If you can't hear the obvious similarities in We Used To Know & Hotel California, you don't possess musical intelligence. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but that's basically it. Some have it, others don't.
I have been playing and listening to Hotel California since 1976, and I have just listened to this for the first time and I am astounded by the similarities. It even seems to me that the famous guitar break was based on the flute solo and fills in this song.
I'm sorry but I do not hear any similarities maybe at the beginning of the song but other then that "We Used To Know" & "Hotel California" are not very similar at all... so all this talk about similarities is all about nothing... They are both great songs in their own right... let's all leave it alone now shall we...
Hotel Califormia is a hard song to play, it jumps about, while to the ear, it flows nicely. The chord sequence is more than distinctive it's pretty unique. When I play it live, it is usually recognised within 3 chords. To get to 7 chords in common is not possible by chance, BUT plagiarism is often subminal and unintentional. George Harrison would have agreed.
hah! HC is exactly the same chord structure, just in a different key. HC is a bit more fleshed out with a memorable chorus and can't call it a bad song at all, but still think all the Eagles (with the possible exception of Joe Walsh) are douche-bags and owe JT something for this one!
@njrosatoii Maybe not the only one but probably one of the few :P. In my case, I listened to HC dozens of times before listening to this, and then I bought Stand Up, played it and thought "wow, this really sounds like Hotel California". Then I looked when each song was composed and I can't deny it, I lost a little bit of respect for HC. Sure, it's a very good song, but I can't help having the feeling that it's not "completely original" (I'm not saying it's the hugest rip-off ever either)
@Aqualung1989 Doesn't take much to hear the similarities. I was watching Frank Ocean's American Wedding/ Hotel Cali song that Henely is sueing over and someone made a reference to this song.
@njrosatoii Nope. It's pretty obvious Hotel California appropriated the chord progression. Both great songs. The difference for me is that I like listening to this, and I don't need to ever hear that overplayed Eagles song again.
@njrosatoii possibly! i played this for my son just seconds ago and without knowing he said, "That sounds just like Hotel California." My son is 11 and learning the solo of HC for his band. If an 11 yr guitarist can hear it, it might have a ring of truth to it. Also, it's pretty clear to me as well. But as Ian Anderson said, who cares...long live rock
I would love to know if Don Henley ever said anything publicly about this....Hotel California is a VERY artistic piece...but also and obviously a ripoff....I mean I get that most pop,rock and blues and rap is created this way...and sometimes the ripoff is an improvement...but this is SO blatant...good gawd.
@leolabin youre kidding. one good song? theyve had 14 top 40 hits, 5 number 1 singles and 4 number 1 albums. and their greatest hits album and Hotel California ranked among the top 10 best selling albums EVER. youre saying they had ONE good song? PLEASE. Heartache tonight, peaceful easy feeling, life in the fast lane, lyin eyes, seven bridges road, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, tequila sunrise; i can go all day. theres some things you can say, but NEVER say im idiotic and never insult the Eagles like that.
@TjamesNC Look, I have two Eagles LP-s and i have listened them enough to tell if day are good or not. You didn't do that with Jethro Tull, cause if you did you would never ever say that Eagles are better.
Obviously you're American and you guys never really appreciated good music.
@leolabin How can you say the Eagles did only one good song? The whole HC album is great...are you saying they ripped the whole album off? They had a huge amount of hits..throughout their career..can't say the same for Jethro Tull, who I mostly found annoying to listen to. This is a good song, and I do hear similarities, which happens pretty often in popular music...I hear it all the time....but I doubt it was an intentional rip off.
@MsEsseff hmmmm no problem with your opinion, but if good music is measured by the number of hits, I would come (and I'm sure you too) to some discomforting conclusions... and about JT being annoying... well, they sure make you think when you listen to their music, and many people dislike that...
I love this song. That Hendrix/Stooges wah-wah delivers every time. Can we compromise and agree that the James Gang is in the same league as Jethro Tull? I dig Tull more than the Eagles, but guess what? If the show was a double-billing: (Tull and Eagles) , Joe Walsh and the boys would be headlining, Ian would hit the stage first. Regardless, Hotel California is one of the most overrated albums of all time, while Stand Up is one of the most underrated. Thanks Aqualung1989
@biglloyddobbs i didnt even know people like you existed. Fact: The Eagles are one of the largest/most popular bands. you guys must just be some type of person ive never met. are yall like some underground league of wannabe-educated hippies? the Eagles are all talented, every member can sing and play an instrument, their songs are dynamic and relaxing and they have a very unique style. and how dare you call me a dimwit just because i enjoy listening to a different type of music.
@chiron8839 i could just tell you my opinion but the opinion of mine and millions of others speaks louder. heres the stats: 14 top 40 hits, 5 number 1 singles and 4 number 1 albums. and their greatest hits album and Hotel California ranked among the top 10 best selling albums EVER. thats the reason. anymore questions?
@TjamesNC - But those things aren't "reasons." Reasons = causes, and those are merely effects--in this case, of successful promotion and a manipulated market, more than any measure of talent.
@TjamesNC I love them both, I listen too both , what you listen too depends on your mood and your taste not on record sales, and BTW Led Zeppelin which is one of my favorite bands, has about the same number of sales and ranked top hits as the eagles , that doesnt mean that one is better than the other.
Thank god the eagles didn't have the talent and inovation to steal this song properly. By comparison the eagles sound like elevator music. Like Ian Anderson said..... country boys. Stealing a riff or phrase is a completely different ball game to stealing an entire chord structure. A riff or phrase can be used in a different context. Sorry but this is out and out theft of a song. Ian Anderson should have sued as a point of principal.
it is a sequence of chords you can imagine is easy to use when you are composing. jethro was my favourite group in summer of 1969 as I was 18. eagles are musicians fantastic . there is no need to make a riot. you have the genius of anderson together with the guitar solos of felder and walsh. no need to make riot : it's masterpieces both .
