“I Can’t Tell You Why”

November 8, 2015 • 8:45 am

How about some nice music this morning? For your delectation I’ve chosen something mellow, something not likely to jar you awake: “I Can’t Tell You Why“, written by The Eagles band members Timothy B. Schmit (lead singer here), Glenn Frey, and Don Henley, and appearing on their 1979 Album The Long Run.  Here it’s performed live, but you can hear the recorded version, with a marginally better guitar solo, here. Unlike, say, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Eagles’ live performances were superb, often nearly matching the quality of their recordings. This is one of those performances.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the Eagles, though I still think “Hotel California” is one of the worst rock songs that ever became a hit.

Eagles_-_I_Can't_Tell_You_Why

25 thoughts on ““I Can’t Tell You Why””

    1. Agreed also. (Re Hotel Calif.)

      It has a catchy start that draws you in, then just goes round and round… a bit like the lyrics, really.

      cr

  2. Yes, but the last song on that eponymous album is one of the best rock songs that didn’t become a hit: ‘The Last Resort.’

  3. The Eagles put out some decent fodder, and worth a listen now and again. How anyone would consider them their favorite is beyond me. Among their contemporaries, Steely Dan’s material was much more compelling.

    1. Umm. . . . I never said that they were my favorite group, nor are they (that would be the Beatles). And I agree that Steely Dan’s material is better; you’d know that if you’d read my music posts on this site. I was just highlighting a nice song.

      1. My favorites are The Sad Cafe and Wasted Time. Neither of those were hits. Perhaps I’m just too tired of hearing their chart toppers.

      2. I went back and read your Dr Wu post. The comments are closed, but Dr Wu. was a real doctor who treated Donald Fagen’s drug addiction in the 70s.

      3. Hotel California came out the year I started high school (in Lemoore, CA) and the album made the Eagles superstars, often referred to as the “American Beatles”, and, yeah, I got into them but never in a big way, and at any rate I got more into the actual Beatles, despite their having disbanded several years earlier and in 1976 seeming unlikely to ever get back together although not yet as impossible as the tragic events of the night of December 8 would make it. Of the bands that became big in the ’70s, I’d have to rate my favorite as Pink Floyd, although by the late ’80s I was more into the alt-rock of XTC, the Cure and R.E.M.

  4. Yeah I always liked the earlier country rock rather than the later stuff.

    My own favorite version of this song is from a live allstar band show Ringo Starr put together at the Montreux Jazz Festival featuring among others, Nils Lofgren on guitar and Todd Rundgren on harmony vocals.

    Last time I attempted to post a link I made a botch of it so if you go to YouTube and type in

    “Ringo Starr – Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival – 6. I Can’t Tell You Why (Timothy B Schmit)”

    you’ll see the video. Real nice guitar.

  5. One of my preferred groups. I can only recommend you give the album Hell Freezes Over, 1994, after they regrouped, a try. The Hotel California version is quite good.

  6. I agree with Robert that ‘The Last Resort’ is an outstanding and underappreciated song.

    I’m puzzled, though, at Jerry’s distain for ‘Hotel C.’ We all have our likes and opinions, but this song is arguably their signature piece for a reason. The lyrics may be campy and you can speculate on deeper metaphors, but the music is truly first rate. How can you not appreciate Felder’s guitar work? The solo rift by Felder & Walsh has been rated one of the best in rock history by many guitar aficionados. I finally saw them live in ’07 and they played it twice… opening with the acoustic version and closing with the full on rock version. I will not soon forget it.

    Just my 2 cents (or maybe 3).

    1. I’ll try to answer briefly. Yes, the music is good, though I don’t like it as much as this song or the tune to “Lyin’ Eyes” or even Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” (a fantastic song). But the horrible lyrics just kill it for me. Yes, I find the music more important than the lyrics, but “Hotel California”‘s lyrics are simply execrable. I’m sure that’s an entry in Dave Barry’s great book of horrible rock songs.

      1. I don’t want to put too fine a point on this but for many of us who survive the rock music from before the Beatles and way after, lyrics are not often the most important thing we look for. The Beatles certainly had some very good ones but one of their early hits was – She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah, and repeat.

    2. Music is one of the few legal things that can transport me to a really nice place. Put on the headphones, lie down, crank up the volume, and drift away. “Hotel California” is one of my favourites for doing this. Thank goodness for variation.

  10. I love that they had different lead singers with such unique voices giving them a broad rage of sounds. The recent documentary on the Eagles is great. I think it’s on Netflix. They started as Linda Ronstadt’s back-up band.

    1. Linda Ronstadt is my favourite singer.

      So it’s odd that one of my favourite songs when I was young was ‘Desperado’ by the Eagles. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I found Linda had recorded it too.

      cr

    1. Blasphemy! From a rock and roll song?

      I have a suggestion and that is all it is and does not apply to the person running the site of course. When it comes to music that is suggested on a post – if you like it, make a comment if you want. If you do not like it, chances are the rest of the folks do not care.

  12. When I was in college there was a juke box in the cafeteria. Three plays for a quarter. We had to hear “Witchy Woman” at least twice at every meal. I thought the song was boring until I went to an Eagles concert. They opened with it and just nailed it perfectly. Sometimes you just have to hear the live version. Take it easy …

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