2008 Tour Reviews

8/10/2019 2008 Tour Reviews

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Cincinnati November 18th

Take it easy? Not the Eagles

Concert review

By Bill Thompson

[email protected]

The outfits were the first surprise. The Eagles took the stage in black suits and ties with white

shirts, looking more like undertakers than desperadoes.

The second surprise was how vital the music sounds, more than 35 years after Don Henley andGlenn Frey teamed up to sing Take It Easy. The pair, plus longtime compadres Joe Walsh and

Timothy B. Schmit, led an enthusiastic audience through their hit parade at U.S. Bank ArenaTuesday night, but also proved they have no intention of taking it easy during a tour that willtake them around the world over the next year.

The group played for nearly three hours with a short break (not bad for a foursome whoseyoungest member -- Frey -- turned 60 on Nov. 6). The 28-song set featured nine from Long

Road Out of Eden, the first record of original songs since 1979. Although they might not match

the incredible string of classics from 1972-79, the band -- backed by three keyboard players, four

horns, a drummer and guitarist extraordinaire Steuart Smith -- attacked the material with energyand kept the fans engaged throughout.

Its unlikely, however, that the arena would have been almost full if the boys had spent theevening playing all 20 songs from the new album. After opening with four new tunes, it was time

for another surprise: Hotel California, the bands signature song with Henleys haunting lyricsand the dueling guitars of Walsh and Smith (replacing the departed Don Felder).

It was remarkably early in the show for such a high-profile tune, but when your repertoire is

replete with chart-toppers, you can follow one with another like Peaceful Easy Feeling. Formost of the crowd (beer vendors didnt have to waste much time checking IDs), it must have

seemed like they had a full head of hair and their jeans hung loosely on their hips again.

As if the group doesnt have enough gold to mine, it has the luxury of solid songs from the solocareers of Henley and Walsh. The two mismatched characters -- Henley defines intensity while

Walsh might be the goofiest guitar virtuoso in history -- wrapped up the first part with Boys of

Summer and In the City, respectively. After a fine reading of The Long Run,it was time fora break, and the opportunity to ponder what surprises might be in store after intermission.

One possibility that didnt come to mind was that a mini-James Gang show would break out. Butin retrospect, it wasnt surprising. Although Henleyand Frey are the soul and heart of the band,

and Schmit still gets shrieks from the females when he steps to the microphone, the peoples


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choice is Walsh.

He gained fame with the James Gang while going to Kent State in the late 1960s, so when theband broke into Walk Away and Funk 49, it didnt matter that the tunes had as much to dowith the Eagles as Hannah Montana does.

Unlike young Ms. Cyrus, however, Walsh can make a guitar do tricks. After deferring to Smithin the shows first half, he came to life with stinging solos on the Gang songs, plus a jump-up-

and-down version of Henleys Dirty Laundry that featured a wonderful video collage of every

tabloid TV moron who has made a fortune by acting like a jackass.

But when all was sung and done, the name on the ticket was the Eagles. They finished with Life

in the Fast Lane before an encore of Take It Easy and Desperado. The four principals took

their time leaving the stage, graciously thanking the audience for their years of support.

The bond between band and fan was the least surprising moment of the night.

PittsburghNovember 21st

Eagles pay big dividends to fansMonday, November 24, 2008

By Scott Mervis , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Eagles took the stage last night at the Mellon Arena looking like Wall Street bankers coming

to ask for their bailout.

The business suits were appropriate, though, because these gentlemen delivered in exchange forthe high-priced investment and they did it with an accountant's precision -- at least till they

stripped off their jackets in the second set and rocked out.

Nearly 40 years down the road, the Eagles still sound as pristine as the record, with every note in

place, whether it's the high harmonies on "Witchy Woman" or the stunning solo on "HotelCalifornia."

What's always so surprising about the Eagles in concert is how multi-dimensional the band really

is. Don Henley still delivers the blue-eyed soul and hits the high notes in songs like "Boys of

Summer" and "One of These Nights"; Glenn Frey carefully croons those flowing country-rock

tunes from "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" to "Lyin Eyes"; and Timothy B. Schmidt mixes it up with achoirboy's voice on "I Can't Tell You Why."

And then there's Joe Walsh, killer guitarist and goofball with the helmet cam. Walsh was anobvious crowd favorite in Pittsburgh, dishing out the dirty blues of "In the City," getting the

place jumping on "Funk 49" and cracking people up with his improvs on "Life's Been Good" --

"they send me e-mails, tell me Glenn's great."


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Last year, the Eagles got a big monkey off their back with "Long Road Out of Eden," the first

album since 1979 and a way to freshened the live set.