I have Hotel California/Eagles and the title track is IMHO the standout song on the album. Don't get me wrong I like the Eagles. I hadn't previously heard this track by Jethro Tull being content to listen to their 'greatest hits' but now think this knocks Hotel California into a cocked hat.
@ThelronFjord The Eagles have many other famous songs such as: The Long Run, In the City, Heartache Tonight, I Can't Tell You Why, One of These Nights, Lyin' Eyes, Take It To The Limit, Already Gone, Best of My Love, Peaceful Easy Feeling, James Dean, Desperado, Tequila Sunrise, Life in the Fast Lane, New Kid In Town, The Last Resort, Victim of Love, Take It Easy, Witchy Woman...
@ThelronFjord ...I know all these Eagles songs very well as I have heard them all 1000s of times over the last 30 to 40 years. They have all been played on the radio and they are still played on radio stations since they are all such classic songs. ;-)
@OZRIC1985 - They were also popular in an incredibly uncompetitive era, musically, and got far more radio play than bands whose heyday came a few years earlier. If the Eagles were popular, it was based more on effective marketing than talent or originality.
@chiron8839 What you are saying about the Eagles is all a matter of your own opinion. What you said about their popularity being based more on effective marketing than talent or originality sounds like you are talking about almost all of the newer bands in the past couple of decades. The Eagles are talented musicians/singers and they have many great songs that have withstood the test of time. Anyway, everybody has a right to their own opinion.
@OZRIC1985 - Everyone is certainly entitled to his own opinion, but some are better informed than others. As a 60 year-old historian, I tend to be reasonably well-informed, given that I've lived through the period under discussion, and am trained to compare and contrast a variety of phenomena and make qualitative judgements about their relative merits. I agree that what I said about the Eagles applies to other bands of their era, and that they too were inferior for the same reason.
@Gasssolo the Eagles had one other famous song. The track "Journey of the Sorcerer" was used as the intro theme to the original BBC radio series of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm not sure anyone knows it's by the Eagles, tho.
i see some saying how "nights in white satin" was actually first...but its not really that similar..maybe a little bit but this one right here and eagles are alot closer..maybe tull was inspired by moody blues..but they changed it up enough to where its not plagiarism..eagles though barely did anything cept for new lyrics and a little bit here and there altering of this song here..
It's terribly wrong when someone takes somebody else work and doesn't give the credits to the author. I love "Hotel California," and I asked to my self, God, how could be possible to create a song like this? Now I know that it's just a well done arrangement of the original, the Jethro Tull: "We Used To Know". I feel a kind of deception of the Eagles attitude. Actually, without the song "Hotel California" they are just another band as many in America.
Wow, the first solo is almost a minute long haha! And its fucking brilliant!
Even the soloing on HC is very similar to the solos here. In a way, it would have to be, because the scale would have to fit with the chord progression and key, right? But certain licks and phrases seem to be taken right out of this song, like the bit at 1:34, and the attack and feel of the HC solo is in the same spirit as this.
iIve just heard this song for the first time today, and it's now one of my favorites.
This is one of those chord sequences that practically writes itself anyway. Take an introductory course in music theory, and you'll understand that this chord sequence is just a very logical and predictable series based on the most universally recognized interval, the fifth. Anyone who actually thinks that the Eagles "stole" it from Jethro Tull is a twit.
@ifutureman - Actually anyone who thinks it wasn't lifted virtually as whole cloth is the gullible, rationalizing twit, and moreover, a rube--the kind of person any good con artist is thankful for.
@chiron8839 Have you ever heard of something called the circle of fifths? Do you know anything about music theory at all? This chord sequence is not that novel or unique. The fact that the Eagles tapped into a very common chord sequence, but in a different key, different time signature, and with a different vocal line (with a couple of short phrases in the beginning that happen to match), does not make the Eagles thieves. You're the myopic rube, chiron.
@ifutureman - Yes, I am familiar with the circle of fifths, but the chord progression doesn't explain away the direct imitation in the Eagles acquisition of the song. There are other key points of correspondence. The lead attacks are the same too, and that entails far more room for uniqueness and less for serendipitous replication. Of course, the fact that Eagles developed and released HC after their tour with Jethro Tull explains a lot too.
@Zorbak962 Thank you, Zorbak. As to whether the Eagles lifted it intentionally or not, who knows? It's certainly possible, given the tour JT and the Eagles did together. Conversely though, it's possible they just absorbed it unconsciously.
As an aside, do a Youtube search for Soul Finger by the Barkays, and Love Like I Wanna by Magic Slim. It seems probable that Slim lifted the chord progression from the Barkays, but who could blame him? It sounds great.
@chiron8839 If you think these "lead attacks" are the same then this debate is pointless. There is nothing about the solos in these two songs that is similar. Martin Barre played a fairly straightforward solo with wah-wah pedal, staying firmly in the key of E minor pentatonic with a few bends. Don Felder's and Joe Walsh's solos modulate based on the major and minor chords in the sequence. The phrasing is entirely different. By the way: Felder wasn't in the Eagles when they toured with Tull.
@ifutureman - Ha! It wasn't a debate to begin with. You weren't even born when Jethro Tull first came to America, and I was at the show.
Seriously, think about how you've distinguished the solos. It's all generalization. Now listen to them back-to-back again. To deny the influence is, at best, wholly arbitrary--in the interest of exonerating the integrity of the band you admire most. What particular member was on the tour or not is of no consequence.
@chiron8839 PLEASE. Merely being alive at a certain time does not magically make you more aware of art from that period. I have at most a passing appreciation for the Eagles. I actually like Tull more. So stop presuming things about me, OK? It appears (although I don't know for sure) you don't play an instrument, or you wouldn't have dismissed my very specific technical points about the solos. I can play both of them, and they are quite different, except perhaps to an untrained ear.
@ifutureman - Really? You actually cover those songs? It would never occur to me to do that. I don't mean that as a criticism at all. It just wouldn't.
