Music: POLL: Guitar Solo Battle: Hotel California vs Stairway To Heaven

[OzzyFan]

Hotel California's flows perfectly with the song and music while holding it's own in quality. As said prior, some would even say they don't remember it because it flows so well. As I agree with the Tarheelhockey's view on Hotel California below.

Hotel California’s solo is almost like another vocal. I would argue that it’s the best-integrated guitar solo ever.

Nothing against Stairway, it’s also a great solo, but if you delete it from the song it’s still basically the same song. I don’t think that’s the case for Hotel.

That said, I completely disagree with his view on deleting it from Stairway to Heaven and Stairway still being the same song. Stairway to Heaven's solo is over the top, kicks the song up a notch, and is more memorable. Turning it from a pure rock ballad to a hard rock classic, bringing more emotion and life to the song and impact on the story's 'finale'. It sort of makes the song while 'changing it' imo.

Obviously this opinion based and taste based, but I prefer Stairway to Heaven, especially for it's impact on the song. If you took away Hotel California's guitar solo, it'd still be one of the best soft rock songs of all time.


Now on to the mini side topic discussion. Eagles and Zeppelin both were no all-time great live shows in their own context. Zeppelin were a studio band first and foremost who did way too many drugs and drinking to bring reliable quality live shows. The Eagles were known for being pitch perfect live, not much flash or excess, they were what they were. Neither were a combination of flash, creativity, reliability, and showmanship enough to be considered top live bands of all time, imo.

 

[Voight]

Two of my absolute favorite songs ever but going with HC on this one.

 

[peate]

You know, I don't think I've ever listened to the Grateful Dead. Strange.

Keep it that way.

 

[WhoozYerrDaddy]

Hotel California obliterates Stairway.

Jimmy Page sucks.

I agree 1000000 % .... can't stand Led Zeppelin

 

[Xelebes]

Neither of the two solos are particularly memorable for me. That's just me though.

 

[Perennial]

Hotel California

 

[Lshap]

Hotel California's solo is better constructed and has that great lead harmony as the outro, but, for me, Stairway has the raw emotional edge that The Eagles' tune lacks. Jimmy Page is simply a more intuitive and evocative guitarist than Don Felder or, for that matter, almost anyone.

The two solos are a great comparison of two very different bands with two very different strengths. Led Zep's sound was revolutionary, trippy, deeply textured. Eagles' sound was very clean and square. Where The Eagles had the edge was in their lyrics. Their songs evoked real feelings and emotions far better than Led Zep's spacey pretensions to goth. As musicians, The Eagles couldn't write nor play anywhere near the brilliance of Led Zeppelin, but Led Zep couldn't touch the honey-harmonies and vocal/lyrical angst of The Eagles' bittersweet tunes. Hotel California is their biggest hit and is rightly considered one of the all-time best guitar solos in rock, so I consider it ironic that it's overlaid onto one of the band's dumbest, most emotionally cold lyrics. Stairway to Heaven's lyrics are just as meaningless, but the music is so masterful that Plant could've been singing a 7-minute menu of pizza toppings.

 

[kihei]

Great analysis.

 

[peate]

Hotel California's solo is better constructed and has that great lead harmony as the outro, but, for me, Stairway has the raw emotional edge that The Eagles' tune lacks. Jimmy Page is simply a more intuitive and evocative guitarist than Don Felder or, for that matter, almost anyone.

The two solos are a great comparison of two very different bands with two very different strengths. Led Zep's sound was revolutionary, trippy, deeply textured. Eagles' sound was very clean and square. Where The Eagles had the edge was in their lyrics. Their songs evoked real feelings and emotions far better than Led Zep's spacey pretensions to goth. As musicians, The Eagles couldn't write nor play anywhere near the brilliance of Led Zeppelin, but Led Zep couldn't touch the honey-harmonies and vocal/lyrical angst of The Eagles' bittersweet tunes. Hotel California is their biggest hit and is rightly considered one of the all-time best guitar solos in rock, so I consider it ironic that it's overlaid onto one of the band's dumbest, most emotionally cold lyrics. Stairway to Heaven's lyrics are just as meaningless, but the music is so masterful that Plant could've been singing a 7-minute menu of pizza toppings.

That's my boy, taught him everything he knows.

