“It’d be so fun”: The Eagles song Lana Del Rey would love to cover
Lana Del Rey is considered to be one of the most innovative musicians of her generation, and rightfully so. Filling her compositions with tales of drama and Americana, poeticisms and pop culture, she has proven herself to be a great songwriter, but she’s so much more than that. She allows her artistry to completely envelop her, creating entire worlds out of albums and inviting her fans to join her within them.
Although Del Rey has been widely praised for her truly original approach to modern pop, her sound is also largely rooted in referentialism, borrowing from the sound and aesthetics of old Hollywood. From references to Bruce Springsteen to leanings on literature such as Lolita, Del Rey’s catalogue is filled to the brim with external influences. She’s also not afraid of performing existing songs penned by other songwriters.
In fact, Del Rey is a proponent of the art of the cover. “People usually think your career is over when you record a covers album or a Christmas album,” she once commented during a conversation with the Los Angeles Times, “But my musician friends and I are always playing covers.” Del Rey admitted that she had been coordinating a “concept covers album called Pacific Blue” in her mind.
“It would be a very low-key thing, like acoustic Beach Boys stuff, Elvis, Chris Isaak,” she explained, “We could probably do that album in a week.” Although it wasn’t necessarily included on the hypothetical tracklisting for Pacific Blue, there is one song, in particular, that Del Rey seems keen to cover: Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’.
“It’d be so fun,” she shared, though she seemed to have some reservations about the prospect. “It’s really hard to sing, though,” she acknowledged, “You think you know it, and then seven minutes in, you’re like, ‘Oh Jesus!’” The song’s length certainly makes it slightly intimidating to cover, and the latter verses are less well-known than those at the beginning, but Del Rey’s uncertainties still seem misplaced.
Del Rey has often included covers in her own discography, from creating her own sultry version of ‘Season of the Witch’ a couple of years back to reinventing the trip hop track ‘Doin’ TIme’. Along the way, she seems to have mastered the art of making a song her own while also retaining the initial meaning and mood of the track.
She’s also more than qualified, in terms of vocal talent, to take on ‘Hotel California’. It’s easy to imagine her smooth, low delivery adding an entirely new dimension to the track, while intensifying its mystery. Although mastering the length and nailing all of the lyrics might take a couple of rehearsals, Del Rey is more than capable of performing the song.
Her own artistry also fits well alongside the themes of ‘Hotel California’. The first few lines, “On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas rising up through the air,” already sound as if they could slot straight into a Del Rey song. Mysterious and moody, it’s perfectly suited to her style.
Despite sharing her hopes to one day take on the track, the singer is yet to actually take on ‘Hotel California’ in the studio. For now, the small subsection of fans of both Del Rey and Eagles are left desperately waiting for her take on their signature track.