@chiron8839 Hotel California is just something that people always want to hear if I'm playing at a party or a campfire or what have you. It's also something that a lot of guitarists learn in their early years (of playing). And We Used To Know, I just learned for my own amusement, because I like learning songs. I don't write stuff because everything ends up sounding like something I've heard before. Which is rather ironic in light of what I've been yammering about.
@ifutureman - Yeah, I suppose it would be a popular cover tune. I guess that didn't occur to me due to the age differential.
I know the feeling of having everything you play come out sounding like someone else. I've been noodling away at blues for years, off and on, and just can't fathom exhausting even all the existing, been-done-to-death licks, let alone coming up with something original.
no plagiarism at all, just same chord structure , you know it doesn't matter if you steal riffs, as long the song is good , led zeppelin stole bunch of riffs like stairway , the entire history of rock steals riffs , so stop bitching
it's really just the chord progression. it's not in many songs, so it sounds quite distinct. i was actually writing a song a little while back and i came up with a chord progression on my own and when i played it the first time i was surprised at how much it sounded like hotel california. i'm a huge fan of the eagles, and i like jethro tull too, but there are many other songs that sound the same because they have the same chord progression. get over it.
Who gives a fuck if the Eagles got the tune of this song from Tull? I personally don't like the Eagles, and it's not good that they plagiarized this song, but all that matters is that Tull has always been superior to them, and this song is timeless.
There are and will be those who are musically adept, musically inclined, musically famous, and so forth. Then there are those who are music masters....masters of composition and content....composer/lyricists who's awareness of where music takes a mind beyond the boundaries of social construct.......and this will always include Jethro Tull.
I dont give a fuck what is the new shit in the tv or in the radio, this is my music and this is my life, some things are timeless like rock and fucking roll...
@stoogges Let's not get too carried away, if you listen to lots of music, you will hear many examples that generate other wonderful songs. If you play music yourself, you will know this. How many great songs are made out of the same chords and sequences? I wonder if Hotel California was not so famous, would anyone say anything? A band like Zeppelin got accused of the same things too. This business is endless with too many examples to mention and I love Tull AND The Eagels!
@blabblab1212 they are as talented as Jethro ... i like both bands a lot... as much as i like mid 70s aerosmith ...blue oyster cult...etc...etc... man...there's plenty of great records back in the day...i just can't decide who is best... hopefully they are all different musically... it's what makes rock n roll music so exciting...
kinda "hotel ca-ish". "angie" by stones probably more comparable. like a mix of both w/ mexican reggae arrngements. anywho tull ripoffed fair share of Cream in their early days so...
@kristoscan - Tull didn't rip off Cream. They covered the same songs under the same titles. There's a difference between overtly covering a song and flat-out stealing it and publishing it under a different title.
so ian anderson was in the eagles, or were the eagles in the jethro tull band? did joe walsh play the flute? i'm really confused. how did they get to this "hotel"? and who exactly is programmed to see? what prison were they from? leavonworth? complicated shit.
@MrBeav62 nah, man. at some point, eagles went on tour with jethro tull and later they wrote hotel california, thats why some people say they got it from this song because of the similarities. But Ian Anderson is too cool to get pissed, and said in an interview they must have picked up on the melody subconciously (very possible considering how jethro tull songs like hanging on to your brain and not letting go).
Get REAL folks with all this Jethro Tull vs. Eagles comparisons. Because, in the end, you will NEVER be in ANY band as REMOTELY significant as either of these two. All you have left is academic argument. To quote Metallica - another band you will NEVER be in - "Sad But True." Life sucks for those who spend time making YouTube comments.
The Eagles used the same chord progression... that's all! The time signature is in 4/4, not 6/8 like this song. The fact of the matter is... bands use the same chord progressions all the time, they've been recycled over and over again and will continue to. It's the harmonic expression of these common chord progressions/sequences that create hits, because it's relatively easy to write catchy melody's over them.
if youtube deleted your comparison video, yet they let you play jethro tull 'we used to know' then we know which band had a hissy fit and contested it dont we?
Always remember seeing Jethro at the City Hall Sheffield around 2002 & Ian said we played in America in the mid 70`s & The Eagles were their support band. After playing "We Used to Know"....... next thing the Eagles released "Hotel California" a few months later & low & behold their greatest hit became upon us ? We never got the royalties from them either !
@peachycycling you have no idea of timelines do you ...We Used to know was 1969 ..Hotel California 1976 . Chord progression similar , different time signature so I dont think The eagles went out a few month later and recorder California . Get your dfacts right before you post on Youtube or else you come across just as you are /... A DORK
tull was definantly one of the most originally inspiring bands to come along. what class of music describes their form! i can't think of one. lyrics and musicianship you cannot compare to anyone. although i believe that anyone who brings music to the table should be applauded, these guys were true heroes of their time and to this day
Why not? There are tons of great classic RockPop bands that are way better than a lot of so called Prog bands. Just styles, with positive and negative traits. I like the old adage, that there are two kinds of music: good music and bad music. The Eagles and Tull IMO are good music, Britney Spears and post CTTE Yes is in the bad catagory.
'69: Great year for music. This 2nd album highlights Martin Barre's debut, one of the greatest & underrated guitarists. 1st heard 'Tull from this, in 10th grade... huge fan ever since. Clive Bunker, 'Tull's original drummer, also one of the best of all time. This song starts out slow, then builds to some awesome wha-wha driven leads & frantic drumming. 'Tull is a unique melding of rock-blues-classical-jazz-celtic- & English folk. Good flute solo too, naturally. Thanks Ian!
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If you can't hear the obvious similarities in We Used To Know & Hotel California, you don't possess musical intelligence. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but that's basically it. Some have it, others don't.
Smulegule 11 hours ago
JETHRO TULL 10
EAGLES 9 :)
thinlizzy369 1 day ago in playlist Jethro Tull - Stand Up [Full Album]
English rock bands are one the greatest things to ever happen to music
nathanjjm 3 days ago 2
I have been playing and listening to Hotel California since 1976, and I have just listened to this for the first time and I am astounded by the similarities. It even seems to me that the famous guitar break was based on the flute solo and fills in this song.
