The "Hotel California" Challenge by The Eagles

[forest_gimp]

It seems in the trend to do some " challenges " on songs that are interesting and hard to nail. I am surprised that I didn't hear any cover of this song, and I think it could be great to hear your own takes.

I think this is a great song for a challenge. One can be decieved by the fact that there are no very high notes, and yet, i think it is a though song. It stands right in the passagio during four minutes, and is an endurance song. I find these high belts ( between F4 and A4 mostly ) more difficult than higher notes and especially hard to sustain consistently.

Here is my take :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiYTs1bp … e=youtu.be

I would be glad to listen to your own attempts!

[ronws]

And it is a difficult song, Quentin.

Not only is it in the passaggio of most voices, but the lyric is so dense, with plenty of chances to garble vowels. Add to that, Don Henley, (originally from and still lives in Dallas, Texas,) has a slight southern accent and a dusty voice.

I listened to your cover posted in the review thread and I liked the melodic and dynamic choices you made. You made it fresh and new because your voice has way more ring in that area than Henley has. It is a story-telling song but one still has to approach it melodically. Otherwise, the recitation of prose can make one drop out of tune. So, best to approach phonetically, namely with the purest vowels one can imagine, ala the IPA chart, for example.

But I could be tempted to try this just for grins. I think my accent matches Henley's. I have lived in and around the Dallas area since 1974. I was living in California before that, so, who knows? I might just butcher it entirely.

:lol:

[forest_gimp]

Ron,

I would really like to hear your own take. I have listened to some of your stuff before and i am just curious how your voice would apply to these dynamics. I think you would sound a bit less tight on the chorus, as i have heard other songs where you would sing A4s quite easily.

I am in Texas right now, and the first thing i noticed is the accent ( besides being dwarfed by huge cars ). I think a southern touch would be great, instead of my french accent.

[ronws]

Well, then, welcome to Texas, land of extremes. Days and weeks of 100+ F and we call that August. Freezing rain and snow in the winter-time, including our treacherous black ice. (Roads can stay warm as an arctic front enters. Snow and ice fall and land on the warm road, melt and re-freeze into a clear sheet of ice that you cannot see. It looks like dry tarmac but you are actually driving on an inch or two of ice.) And, of course, tornados, though Oklahoma actually gets more, usually around OKC. I've had a few tornados hopscotch over my head. Bayous in the south, rain forest in the east, desert in the west. The one state in the union that was it's own separate country (The Lone Star Republic of Texas.)

I am tempted to try it. I used to sing it a few years ago but it has been a while. So, I have downloaded a lyric sheet and chord progression and it seems to match my memory. We'll see what I come up with.

[musicavenger27]

I live in Texas and I know all about that haha. Texas is effing bipolar!

And yes, Hotel California is a VERY tough song, similar to Numb by Linkin Park. The entire song is centered on F#4 and there are many A4 places. These switches are much harder than something like a say, B4 to C#5 centric song for tenors because they lie in the heart of the passaggio.

[VideoHere]

that's a tough song.

you may need to sing that song quite strongly to hold it together, depending on your voice type.

focus the tone forward..... think "ng" playing the role of a glue to hold things together.

[ronws]

I live in Texas and I know all about that haha. Texas is effing bipolar!

Isn't that crazy? What is it about Texas and singers? Fellow member Steven Frasier also lives in Texas. And so does infrequent member, Rychemaiden. Former moderator Aaron, who lives in the pacific northwest, is also from Texas.

Both Don Henley and Michael Aday, aka "Meatloaf," are from Dallas.

So was the original line-up of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. They hung out in the Lakewood area.

I know where Don Henley lives because our company did the electrical and control work for an indoor spa at his new house, which is right next to the one he was living in when the new one was being built (he owns four houses, here. And no, I did not get to meet him, though I have been to the new house, once, to bring some equipment to the crew we had working.)

Funny story about that. The crew we had working there was made of guys from Mexico who listen mainly to mariachi and tejano. The crew boss said to me, "The homeowner here is some kind of singer."

"Si mon, Senor," I said. "I have listened to his music and that of his old band. Yo tengo mucho gusto."

Someone else who has lived in Dallas and I got to meet a few times was Dave Clark from the Dave Clark Five. (Only the older guys here are going to know who I am talking about.)

I met Natalie Cole when she was on a club tour, here.

[musicavenger27]

Natalie Cole looks AMAZING for her age.

[ronws]

Natalie Cole looks AMAZING for her age.

I met her back in 1986. She stepped on my left foot, by accident. I was doing bodyguard work and I was her bodyguard for a gig in Dallas. (I know, it sounds like that movie. Nothing like that. No killing, no drama. Dark club, she misstepped. I am a tough guy, so, I let it go.)

She is a tall woman.

[jonpall]

I met her back in 1986. She stepped on my left foot, by accident. I was doing bodyguard work and I was her bodyguard for a gig in Dallas. (I know, it sounds like that movie. Nothing like that. No killing, no drama. Dark club, she misstepped. I am a tough guy, so, I let it go.)

She is a tall woman.

You should write a move or a book about that incident and call it My Left Foot.

[ronws]

You should write a move or a book about that incident and call it My Left Foot.

Now, that's a good idea. :lol: