The Eagles • Hotel California Elektra/Asylum/Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2233
The Eagles • The Long Run Elektra/Asylum/Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2234
obile Fidelity soldiers on in their ongoing release schedule of all of the Eagles studio albums on One Step LP and hybrid SACD. We have now come to the group’s watershed releases, Hotel California and The Long Run. What makes these two albums so different and so special from the excellent albums that came before? It was with these two albums that the group redefined their sound from gentle country rockers to a more rock-oriented sound. The addition of guitarist Joe Walsh was the catalyst, as he brought a harder, more focused edge to the band’s music. And the blockbuster success of the title track to Hotel California didn’t hurt in cementing the band's continuation in this new musical direction. The music on these two albums could make up a goodly portion of a greatest-hits album. There are really no clunkers, although a few of the songs may be more of an acquired taste. But for the most part, you’ll be intimately familiar with most, if not all, of the music on these two discs. Songs like “Hotel California,” “Wasted Time,” “Victim of Love,” “New Kid In Town” and “Try And Love Again” from Hotel California; and “The Long Run,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “In The City,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Those Shoes,” and “Sad Café” from The Long Run -- all are tunes you probably know by heart. But if you’re coming from the first four albums, be prepared for a different sound than you're used to. While Hotel California still carried more than a whiff of the country rock of previous Eagles albums, you can hear the influence of Joe Walsh, and when the group replaced bassist Randy Meisner with Timothy B. Schmidt for The Long Run, the music moved even further away from that of the earlier releases. Sonically, these two albums also shine. Both had higher production values than previous albums, and Mobile Fidelity’s remastering has brought out nuances and micro details that many will be surprised to hear, perhaps for the very first time. With Hotel California, the vocals shine as I’ve rarely heard on these tracks from any previous digital release. The harmony of the group is a real standout, more clearly rendered with excellent vocal separation that lets you hear each vocalist as an individual. Don Henley’s drums have a deeper, more natural attack of the sticks hitting the drum heads. You can hear it immediately throughout Hotel California. On The Long Run, the bass, which on the previous albums had been more buried in the mix, was brought up some, allowing you to both hear texture and feel its power. Once again, the vocals, particularly the harmonies, are the clear winner in the remastering process. I compared the tracks from Eagles: The Very Best Of double-CD set to the same on these two SACDs, and the results were not close. The CD sound was thin and lacking in overall musicality, with flat vocals, whereas the SACDs had a fuller, more detailed sound with far better bass to underpin the music. As I noted, the vocals get the real polish on these reissues, thanks to both the higher resolution and MoFi’s remastering. Mobile Fidelity may have had some PR problems with their
vinyl releases, but their work on SACD remains top-notch. I have all six of the Eagles
SACDs, and they are superb. However, these latest two, with all these great songs, are the
best of them. For Eagles fans and SACD enthusiasts, these are must-own discs. |