Retromantra 3 days ago
Can't blame Eagles, this is inspiring
k12274 5 days ago
I'm sorry but I do not hear any similarities maybe at the beginning of the song but other then that "We Used To Know" & "Hotel California" are not very similar at all... so all this talk about similarities is all about nothing... They are both great songs in their own right... let's all leave it alone now shall we...
ogrebattle22763 5 days ago
real music
bangthisbooty 1 week ago
Early Tull was pure gold. Later Tull was gold. But not pure.
Photoscots1 1 week ago
I hear it :o
AaronCCR 2 weeks ago
Hotel Califormia is a hard song to play, it jumps about, while to the ear, it flows nicely. The chord sequence is more than distinctive it's pretty unique. When I play it live, it is usually recognised within 3 chords. To get to 7 chords in common is not possible by chance, BUT plagiarism is often subminal and unintentional. George Harrison would have agreed.
DerekEynon 2 weeks ago
hah! HC is exactly the same chord structure, just in a different key. HC is a bit more fleshed out with a memorable chorus and can't call it a bad song at all, but still think all the Eagles (with the possible exception of Joe Walsh) are douche-bags and owe JT something for this one!
mnkygn2hvn 2 weeks ago
The verses are also similar to "Reflections" by The Charlie Daniels Band (1979).
MrKonan1975 2 weeks ago
hotel california's guitar chords are completely stolen from this song. thats all.
beatrixkiddofof 2 weeks ago 2
This sounds like Hotel Cal in the same way that "I got you, Babe" sounds like Stairway to Heaven
sparkledrive01 2 weeks ago
Am I the only one who doesn't hear Hotel California in this song?
njrosatoii 2 weeks ago
@njrosatoii Maybe not the only one but probably one of the few :P. In my case, I listened to HC dozens of times before listening to this, and then I bought Stand Up, played it and thought "wow, this really sounds like Hotel California". Then I looked when each song was composed and I can't deny it, I lost a little bit of respect for HC. Sure, it's a very good song, but I can't help having the feeling that it's not "completely original" (I'm not saying it's the hugest rip-off ever either)
Aqualung1989 2 weeks ago 4
@Aqualung1989 hi aqualung 1989 thanks for all your tull music clips videos ; i am a big fan of tull but i think you are the no 1 fan
kidcurry1999 4 days ago
@Aqualung1989 Doesn't take much to hear the similarities. I was watching Frank Ocean's American Wedding/ Hotel Cali song that Henely is sueing over and someone made a reference to this song.
RefVCX 1 day ago
@njrosatoii can't you hear guitar chords
beatrixkiddofof 2 weeks ago
@njrosatoii Probably - are you particularly tone deaf ???
bevanmcg 2 weeks ago
@njrosatoii i hear some nuances in the chord progression but nothing more
ARAUZ1625 2 weeks ago
@njrosatoii Nope. It's pretty obvious Hotel California appropriated the chord progression. Both great songs. The difference for me is that I like listening to this, and I don't need to ever hear that overplayed Eagles song again.
willbond 2 weeks ago 2
@njrosatoii That's right. The Eagles ripped off Jethro Tull.
hohaia01 5 days ago
@njrosatoii Yes you must be ...sorry
mossgrower53 5 days ago
@njrosatoii I don't hear it either, but it is a good song.
Gimlett2000 4 days ago
@njrosatoii possibly! i played this for my son just seconds ago and without knowing he said, "That sounds just like Hotel California." My son is 11 and learning the solo of HC for his band. If an 11 yr guitarist can hear it, it might have a ring of truth to it. Also, it's pretty clear to me as well. But as Ian Anderson said, who cares...long live rock
LeVan4President 4 days ago
@njrosatoii Yes.
bookmarkthis 2 days ago
@njrosatoii
Because you are the only one who doesn't know hotel california .........
woodstock26140 1 day ago
Yep, stolen!
JORGEPSOUSA911 3 weeks ago
They are both good songs but this is obviously the much better of the two. I don't understand how anyone can't tell.
KaliReyn2 3 weeks ago
Don Henley is a douche either way.
jamo387 3 weeks ago
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peteainsworth 3 weeks ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
The Eagles and Jethro Tull both suck balls.
maxpower997 4 weeks ago
awesome song, amazing guitar solo
sebyseby34 4 weeks ago
yep, definite ripoff by the Eagles! Great tunes, both!!
powerpop2000 1 month ago
Comment removed
newwavedave67 1 month ago
I would love to know if Don Henley ever said anything publicly about this....Hotel California is a VERY artistic piece...but also and obviously a ripoff....I mean I get that most pop,rock and blues and rap is created this way...and sometimes the ripoff is an improvement...but this is SO blatant...good gawd.
photinia99 1 month ago
Tull forever...
operalover67 1 month ago
@TjamesNC what you just said is one of most insanely idiotic thing's i have ever heard.
Eagles did one good song and they ripped it of from Jethro Tull.
Jethro Tull and Eagles should not even be compared.
leolabin 1 month ago 4
@leolabin youre kidding. one good song? theyve had 14 top 40 hits, 5 number 1 singles and 4 number 1 albums. and their greatest hits album and Hotel California ranked among the top 10 best selling albums EVER. youre saying they had ONE good song? PLEASE. Heartache tonight, peaceful easy feeling, life in the fast lane, lyin eyes, seven bridges road, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, tequila sunrise; i can go all day. theres some things you can say, but NEVER say im idiotic and never insult the Eagles like that.
TjamesNC 1 month ago
@TjamesNC Look, I have two Eagles LP-s and i have listened them enough to tell if day are good or not. You didn't do that with Jethro Tull, cause if you did you would never ever say that Eagles are better.
Obviously you're American and you guys never really appreciated good music.
leolabin 1 month ago
@leolabin i resent that
pvenice87 1 month ago
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MsEsseff 4 days ago
@leolabin How can you say the Eagles did only one good song? The whole HC album is great...are you saying they ripped the whole album off? They had a huge amount of hits..throughout their career..can't say the same for Jethro Tull, who I mostly found annoying to listen to. This is a good song, and I do hear similarities, which happens pretty often in popular music...I hear it all the time....but I doubt it was an intentional rip off.
