Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

9. The EaglesHotel California

The Eagles are fucking bad ass. I’ve always been a fan of multiple voices in bands and the Eagles are another example of that. Classy musicians who fucking earned their bones through backing up other musicians. I love that documentary that they did ‘The History Of The Eagles’: the drugs, the fights, the stardom, that’s just fascinating. I always really admired that band for its uniqueness and the quality of the records they made, the songwriting, the musicianship. This album and that particular track… it’s like bigger than they are. Even though that’s them. I mean, sometimes musicians, the song and the actual thing that gets recorded at the production, all three of those things line up at the right time and you get that magical thing, bigger than any one of you, even all of you together… it just goes a little step above. It’s the whole thing: music is not about perfection, the closest you’re gonna get to reaching perfection is the pursuit of trying to get there, I guess. But every once in a while, there’s one song or an album that just kind of poke out, that just goes above the ceiling. That title track does that. It’s a very magical song.

Selected in other Baker’s Dozens: Vince Clarke
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