Hell Freezes Over

The Eagles: Don Felder (vocals, guitar); Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); Joe Walsh (vocals, guitar, organ); Timothy B. Schmit (vocals, bass); Don Henley (vocals, drums, percussion). Additional personnel: John Corey (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Timothy Drury (vocals, keyboards); Jay Oliver (keyboards); Scott Crago (drums, percussion); Gary Grimm, Stan Lynch, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion). Producers: Eagles, Elliot Scheiner, Rob Jacobs, Stan Lynch. Engineers: Rob Jacobs, Elliot Scheiner. Recorded at Warner Burbank Studios, Burbank, California; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California; Sounds Interchange, Toronto, Canada. Includes liner notes by Sal Manna. HELL FREEZES OVER features four new studio tracks along with live material from the Eagles' return concert on MTV. "Love Will Keep Us Alive" was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, and "Hotel California" was nominated for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. HELL FREEZES OVER was nominated for Best Pop Album. In a disappointing year of virtual reality performances, the Eagles' highly touted tour of America was a triumphant affirmation of enduring pop values, from a band that literally wrote the stylistic book on the singer-songwriter/rock'n'roll synthesis during the '70s. And as a band member jokes in a droll intro to their live set, "For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14 year vacation." So now we have one of the most anticipated reunions in rock history. Certainly the internal pressures which tore the band apart haven't been papered over, judging from post-tour statements. From the outgrowth of all that creative tension is a remarkably tight live set, and a four-song prologue of new Eagles material, all as fresh and melodious as the originals. Not surprisingly, the strongest of the new tunes, "Get Over It" and "Learn To Be Still," come from collaborations involving Don Henley. The latter a dark folkish ballad offering reassurance in the face of life's small, bitter defeats, the former a four-on-the-floor, chicken fried rocker which decries the self-victimization of Americans. And their live rendition of classic tunes really hold up: all are brimming over with elements of country, R&B and blues, sedate, funky grooves, seamless five-part harmonies and sweet soaring guitar solos and duets--all the sounds and flourishes which add up to the Eagles trademark California rock. What the critics say... Rolling Stone (12/15/94, p.92) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...the result is a tasteful, somewhat insular compilation of songs by former Eagles, rather than a fresh statement by a newly reunified band..." Q (1/95, p.252) - 3 Stars - Good - "...The Eagles, man. They're OK." Musician (1-2/95, p.77) - "...this doesn't just pick up from where THE LONG RUN left off. If anything, it's a sequel to COMMON THREAD, positioning the Eagles less as rockers with country roots than a country band that rocks..."