MsEsseff 4 days ago
@MsEsseff hmmmm no problem with your opinion, but if good music is measured by the number of hits, I would come (and I'm sure you too) to some discomforting conclusions... and about JT being annoying... well, they sure make you think when you listen to their music, and many people dislike that...
Aqualung1989 4 days ago
I love this song. That Hendrix/Stooges wah-wah delivers every time. Can we compromise and agree that the James Gang is in the same league as Jethro Tull? I dig Tull more than the Eagles, but guess what? If the show was a double-billing: (Tull and Eagles) , Joe Walsh and the boys would be headlining, Ian would hit the stage first. Regardless, Hotel California is one of the most overrated albums of all time, while Stand Up is one of the most underrated. Thanks Aqualung1989
Melchizedek25 1 month ago
Eagles are good , but they are just not in the same league as Jethro Tull!
dylanwhostones 1 month ago in playlist Jethro Tull - Stand Up [Full Album]
This comment has received too many negative votes show
wow. youre all on drugs. the eagles are one of the all time greatest bands on earth, not Jethro tull. and theres a reason for that.
TjamesNC 1 month ago
@TjamesNC nope. not true.
Aqualung1989 1 month ago 24
@Aqualung1989 You sir. Deserve a hug from me. *hug*
markutsk279 3 weeks ago
@TjamesNC Eagles are pretentious, self absorbed, boring and derivative. You dimwit.
biglloyddobbs 1 month ago 4
@biglloyddobbs i didnt even know people like you existed. Fact: The Eagles are one of the largest/most popular bands. you guys must just be some type of person ive never met. are yall like some underground league of wannabe-educated hippies? the Eagles are all talented, every member can sing and play an instrument, their songs are dynamic and relaxing and they have a very unique style. and how dare you call me a dimwit just because i enjoy listening to a different type of music.
TjamesNC 1 month ago
@biglloyddobbs I second that
jeffie131 1 month ago
@TjamesNC - Really, Tjames? exactly what is that reason?
chiron8839 1 month ago
@chiron8839 i could just tell you my opinion but the opinion of mine and millions of others speaks louder. heres the stats: 14 top 40 hits, 5 number 1 singles and 4 number 1 albums. and their greatest hits album and Hotel California ranked among the top 10 best selling albums EVER. thats the reason. anymore questions?
TjamesNC 1 month ago
@TjamesNC - But those things aren't "reasons." Reasons = causes, and those are merely effects--in this case, of successful promotion and a manipulated market, more than any measure of talent.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@TjamesNC I love them both, I listen too both , what you listen too depends on your mood and your taste not on record sales, and BTW Led Zeppelin which is one of my favorite bands, has about the same number of sales and ranked top hits as the eagles , that doesnt mean that one is better than the other.
herman9737 1 month ago
@TjamesNC tull WAYY better than the 4 song eagles
WesB 4 weeks ago
@TjamesNC Are you off your meds again ?????
heehawluck1 1 week ago
@TjamesNC ..... thats a matter of opinion..... and yours is wrong
theslice2 5 days ago
@rufus566 Comparing that to such a tremendous work as TAAB is ridiculous
KnucklesTheEchidna37 1 month ago
I mean principle.
kaferere 1 month ago
Thank god the eagles didn't have the talent and inovation to steal this song properly. By comparison the eagles sound like elevator music. Like Ian Anderson said..... country boys. Stealing a riff or phrase is a completely different ball game to stealing an entire chord structure. A riff or phrase can be used in a different context. Sorry but this is out and out theft of a song. Ian Anderson should have sued as a point of principal.
kaferere 1 month ago 2
it is a sequence of chords you can imagine is easy to use when you are composing. jethro was my favourite group in summer of 1969 as I was 18. eagles are musicians fantastic . there is no need to make a riot. you have the genius of anderson together with the guitar solos of felder and walsh. no need to make riot : it's masterpieces both .
carlomagaldi 1 month ago
@carlomagaldi .......there is only ONE masterpiece ...... and that's the ORIGINAL. Sophistry seems to come easily to you.
heehawluck1 1 month ago 3
"I hate the Eagles, man!" The Dude
irishace11 1 month ago
I have Hotel California/Eagles and the title track is IMHO the standout song on the album. Don't get me wrong I like the Eagles. I hadn't previously heard this track by Jethro Tull being content to listen to their 'greatest hits' but now think this knocks Hotel California into a cocked hat.
azraelfallenangel 1 month ago
c'mon everybody likes Hotel California copy or not-it's better than this song; of course that is their ONLY famous song, and Jethro Tull had many.
Gasssolo 1 month ago
@Gasssolo Were you born yesterday? The Eagles have tons of famous songs.
OZRIC1985 1 month ago
@OZRIC1985 Such as?
ThelronFjord 1 month ago
@ThelronFjord The Eagles have many other famous songs such as: The Long Run, In the City, Heartache Tonight, I Can't Tell You Why, One of These Nights, Lyin' Eyes, Take It To The Limit, Already Gone, Best of My Love, Peaceful Easy Feeling, James Dean, Desperado, Tequila Sunrise, Life in the Fast Lane, New Kid In Town, The Last Resort, Victim of Love, Take It Easy, Witchy Woman...
OZRIC1985 1 month ago
@OZRIC1985 Now did you name all those songs off by heart, or did you have to go to Wikipedia to find them?
ThelronFjord 1 month ago
@ThelronFjord ...I know all these Eagles songs very well as I have heard them all 1000s of times over the last 30 to 40 years. They have all been played on the radio and they are still played on radio stations since they are all such classic songs. ;-)
OZRIC1985 1 month ago
@OZRIC1985 - They were also popular in an incredibly uncompetitive era, musically, and got far more radio play than bands whose heyday came a few years earlier. If the Eagles were popular, it was based more on effective marketing than talent or originality.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@chiron8839 What you are saying about the Eagles is all a matter of your own opinion. What you said about their popularity being based more on effective marketing than talent or originality sounds like you are talking about almost all of the newer bands in the past couple of decades. The Eagles are talented musicians/singers and they have many great songs that have withstood the test of time. Anyway, everybody has a right to their own opinion.
