5 minute read
Note for Note
LAURA LATZKO
For many music fans, albums become soundtracks of their lives. They know their favorite songs by heart and connect to the songs on a deeply personal level.
Classic Albums Live recreates beloved albums, note for note, for diehard fans of classic rock music.
On Saturday, February 8, Classic Albums Live will visit the Fox Tucson Theatre to perform its rendition of The Eagles’ hit album “Hotel California.”
Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, The Eagles reached the top of the Billboard charts with hit songs such as “Hotel California,” “Best of My Love,” “One of These Nights,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Take It Easy.”
They won multiple Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year for “Hotel California” and Best Arrangement for Voices for “New Kid in Town” in 1977.
With its rendition, Classic Albums Live pays tribute to The Eagles by performing the group’s music in the most authentic form possible.
Craig Martin started Classic Albums Live in 2003 to present albums as closely as he can. The members don’t dress up in costumes or try to impersonate members of groups such as The Eagles but instead focus on the music.
Musicians within Classic Albums Live perform different albums throughout the year, by artists and bands such as The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Queen, The Who and Pink Floyd.
For more than a decade, different groupings of musicians have played “Hotel California” for Classic Albums Live.
Ron Phillips, the lead singer and guitarist for The Eagles “Hotel California” show, helped to put together this arrangement. It was during the early days of Classic Albums Live.
“There was still a bit of a learning curve to how to take apart these albums. I actually put the headphones on one night in a fit of inspiration and spent a few days working on all the songs, doing the vocal arrangements myself,” Phillips says. Classic Albums Live’s musical director, Phillips says with The Eagles’ music, the vocals are the hardest part to tackle.
“For The Eagles, obviously vocal harmonies are a big thing. The same with Queen, but also guitar harmonies are big with Queen, too. It puts twice the work on all of the guitar players/singers in the band, which I’m also one,” Philips says.
The Eagles’ album gives Phillips a chance to play the slide guitar on songs such as “Victim of Love,” something he doesn’t get to do very often.
Phillips says The Eagles’ music has a timeless quality appreciated by audiences of different generations.
“The Eagles were a great band. They had great songs. They were great players, and they were great singers. They were just fantastic. They were really just masters of their craft,” Phillips says.
Phillips has met one of the engineers who worked on “Hotel California.” He gave him insight into the meticulous process of creating the album.
“The album is really well done. It’s obviously why people want to hear it, and there was a reason it was popular,” Phillips says.
During his 15 years with Classic Albums Live, Phillips has performed more than 60 different albums.
He takes on different roles based on the shows. For example, for Pink Floyd albums, he tends to be lead guitarist and singer, but he only plays and sings lead on Beatles albums for George Harrison songs.
He says being versatile has helped him. “I can fit in a lot of places in the band, which is how I got this position, really. I just kept saying, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that,’” Phillips says.
When recreating albums, it is important to capture what makes each band and singer unique.
“Like Brian May from Queen, he’s a really unique player. To listen to the way he plays versus Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac, they have very different styles, but you have to sound like them,” Phillips says. “It’s always been a natural thing for me to mimic. I’ve done voices ever since I was a kid. So, when I started playing guitar, it was a natural progres
During an upcoming performance in Tucson, Classic Albums Live will perform songs from the The Eagles’ album “Hotel California.” (Photo courtesy of Classic Albums Live)
sion to hear if I turn my pick like ‘this,’ it sounds just like it.”
Some of the singers’ voices naturally lend themselves to performing certain parts.
“We generally use the people we’ve already got. Some people just have similar vocal characteristics. Once you are using the same phrasing and singing the same words, it really brings out those vocal characteristics,” Phillips says.
The lineup for Classic Albums Live has changed over the years, as some musicians have left and others have come in. Sometimes, performers will have to step in for a part when there are multiple shows the same night.
The musicians perform “Hotel California” about every six months. Phillips says although he knows the albums, it is important to keep practicing them.
“You always have to go back and play through everything and make sure you’ve got everything up to speed,” Phillips says. The musicians don’t try to impersonate the original members, although they may inevitably mimic small facial expressions or gestures.
“Sometimes, when you are in that headspace, you channel them a little bit,” he says. “I play a lot of Pink Floyd, so to get this David Gilmour sound—David Gilmour sucks in his cheeks when he’s playing; his sound is very tight—I find myself doing it when I’m playing it because playing the guitar is a full-body experience.”
When they rehearse together, the musicians work collaboratively to make sure the songs sound right. Sometimes, this can be a challenge when they don’t know exactly how a sound was created, but they try to get as close as possible.
Fans either listen to the albums a few times or avoid hearing the album at all before going to the show, Phillips says. This gives fans a new perspective on the music.
“They want it to be a fresh experience, hearing us play. Sitting in a theater listening to the album, it’s almost like listening to it for the first time,” Phillips says.
As a music lover, Phillips can identify with fans who are listening closely to their rendition and comparing it to the original.
“I can remember when I was younger, just sitting in school all day, and I couldn’t wait to get home, put my headphones on and listen to an album,” Phillips says.
MORE INFO What: Classic Albums Live: The Eagles’ “Hotel California” When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 8 Where: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street Cost: $27.50 to $49.50 Info: 547-3040, foxtucson.com
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