As a guitarist, and a pretty good one if I say so myself, HC solo is standard stuff, and it takes two guitars playing to make it stand out, STH is a perfect example of how a lead solo should be written an played. From start to finish, it just flows, clearly better. Want to hear a killer lead solo, Gary Moore's Still got the blues for you. Of course it's not pop, but listen to his mode changes throughout, it's lyrical in quality. As a song, HC is great and I can almost sing it all without having to look at the lyrics, and STH is a song almost all guitar players learn on acoustic. Both classics..

 

[peate]

Blasphemy!

What goes on too long in Freebird is the INTRO, the first 6 minutes......the 5 minute outro solo is *kiss*.

The Eagles were so boring live. Skynyrd opened for The Stones and killed them every night.



Rock was great in the 70's, look at all the beautiful women at the show!

That was a fun video, but that blond on the guy's shoulders is gonna have one bad sunburn.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

That was a fun video, but that blond on the guy's shoulders is gonna have one bad sunburn.

No shit, right? EVERY time I watch this I think she's had skin cancer just from this show.

And hard not to notice all the young girls down front in the pit, not something you normally see at rock shows. Almost looks Lilith Fair-like.



Amazing that they could own a 70,000 seat stadium and then in the UK, play just as well in front of about 50 people just sitting on their hands.

Artemis Pyle on drums and Leon Wilkinson on bass are just as amazing as Collins. #hijack over#

 

[Lshap]

That's my boy, taught him everything he knows.

As a guitarist, and a pretty good one if I say so myself, HC solo is standard stuff, and it takes two guitars playing to make it stand out, STH is a perfect example of how a lead solo should be written an played. From start to finish, it just flows, clearly better. Want to hear a killer lead solo, Gary Moore's Still got the blues for you. Of course it's not pop, but listen to his mode changes throughout, it's lyrical in quality. As a song, HC is great and I can almost sing it all without having to look at the lyrics, and STH is a song almost all guitar players learn on acoustic. Both classics..

Man, where were you when my band was looking for a lead guitarist? (Although we don't do Hotel California or any song that most bands cover)

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Hotel California's solo is better constructed and has that great lead harmony as the outro, but, for me, Stairway has the raw emotional edge that The Eagles' tune lacks. Jimmy Page is simply a more intuitive and evocative guitarist than Don Felder or, for that matter, almost anyone.

The two solos are a great comparison of two very different bands with two very different strengths. Led Zep's sound was revolutionary, trippy, deeply textured. Eagles' sound was very clean and square. Where The Eagles had the edge was in their lyrics. Their songs evoked real feelings and emotions far better than Led Zep's spacey pretensions to goth. As musicians, The Eagles couldn't write nor play anywhere near the brilliance of Led Zeppelin, but Led Zep couldn't touch the honey-harmonies and vocal/lyrical angst of The Eagles' bittersweet tunes. Hotel California is their biggest hit and is rightly considered one of the all-time best guitar solos in rock, so I consider it ironic that it's overlaid onto one of the band's dumbest, most emotionally cold lyrics. Stairway to Heaven's lyrics are just as meaningless, but the music is so masterful that Plant could've been singing a 7-minute menu of pizza toppings.

I consider the lyrics of Hotel California to be utter mind food and profound.

I mean, I've got a hilarious interpretation that it's about library books.

There's one in which I would make AMV set to Final Fantasy VII regarding the relationship of Cloud and Jenova/Sephiroth.

And the obvious in your face takeaway is that depicts Los Angeles and its culture very well, so well that from the time pictures were called pictures to the very present, the allure of becoming "a star"(vintage accent) and the price paid for it is well-depicted.

 

[Rpenny]

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Zep sure liked their "homages" didn't they?

Although they have also had their riffs lifted for decades now. Chicago's main riff in 25 or 6 to 4 is a copy of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You's bridge. People wondered why they didn't complain, but Babe I'm Gonna Leave You was actually a cover of a cover (no royalties to the original writer) of a folk song with Page's riff and outro put on top. How could they complain?

 

[Rpenny]

Zep sure liked their "homages" didn't they?

Although they have also had their riffs lifted for decades now. Chicago's main riff in 25 or 6 to 4 is a copy of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You's bridge. People wondered why they didn't complain, but Babe I'm Gonna Leave You was actually a cover of a cover (no royalties to the original writer) of a folk song with Page's riff and outro put on top. How could they complain?