OZRIC1985 1 month ago
@OZRIC1985 - Everyone is certainly entitled to his own opinion, but some are better informed than others. As a 60 year-old historian, I tend to be reasonably well-informed, given that I've lived through the period under discussion, and am trained to compare and contrast a variety of phenomena and make qualitative judgements about their relative merits. I agree that what I said about the Eagles applies to other bands of their era, and that they too were inferior for the same reason.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@Gasssolo the Eagles had one other famous song. The track "Journey of the Sorcerer" was used as the intro theme to the original BBC radio series of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm not sure anyone knows it's by the Eagles, tho.
mijmijrm 1 month ago
i see some saying how "nights in white satin" was actually first...but its not really that similar..maybe a little bit but this one right here and eagles are alot closer..maybe tull was inspired by moody blues..but they changed it up enough to where its not plagiarism..eagles though barely did anything cept for new lyrics and a little bit here and there altering of this song here..
DEATHEXISTFOREVER 1 month ago
It's terribly wrong when someone takes somebody else work and doesn't give the credits to the author. I love "Hotel California," and I asked to my self, God, how could be possible to create a song like this? Now I know that it's just a well done arrangement of the original, the Jethro Tull: "We Used To Know". I feel a kind of deception of the Eagles attitude. Actually, without the song "Hotel California" they are just another band as many in America.
miguelbranez 1 month ago
Anything that casts aspersions on crap music like the Eagles deserves a thumbs up.
crhymethinc 1 month ago
Wow, the first solo is almost a minute long haha! And its fucking brilliant!
Even the soloing on HC is very similar to the solos here. In a way, it would have to be, because the scale would have to fit with the chord progression and key, right? But certain licks and phrases seem to be taken right out of this song, like the bit at 1:34, and the attack and feel of the HC solo is in the same spirit as this.
iIve just heard this song for the first time today, and it's now one of my favorites.
Cheeso888 1 month ago
This is one of those chord sequences that practically writes itself anyway. Take an introductory course in music theory, and you'll understand that this chord sequence is just a very logical and predictable series based on the most universally recognized interval, the fifth. Anyone who actually thinks that the Eagles "stole" it from Jethro Tull is a twit.
ifutureman 1 month ago
@ifutureman - Actually anyone who thinks it wasn't lifted virtually as whole cloth is the gullible, rationalizing twit, and moreover, a rube--the kind of person any good con artist is thankful for.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@chiron8839 Have you ever heard of something called the circle of fifths? Do you know anything about music theory at all? This chord sequence is not that novel or unique. The fact that the Eagles tapped into a very common chord sequence, but in a different key, different time signature, and with a different vocal line (with a couple of short phrases in the beginning that happen to match), does not make the Eagles thieves. You're the myopic rube, chiron.
ifutureman 1 month ago
@ifutureman - Yes, I am familiar with the circle of fifths, but the chord progression doesn't explain away the direct imitation in the Eagles acquisition of the song. There are other key points of correspondence. The lead attacks are the same too, and that entails far more room for uniqueness and less for serendipitous replication. Of course, the fact that Eagles developed and released HC after their tour with Jethro Tull explains a lot too.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@chiron8839 I hate to interreupt, but this is the most civilized discussion ive ever seen on youtube, or the internet for that matter.
Nice one, gentlemen. You set a great example :D
Abount the topic, I think the similarities are quite obvious, but I just dont think that they did it intentionally.
Zorbak962 1 month ago
@Zorbak962 Thank you, Zorbak. As to whether the Eagles lifted it intentionally or not, who knows? It's certainly possible, given the tour JT and the Eagles did together. Conversely though, it's possible they just absorbed it unconsciously.
As an aside, do a Youtube search for Soul Finger by the Barkays, and Love Like I Wanna by Magic Slim. It seems probable that Slim lifted the chord progression from the Barkays, but who could blame him? It sounds great.
chiron8839 1 month ago
@Zorbak962 I Know right? Certainly is a paradox
pvenice87 1 month ago
@chiron8839 If you think these "lead attacks" are the same then this debate is pointless. There is nothing about the solos in these two songs that is similar. Martin Barre played a fairly straightforward solo with wah-wah pedal, staying firmly in the key of E minor pentatonic with a few bends. Don Felder's and Joe Walsh's solos modulate based on the major and minor chords in the sequence. The phrasing is entirely different. By the way: Felder wasn't in the Eagles when they toured with Tull.
ifutureman 3 weeks ago
@ifutureman - Ha! It wasn't a debate to begin with. You weren't even born when Jethro Tull first came to America, and I was at the show.
Seriously, think about how you've distinguished the solos. It's all generalization. Now listen to them back-to-back again. To deny the influence is, at best, wholly arbitrary--in the interest of exonerating the integrity of the band you admire most. What particular member was on the tour or not is of no consequence.
chiron8839 3 weeks ago
@chiron8839 PLEASE. Merely being alive at a certain time does not magically make you more aware of art from that period. I have at most a passing appreciation for the Eagles. I actually like Tull more. So stop presuming things about me, OK? It appears (although I don't know for sure) you don't play an instrument, or you wouldn't have dismissed my very specific technical points about the solos. I can play both of them, and they are quite different, except perhaps to an untrained ear.
ifutureman 3 weeks ago
@ifutureman - Really? You actually cover those songs? It would never occur to me to do that. I don't mean that as a criticism at all. It just wouldn't.
chiron8839 3 weeks ago
@chiron8839 Hotel California is just something that people always want to hear if I'm playing at a party or a campfire or what have you. It's also something that a lot of guitarists learn in their early years (of playing). And We Used To Know, I just learned for my own amusement, because I like learning songs. I don't write stuff because everything ends up sounding like something I've heard before. Which is rather ironic in light of what I've been yammering about.
ifutureman 3 weeks ago
@ifutureman - Yeah, I suppose it would be a popular cover tune. I guess that didn't occur to me due to the age differential.