Frey gave us "How Long," an upbeat country-rocker so simple and catchy it could have come

from the first album. Henley offered an inventory of our social ills on the slow, dramatic title

track. And Walsh borrowed a riff from Dylan for grimy "Guilty of the Crime." Together, theytook a page from CSNY with the beautifully sung "Now More Walks in the Woods."

The Eagles didn't skimp on the band, giving fans a four-piece horn section (which occasionallyclashed with Walsh's leads), three keyboardists and guitarist Steuart Smith, who not only played

every note, but captured every nuance from the classic solos.

Frey joked about this being the "assisted living tour," but folks in the packed house seemed

pretty ecstatic that these old California rockers haven't taken the corporate buyout.

HersheyNovember 23rd

Eagles New Stuff Doesn't Soar (Lancaster New Era)

It's a joke that's been around at least as long as classic rock groups from the '60s and '70s havebeen reuniting. When the singer says "here's a song from our new album," he or she might as

well say "everybody go and get a beer now."

So for a band like the Eagles to start each of their two sets with no less than four new songs from

last year's "Long Road Out of Eden" would seem like a colossally bad move.

Knowing everything we do about Glenn Frey and Don Henley, it also might seem a brilliant

tactical maneuver.

Interspersed between better-loved hits, the new tunes would surely suffer by comparison. And an

audience not itching for the next old classic might be more likely to listen more intently to the

new stuff that plays along with it.

About that new stuff: It's not nearly as good as "The Long Run," the group's last studio albumfrom 1979, but that's so long ago it's like comparing Ataris to iPods.

When the band took the stage just before 8:30 Sunday night at the Giant Center, all of them

wearing nicely cut black suits like a corporate board, it seemed the audience was unprepared fora rock and roll show. Nobody stood up for the first 20 minutes.


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Workmanlike songs such as "How Long," and "Busy Being Fabulous" sound more like Rascal

Flatts than the Eagles, but are certainly better than the stuff tacked onto "Hell Freezes Over,"

their 1994 reunion disc.

But it was, oddly enough, the classic material that sounded weak at first. "Hotel California,"

which used to open the group's shows on a dramatic note, sounded thin and forced.

Though a flamenco trumpet intro from one of the group's four back-up horn players established a

sense of drama, it was robbed of its tension by the group's decision to lower the song's key overthe years for singer Don Henley.

Glenn Frey's "Peaceful Easy Feeling" perhaps should have been lowered. As with almost all the

songs Sunday night, the harmony vocals from everyone soared, but Frey seemed to struggle with

what is a fairly relaxed melody.

Bassist Timothy B. Schmit, still the best singer in the group, turned in a seductive "I Can't Tell

You Why," with extra sexiness layered on by support guitarist Stuart Smith's buttery R&Bstylings.

But it was not until the spooky middle-eight of Henley's solo hit "Boys of Summer" that the band

found its groove and was able to keep it, playing in front of black and white dreamlike imagessimilar to the original groundbreaking music video.

Following quickly on its heels was Joe Walsh's "In The City," which let the singer/guitarist come

alive for essentially the first time of the night. With added horns, searing slide and an extended

ending, the song pushed the set to new heights. Consequently, "The Long Run" was raised as

well.

Following a brief intermission, the group took to the stools for an acoustic set of new (and

newer) songs: "No More Walks in the Woods," a predictably heavy-handed environmentalstatement from the pen of Henley that proved the four men could still harmonize flawlessly

together; "Waiting in the Weeds," a notably better tune from Henley, comparing a dying

romance to a dying town; Frey's forgettable "No More Cloudy Days," and Schmit's schmaltzy"Love Will Keep us Alive."

Then Frey nearly destroyed "Take it to the Limit." Originally sung by the soulful RandyMeisner, who exited the group in 1976, it was the only song of the night not originally sung by

one of the four men on stage.

Henley's overwrought "Long Road Out of Eden," taking on the war in Iraq, economic uncertainty

at home, and corporate greedremember this is the band that made a deal to sell its disc

exclusively at Wal-Mart to secure a better royalty dealnearly stopped the show dead in itstracks.


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Not satisfied, Frey's "Somebody" tried to do the same, but was rescued by some tasteful slide,

again from Walsh, who brought things back down to earth with James Gang oldies "Walk Away"

and "Funk No. 49," as well as his ode to the rock and roll lifestyle, "Life's Been Good."

As things began to work toward a close, the band pulled out all the stops for Henley's funky

"Dirty Laundry," "Life in the Fast Lane," and "Heartache Tonight," all enhanced by horns andthe dueling lead guitars of Walsh and Stuart.

Nine new songs, despite the fact that they were all spot-on vocally, is still a heavyweight.Coupled with Walsh's three solo selections and the same from Henley meant there was no room

for non-hit fan favorites like "Ol '55," "Victim of Love," "Pretty Maids all in a Row," "Wasted

Time," or even "Best of My Love."

