I don't dislike Hotel California through it being overplayed, I dislike it as I've always found it really boring.
I had stopped listening to the radio for years until I decided to give local college radio a go in the car. Have discovered countless bands I'd never have heard of otherwise, most of them local. Shazam has been my friend in capturing the songs I like.
For me BBC 6Music is a shining beacon. So much of the stuff I pick up on is from various shows on that station.
Interesting to read all the different comments and opinions on here. Back in the seventies, The Eagles were one of my favourite non-prog bands. I loved their first four albums, especially On The Border. Then Bernie Leadon left.....
Now don't get me wrong, Joe Walsh was good in his own right, I even bought one of his singles, Life's Been Good, which also had an excellent instrumental on the B-side. For me though, once he joined the Eagles, the early magic quickly disappeared. When the album Hotel California came out, I was so disappointed. Of course, the title track is a classic and New Kid In Town is also very good, but as for the rest of the album, to me it was just filler. I think they tried too hard to ditch their country influences and become more of a standard rock group. For me, it didn't work. The songs were laboured and bland to my ears and they became just another band to me. The same applied to their subsequent releases, none of them ever again held my interest. Of course, they made their money and had all the classic 'rock star' fall outs and flare ups but that didn't help their cause in my eyes.
I remember seeing them, years later, on the telly, giving some concert or other. Of course, the place was sold out but they just weren't the old Eagles anymore, I think they were actually wearing suits! For these old musical cowboys, this was super show biz and, for me, a total sell out.
A shame really.
You've summed that up well but if you thought they sold out then, what they have done since the death of Glenn Frey doesn't bear talking about. I have too much history with that band to bore Genesis fans with it.
Although I have an appreciation for the musicianship of Queen in general and for Mercury's skills as a singer and frontman, They have never been my favourite. I find so much of their songs completely over-the-top, which I know is intentional, but I find less appealing.
I agree the early albums of The Eagles were great and there are many less-known songs on those albums that I enjoy just as much as the early hits. By the time of Hotel California, Don Henley and Glenn Frey had developed into very good craftsmen of songs. They could put something together that sounded really good, although it might not have the same emotion and heart that the earlier material had. I think Hotel California is a fantastically constructed song (and credit obviously goes to Don Felder for the music). And even though the song is overplayed, I still really appreciate the musicianship of the duelling guitar parts. But I find myself more energized listening to Train Leaves Here This Morning or Midnight Flyer. I'm not saying those are better songs exactly, but I do find them more engaging than the cynicism of Hotel California.
Old Queen fan here, these days I don't listen to them too often but whenever I do I get really excited.
Well yeah, tastes differ etc., but the bashing in some (not all) of the comments here says more about people who seem to have a need for picking on great artists for ego reasons.
Brian May seems like a lovely bloke
I think I mentioned this before but in my guise as Roger Repetitious I'll mention it again. My friend Dave sells tech to the music industry, often meeting some high-profile musicians along the way. He sold some stuff to Brian May, who insisted Dave came to his house with the equipment and stay for a cup of tea. Dave is a pretty good musician himself and Dr May let him have a go on the famous guitar. Dave confirmed that Brian is indeed a very nice chap.
On tangent, though kind of related as Led Zeppelin while not grating do fall into the 'overrated' category for me. Dave is a born salesman and often gets famous customers to do promo stuff for his company. I was amused by hearing that he did a transaction over the phone with John Paul Jones, evidently not as warm and amenable as Brian May, which led to:
DAVE: While I've got you , can I ask, would you do some promo for us?
JPJ: No, and don't ask me ever again. (hangs up)
😂
On tangent, though kind of related as Led Zeppelin while not grating do fall into the 'overrated' category for me.
100%. I find them a little plodding/lumbering or something. Their brand of heavy rock feels a little unimaginative or square to me. Maybe that's harsh but it's the best I can put it. Another band I think of along the same lines is Pearl Jam. They seem workmanlike more than inspired. Not bad necessarily, just not thrilling.
While I can understand how "plodding/lumbering" might apply to some of Led Zeppelin's more blues-oriented material (e.g., When the Levee Breaks, Dazed and Confused, etc.), there is a lot of material that is stylistically broader. There's the English folk and Joni Mitchell-influenced stuff like Going to California, That's the Way, etc. for example. There also songs with nods to funk (The Crunge), Latin/samba grooves (Fool In the Rain), and the keyboard/synthesizer-based songs on In Through the Out Door.
Again, interesting to read all the diverse comments here. Regarding Led Zep, I always enjoyed them, though not enough to buy all their stuff. When I was in grammar school in the early seventies, which was boys only, we all used to put our favourite band's name on our briefcases or satchels. The four names that appeared more than any other were Led Zep, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Slade. (In those days Slade were highly rated and were my favourite band). I enjoyed all those bands to an extent, though they all produced some stuff I wasn't as keen on.
Regarding Pearl Jam. I was never into the grunge type of sound, though I could tolerate a bit of Soundgarden. When it came to Pearl Jam, I just didn't like the vocals, not my type of singer at all. Same with Radiohead, I just don't like the vocals.
A band I always felt I should like, but never did, was Roxy Music. I loved their first single, Virginia Plain, but I was very disappointed in their debut album, though I know many liked it. For me, it was too weird and lacked strong melodies. Later on they turned too bland and radio friendly, to my ears. I also wasn't keen on Ferry's vocals, which came across as quite weak, though admittedly distinctive. Just not for me I'm afraid (I must admit though, in interviews, Ferry comes across as a really nice fellow).
I'm sorry folks, through a kind member on here under my request has gone through Mike Rutherford's solo's works with the Mechanics, I'm not a fan. The music to my ears sound very bland and the same IMHO. 
With all other Genesis artist solo acts, I love!. 
I'm sorry folks, through a kind member on here under my request has gone through Mike Rutherford's solo's works with the Mechanics, I'm not a fan. The music to my ears sound very bland and the same IMHO.
With all other Genesis artist solo acts, I love!.
No need to apologise for an opinion! I'm mostly with you, his mechanics work is the very definition of MOR. Though I very much like smallcreep's day and the odd mechanics tune, I find them generally quite middling (my great grandmother's default answer to the question 'how are you?').
I'm sorry folks, through a kind member on here under my request has gone through Mike Rutherford's solo's works with the Mechanics, I'm not a fan. The music to my ears sound very bland and the same IMHO.
With all other Genesis artist solo acts, I love!.
I agree . Though. I like Smallcreeps Day. That's it with MR for me. I have the AVS album and couple of M&M bit just never got into them
Sadly reminded today of the abomination that is the version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews. She can't sing, and he can but chooses to talk for half of it, in a most "Cradle-snatching" disturbing kind of way. yuk!
It's a dreadful song anyway!
Due to the adverse conditions this year, lots of musicians have decided to use their enforced spare time to release Xmas singles or - worse still - whole albums that are now cluttering up the playlists of some radio stations & crowding out those few old Xmas records I actually like such as Greg Lake, Jonah Lewie, Mike Oldfield & the Waitresses. I haven’t heard a single one of these new offerings that deserves to get airplay next Xmas, let alone in decades to come, especially the ones that rub in what a horrible year it’s been & how we all have to use Zoom (thanks Robbie Williams!) 