I know the feeling of having everything you play come out sounding like someone else. I've been noodling away at blues for years, off and on, and just can't fathom exhausting even all the existing, been-done-to-death licks, let alone coming up with something original.
Btw, I subcribed to your YT channel.
chiron8839 3 weeks ago
Im a Huge Tull Fan....But please don't minimize what the Eagles are..a quality band as well.
badumpy 2 months ago
Comment removed
Kelly14UK 2 months ago
no plagiarism at all, just same chord structure , you know it doesn't matter if you steal riffs, as long the song is good , led zeppelin stole bunch of riffs like stairway , the entire history of rock steals riffs , so stop bitching
bruncen 2 months ago 2
@bruncen - Actually, few steal as shamelessly as LZ.
chiron8839 1 month ago
it's really just the chord progression. it's not in many songs, so it sounds quite distinct. i was actually writing a song a little while back and i came up with a chord progression on my own and when i played it the first time i was surprised at how much it sounded like hotel california. i'm a huge fan of the eagles, and i like jethro tull too, but there are many other songs that sound the same because they have the same chord progression. get over it.
hiqwertyhi 2 months ago
My all time favorite song by Jethro Tull
anjdog2003 2 months ago
Who gives a fuck if the Eagles got the tune of this song from Tull? I personally don't like the Eagles, and it's not good that they plagiarized this song, but all that matters is that Tull has always been superior to them, and this song is timeless.
broadswordbeast 2 months ago
There are and will be those who are musically adept, musically inclined, musically famous, and so forth. Then there are those who are music masters....masters of composition and content....composer/lyricists who's awareness of where music takes a mind beyond the boundaries of social construct.......and this will always include Jethro Tull.
mawheegan 2 months ago
Excellent sound quality on this post....great song from a great album & band!!
jeffthrow6892 2 months ago 2
Eagles - plagiarists
Davo25 2 months ago
the eagles are a tough act to swallow,,,,,,,,,,,,,rough nights non withstanding.......
hoot6theyre 2 months ago
I dont give a fuck what is the new shit in the tv or in the radio, this is my music and this is my life, some things are timeless like rock and fucking roll...
007Pogo 2 months ago
Never claimed I was a music buff did I?
NJPurling 2 months ago
Shuck your Eagles off, ten years before . Martin le Barre etc Everybody , even I play the same riffs as others . remember times we used to know
sparticle1 2 months ago
They are both great songs and some talented dudes.
BEATDOWNBANKER 2 months ago
Hotel California has different lyrics and different timing around the same chord progression.
The Eagles did tour with Jethro Tull.
It's not like they nicked a entire song. Ian Anderson was cool about the whole thing. Chord progressions get re-used quite often according to him.
NJPurling 2 months ago
@NJPurling lol you literally just watched a video interview and looked at related videos than ranted off here like you are some kinda music buff. XD
SRNF 2 months ago
@NJPurling - Just because Anderson is gracious about it, it doesn't mean the public should follow suit.
chiron8839 1 month ago
Certainly man, Hotel California is a straight lift off from this indeed
ramgulwady 2 months ago
I don't know of any member of the Eagles who ever had an original thought...obviously...lol
tegrimm 2 months ago
hmm, the eagles obviously listened to a great song and decide to pinch some of it.....
collibosher100 2 months ago
Say ! even the attack on the solo is the same !!! Eagles = wankers !
stoogges 2 months ago
@stoogges Let's not get too carried away, if you listen to lots of music, you will hear many examples that generate other wonderful songs. If you play music yourself, you will know this. How many great songs are made out of the same chords and sequences? I wonder if Hotel California was not so famous, would anyone say anything? A band like Zeppelin got accused of the same things too. This business is endless with too many examples to mention and I love Tull AND The Eagels!
candelise 2 months ago
@candelise - And LZ was guilty as hell too, and lost several court battles over royalties.
chiron8839 1 month ago
The Eagles could only dream of being as talented as Tull.
blabblab1212 2 months ago
@blabblab1212 they are as talented as Jethro ... i like both bands a lot... as much as i like mid 70s aerosmith ...blue oyster cult...etc...etc... man...there's plenty of great records back in the day...i just can't decide who is best... hopefully they are all different musically... it's what makes rock n roll music so exciting...
BohemianConspiracy 2 months ago
kinda "hotel ca-ish". "angie" by stones probably more comparable. like a mix of both w/ mexican reggae arrngements. anywho tull ripoffed fair share of Cream in their early days so...
kristoscan 3 months ago
@kristoscan LOL ... utter bollox. LOL
heehawluck1 3 months ago in playlist west 4
@kristoscan mexican reggae ! ... you're beyond funny...
BohemianConspiracy 2 months ago
@kristoscan - Tull didn't rip off Cream. They covered the same songs under the same titles. There's a difference between overtly covering a song and flat-out stealing it and publishing it under a different title.
chiron8839 1 month ago
thanks borat
MrBeav62 3 months ago
Best jethro tull ' s song XD
mizzo502 3 months ago
so ian anderson was in the eagles, or were the eagles in the jethro tull band? did joe walsh play the flute? i'm really confused. how did they get to this "hotel"? and who exactly is programmed to see? what prison were they from? leavonworth? complicated shit.
MrBeav62 3 months ago
@MrBeav62 nah, man. at some point, eagles went on tour with jethro tull and later they wrote hotel california, thats why some people say they got it from this song because of the similarities. But Ian Anderson is too cool to get pissed, and said in an interview they must have picked up on the melody subconciously (very possible considering how jethro tull songs like hanging on to your brain and not letting go).
