What was hotel california song about

Once again half-way through you hear light cymbal and high hat splashes emphasizing the downbeat of the chords.

The first chorus has a three part harmony based around the melody line, with electric guitar fills in the vocal spaces, which is identically repeated on the second chorus.

On the 3rd verse the harmony lead guitars continue and are joined by another 12 string playing a whole note strum on every chord. On the 4rth verse yet another guitar harmony line is introduced, this time in a higher register than the original, which still continues to play. The last two lead vocal lines are also joined by a higher harmony vocal. See how everything builds and gets bigger and bigger as the song goes along? The 5th verse breaks down to the same instrumentation as the intro with the addition of the lead vocal over the chords.

On the 6th and last verse, the entire band is back again playing the same parts that they played in the 4th verse. On the lead line solos at the end, the bass changes to playing a single note figure with the rhythms of the lead line solo, and the drums emphasize the last two notes.

As you can see, instruments are added as the song goes along to make it more exciting, are removed during the 5th verse, then brought back again for the 6th. The drum kit is bone dry, which contrasts agains the rest of the instruments that have from a little to a lot of reverb, although the effect never sticks out of the mix. Everything on this record is pretty clean sounding, and the guitar sounds both acoustic and electric are fantastic.

If you take notice, all the guitar harmonies are panned left and right, as are the acoustic guitars that are the backbone of the song. Also notice how low in the track the vocals and the lead guitars are mixed.

This was common in the 70s, mostly because that was the best way to keep the band sounding powerful in the mix. The Production The production by Szymczyk here is exceptional, since the dedication to perfection is observed without the loss of feeling. The solos and lead parts were worked out over a two day period, which is an enormously long time for that period in music when most recordings happened much more quickly.

Still all the excitement is kept and nothing ever feels labored, which is the mark of a great production. Send me your requests for song analysis. Michael H Shepard December 15, at pm. Saber8m March 1, at pm. Mike April 24, at pm. AJ July 17, at am. Cathy Terrell December 3, at pm. Phoenixx October 10, at pm.

Brent January 14, at am. Sarah Grimes May 19, at pm. Tanvi July 23, at am. Dremma Haywood August 25, at pm. Rich November 11, at pm. Sheryl Peet January 15, at am. Tony January 18, at am. Imad Mourtada January 22, at pm. Josh souvannakasy February 22, at pm. Chuckster March 30, at am. Dan May 20, at pm. El Robobob June 23, at pm. Contact News About Privacy Policy. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. The dreamy, acoustic opening segues into a sliding, dark bass that invites the listener to dream of contrasting worlds: what is seen, and what is real.

As the song progresses, and the singer encounters stranger characters and situations, the song's sense of entrapment grows and grows. As described in Song Facts , it was written based on a series of chord progressions that guitarist Don Felder wrote on the beach.

The "full sensory experience" of song description, as Felder said, is intentional, as is the choice to have the song take place in California: a place nearly mythologized for its idyllic beauty and cabal of Hollywood celebrity. The initial success and enduring appeal of "Hotel California" illustrate exactly how it captures the imagination, especially for a song that defies commercial viability by being over 6 minutes long with a 1-minute opening, and a 2-minute, air guitar-inducing final solo.