Hell Freezes Over

 (149 customer reviews)

"For the record, we never broke up..." those seven words start out the concert portion of this album and from the music, it's almost believeable. One of the 1970's most famed rock groups, who broke up over disputes and promised not to reunite until Hell Froze Over, have come back together for their reunion concert and it's amazing. It's a stripped down, more intimate show than their first live album, but that's one thing that makes it so amazing. They have nothing but their instruments to make them sound good. And they sound awesome.The standouts on the album include "The Last Resort," which is possibly the best song, "Life In the Fast Lane," and a chilling version of "Desperado." But let's not forget the most famous song from the album...a stripped down and amazing version of "Hotel California," which far surpasses the original.The four songs at the beginning, which are new studio recordings(but are shown live on the...Read more

This recording is one of the best pop recordings available on CD. When analyzing high-end audio equipment, this is one of a handful that I absolutely must audition with.Clear, tight, dynamic, you name it. Listen to the beginning of track 6, "Hotel California", especially right after 32 seconds into the track. If you have a really good system, you will probably get your hairs to stand on end.Oh, the music itself? First class, of course. The best songs of the Eagles and all sound nice. My favorite is "Pretty Maids All In A Row" with "New York Minute" and "The Last Resort" just behind it. Of course, "Hotel California" sounds great, almost better than the original recording.This album MUST be in your collection if you like popular music or even classic rock.

In an interview shortly after the Eagles had official ceased being a band, Don Henley was asked when the band might possibly play together again and his response was "when hell freezes over". That quote provided the name for the 1994 reunion tour & this live album that was recorded for an MTV special. Even though it had been about 14 years since they last played together, you would never know it. Their playing is crisp and their harmonies are picture perfect. Instead of playing it safe, the band mixes things up right away by playing an all-acoustic version of their rock classic "Hotel California". The song opens practically unrecognizable with a Spanish sounding guitar fill before sliding into the familiar opening riff. The drums are replaced by congas and instead of the dueling electric guitars, Don Felder & Joe Walsh trade acoustic licks off of Mr. Felder's 6-string and Mr. Walsh's 12-string. Instead of changing a song for change's sake, they...Read more