Encores "Take it Easy" and "Desperado" reached back to the group's country-rock beginnings.

Couldn't have made room for Schmit to do one of his old Poco tunes? Then of course we mighthave had to sit through "The Heat is On" from Frey.

If this is to be the last Eagles tour, as Frey has sometimes intimated from stage in between hisdisc jockey-like banter, the effort to prove their current music can stand next to their classic hits

is a bold move. It didn't quite work Sunday night.

Eagles soar on new songs and classicsMonday, November 24, 2008

BY KIRA L. SCHLECHTER

Of The Patriot-News

Singer-guitarist Glenn Frey wryly called the Eagles "the band that wouldn't die" at the start of

their show at Hershey's Giant Center on Sunday.

And while he also called their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour "the assisted-living" tour in

reference to their, um, longevity, they showed no signs of age -- or being anywhere close to

death -- in a sparkling two-part set.

Starting audaciously with four tracks from "Long Road," the band's first album since 1979's "The

Long Run," the four core members -- Frey, singer-drummer Don Henley, bassist Timothy B.Schmit, and guitarist Joe Walsh -- delivered airtight takes on "How Long," "Busy Being

Fabulous," "I Don't Want To Hear Any More" and "Guilty of the Crime," trading lead vocal

duties.

Their signature brand of country rock, laden with effortless California harmonies, shone

throughout the new songs and into a host of classics. In "Hotel California," every bit of eerinessand spookiness was intact.


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The series of Frey's drifting "Peaceful Easy Feeling," Schmit's soulful but airy "I Can't Tell You

Why" and Henley's creepy "Witchy Woman" circled back to Frey for his cheating tale "Lyin'

Eyes." Henley showcased his best-known solo track "The Boys of Summer" to great effect, andWalsh led the way on a bold and brassy "In the City" before Henley wrapped set one with a

swinging version of "The Long Run."

All were in fine voice: Schmit's delicate falsetto, Frey's warm mellowness, Henley's cutting

tenor, even Walsh's nasal but charming delivery.

Set two began with mainly acoustic selections, and again, mainly new tracks. Chilling but

sublime harmonies made "No More Walks in the Wood" and "Waiting in the Weeds" real

standouts. Frey's "No More Cloudy Days" and Schmit's shimmering "Love Will Keep Us Alive"

were romantic moments, and "Take It to the Limit" positively shook the rafters with perfectharmony.

If this is how late middle-age sounds, bring it on; the Eagles have nothing to worry about.

They're handling it beautifully.

Review: Eagles have aged well

by KIRA L. SCHLECHTER, The Patriot-News

Sunday November 23, 2008, 10:10 PM

PAUL CHAPLIN, The Patriot-NewsThe Eagles, featuring Don Henley, left, and Glenn Frey, perform at the

Giant Center.


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PAUL CHAPLIN, The Patriot-NewsJoe Walsh

Singer-guitarist Glenn Frey wryly called the Eagles "the band that wouldn't die" at the start of

their show at Hershey's Giant Center on Sunday.

And while he also called their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour "the assisted-living" tour in

reference to their, um, longevity, they showed no signs of age -- or being anywhere close todeath -- in a sparkling two-part set.

Starting audaciously with four tracks from "Long Road," the band's first album since 1979's "The

Long Run," the four core members -- Frey, singer-drummer Don Henley, bassist Timothy B.Schmit and guitarist Joe Walsh -- delivered airtight takes on "How Long," "Busy Being

Fabulous," "I Don't Want To Hear Any More" and "Guilty of the Crime," trading lead vocal

duties.

Their signature brand of country rock, laden with effortless California harmonies, shone

throughout the new songs and into a host of classics. In "Hotel California," every bit of eeriness

and spookiness was intact.

The series of Frey's drifting "Peaceful Easy Feeling," Schmit's soulful but airy "I Can't Tell YouWhy" and Henley's creepy "Witchy Woman" circled back to Frey for his cheating tale "Lyin'

Eyes." Henley showcased his best-known solo track "The Boys of Summer" to great effect, and

Walsh led the way on a bold and brassy "In the City" before Henley wrapped set one with aswinging version of "The Long Run."


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All were in fine voice: Schmit's delicate falsetto, Frey's warm mellowness, Henley's cutting

tenor, even Walsh's nasal but charming delivery.

Set two began with mainly acoustic selections, and again, mainly new tracks. Chilling but

sublime harmonies made "No More Walks in the Wood" and "Waiting in the Weeds" real

standouts. Frey's "No More Cloudy Days" and Schmit's shimmering "Love Will Keep Us Alive"were romantic moments, and "Take It to the Limit" positively shook the rafters with perfect

harmony.

If this is how late middle age sounds, bring it on; the Eagles have nothing to worry about.

They're handling it beautifully.

2008 Tour Reviews

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