Zorbak962 3 months ago
@Zorbak962 - Anderson was being gracious, is all.
chiron8839 1 month ago
I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!
vwtraveller 3 months ago 23
@vwtraveller ya can't hate the Eagles. Man thats just wrong
brucegor 2 months ago
@vwtraveller omg <3
meowandmeow 2 months ago
@vwtraveller WORD
TheGreyHeaven 1 month ago
@vwtraveller You deserve to be on the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers for this.
DrRevisist 1 month ago
Get REAL folks with all this Jethro Tull vs. Eagles comparisons. Because, in the end, you will NEVER be in ANY band as REMOTELY significant as either of these two. All you have left is academic argument. To quote Metallica - another band you will NEVER be in - "Sad But True." Life sucks for those who spend time making YouTube comments.
PicnicHikeMusic 3 months ago
@PicnicHikeMusic Gee whillikers, you don't have to bite our heads off
lowlander333 3 months ago
@PicnicHikeMusic LIKE YOU JUST DID??
michellelovelace1 3 months ago
@PicnicHikeMusic Does your life suck? Mine is pretty good, yet I find myself making a youtube comment. Yours must suck then.
3234718 3 months ago
@PicnicHikeMusic So sorry about your lot in life, then. Seriously, grow the fuck up. Comparing things is a way of putting value to them.
arethnaar45 3 months ago
definitively one of The Most Underated (ROCK) Bands of all time...social, political, and fantasmically jamming; Bless you all
iamjoepublic 3 months ago
I never noticed this. Wow! ...In today's world, Tull would SUE! (esp. since it's The Eagles) lol
guitarcomet5 3 months ago
This doesnt sound like hotel california at all. The only thing is the chord progression.
Brynjulvify 3 months ago
The Eagles used the same chord progression... that's all! The time signature is in 4/4, not 6/8 like this song. The fact of the matter is... bands use the same chord progressions all the time, they've been recycled over and over again and will continue to. It's the harmonic expression of these common chord progressions/sequences that create hits, because it's relatively easy to write catchy melody's over them.
harvestsoulfly 3 months ago
if youtube deleted your comparison video, yet they let you play jethro tull 'we used to know' then we know which band had a hissy fit and contested it dont we?
facking eagles, grr.
polkad3v 3 months ago
Totally the same song!
TheFunkadelicFan 3 months ago
off sourse tull are better than eagles!
do someone have doubt about it? :) ( even if this sing wasn't released before h.c! )
pontello3 3 months ago
@pontello3 It was
Luxmaxnike 3 months ago
@pontello3 - This song was released eight years before HC.
chiron8839 1 month ago
it sounds abit the same in some places..
it aint enough to say that Jethro Tull stole this from Eagles..
Great great band, real nice song..
MrAmitGendelman 3 months ago
@MrAmitGendelman It's the other way round. Eagles presumably "stole" it from Jethro Tull! This is from 1969! Hotel california is from 1977!
RaymondL026 3 months ago in playlist ## Random Playlist ##
@RaymondL026
Oh kay.. didnt know that, thanks..
MrAmitGendelman 3 months ago
@MrAmitGendelman This song came out years before Hotel California did.
EpiCasino198 3 months ago
@EpiCasino198
Kay.
MrAmitGendelman 3 months ago
Always remember seeing Jethro at the City Hall Sheffield around 2002 & Ian said we played in America in the mid 70`s & The Eagles were their support band. After playing "We Used to Know"....... next thing the Eagles released "Hotel California" a few months later & low & behold their greatest hit became upon us ? We never got the royalties from them either !
peachycycling 4 months ago
@peachycycling you have no idea of timelines do you ...We Used to know was 1969 ..Hotel California 1976 . Chord progression similar , different time signature so I dont think The eagles went out a few month later and recorder California . Get your dfacts right before you post on Youtube or else you come across just as you are /... A DORK
garrington120 2 months ago
God, Eagles were worse than Page! They almost only changed the lyrics even solo is the same. Shame!
honeyapple7 4 months ago
Ian is a gentleman, and would never begrudge the Eagles their due, plagiarism is not chord changes, they've all been done, but melodies are the key.
reverandscales 4 months ago
IFyou dont like tull oh well more for me hee hee
jeanhartely 4 months ago
tull was definantly one of the most originally inspiring bands to come along. what class of music describes their form! i can't think of one. lyrics and musicianship you cannot compare to anyone. although i believe that anyone who brings music to the table should be applauded, these guys were true heroes of their time and to this day
drummer4u47 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
the comment at the top of this page is correct
poetshanty 4 months ago
Why compare the eagles with tull? they're completely different bands, different styles and different music. I love both of them honestly...
themeleed 4 months ago
@themeleed I quite agree with you....you can't compare these bands. Jethro Tull were talented musicians... Ian
Anderson was was a goddam genius. The Eagles..... ?? Well, they weren't even remotely close to that.
heehawluck1 4 months ago 10
@heehawluck1 "Agreed!!"
garysdavenport 1 month ago
@heehawluck1 True, can't compare prog band to other rock/pop band, you CAN'T...
AlexAndFTW 1 month ago
@AlexAndFTW
Why not? There are tons of great classic RockPop bands that are way better than a lot of so called Prog bands. Just styles, with positive and negative traits. I like the old adage, that there are two kinds of music: good music and bad music. The Eagles and Tull IMO are good music, Britney Spears and post CTTE Yes is in the bad catagory.
rufus566 1 month ago 2
@rufus566 Try to find the best eagles song and TRY to compare to Thick as a brick,
Good luck ,
AlexAndFTW 1 month ago 18
@AlexAndFTW
Desperado
rufus566 1 month ago
'69: Great year for music. This 2nd album highlights Martin Barre's debut, one of the greatest & underrated guitarists. 1st heard 'Tull from this, in 10th grade... huge fan ever since. Clive Bunker, 'Tull's original drummer, also one of the best of all time. This song starts out slow, then builds to some awesome wha-wha driven leads & frantic drumming. 'Tull is a unique melding of rock-blues-classical-jazz-celtic- & English folk. Good flute solo too, naturally. Thanks Ian!
jrhunter007 4 months ago