the ribbons and bows
Things to remember places to go
Pretty Maids all in a Row
Oh, oh oh, oh......
08 The Girl From Yesterday (03:43)
It wasn't really sad the way they said good-bye
Or maybe it just hurt so bad she couldn't cry
He packed his things, walked out the door and drove away
And she became the girl from yesterday
He took a plane across the sea
To some foreign land
She stayed at home and tried so hard to understand
How someone who had been so close could be so far away
And she became the girl from yesterday
She doesn't know what's right
She doesn't know what's wrong
She only knows the pain that comes from waiting for so long
And she doesn't count the teardrops
That she's cried while he's away
Because she knows deep in her heart
That he'll be back someday
The light's on in the window; she's waiting by the phone
Talking to a memory that's never coming home
She dreams of his returning and the things that he might say
But she'll always be the girl from yesterday
Yeh, she'll always be the girl from yesterday
09 Wasted Time (05:12)
Well baby, there you stand
With your little head, down in your hand
Oh, my God, you can't believe
It's happening again
your baby's gone, and you're all alone
and it looks like the end.
And you're back out on the street.
And you're tryin' to remember.
How will you start it over?
You don't know if you can.
You don't care much for a stranger's touch,
but you can't hold your man.
You never thought you'd be alone
this far down the line
And I know what's been on your mind
You're afraid it's all been wasted time
The autumn leaves have got you thinking
about the first time that you fell
You didn't love the boy too much, no, no
you just loved the boy too well, farewell
So you live from day to day, and you dream
about tomorrow, oh.
And the hours go by like minutes
and the shadows come to stay
So you take a little something
to make them go away
And I could have done so many things, baby
If I could only stop my mind from wonderin' what
I left behind and from worrying 'bout this wasted time
Ooh, another love has come and gone
Ooh, and the years keep rushing on
I remember what you told me
before you went out on your own:
"Sometimes to keep it together,
you got to leave it alone."
So you can get on with your search, baby,
and I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find,
that it wasn't really wasted time
Mm,hm
Oh hoo, ooh, ohh,
Ooh,ooh, mm
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