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DonFan
11-21-2008, 06:13 PM
Then, they reprinted a review that went all the way back to 1995:

Eagles return to the Spectrum
By Dan DeLuca Inquirer Music Critic
Originally published on May 07, 1995

Just before 8:30 last night, thunder began to roll at the Spectrum, vapor rose from the dry ice offstage, and Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Don Felder - "those darn Eagles," as Frey referred to them - strolled out to greet their adoring audience. Within moments, Felder looked down at his double-necked guitar, and laid down the opening licks to the quintessential '70s California rock song, "Hotel California. "

I know what you're thinking: Weren't these guys here already? Didn't they promise that their "Hell Freezes Over" tour was a one-shot deal, a show with astronomical ticket prices that were justified because this was a "once-in- a-lifetime" reunion?

Well, yeah. But let's be fair. The second of the two Philly dates the band was scheduled to play in September was postponed because Frey's diverticulitis flared up. (It's since been corrected by surgery; he's fine. ) Last night's utterly seamless, nearly three-hour return to, in Frey's words, "the home of the Broad Street Bullies, and the home of Dr. J," was a make-up show.

But while it was at it, the band - which made headlines last year by charging a top ticket price of more than $100 - added another show, scheduled for tonight. (The top-priced seats are gone, but $77 and $52 tickets are still available. ) And in other markets where the Eagles played last year and don't have such a convenient excuse to return, they're going back anyway, shamelessly billing the new shows as "The Encore. "

But enough about the exorbitant ticket prices, willingly paid last night by a sellout crowd of 16,000 that sat enthralled during every self-pitying Frey country tune and plaintive Henley ballad, and partied down when self- proclaimed "average, ordinary guy" Walsh put balloon animals on his head and got goofy.

The question is: Can these laid-back and satisfied caviar cowboys deliver anything meaningful and satisfying a decade and a half after their initial breakup?

Well, maybe not meaningful. But satisfying? Sure. If Sheryl Crow's Grammy triumph and the success of 1993's country karaoke collection, Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles, proved anything, it's that mildly rootsy, laid-back California-isms are back in style, at least as an antidote to the hard-to- swallow racket of so much '90s pop music.

Much more than on Hell Freezes Over - last year's tepid live album, which included four mediocre new cuts - last night's show proved that the Eagles can still put over their songs of regret, loss and what was called "male chauvinism" in their heyday.

And, as evidenced by everything from the mean-spirited "Lyin' Eyes" to the ultra-wussy "Love Will Keep Us Alive" to Henley's searching "The Heart of the Matter" (the latter two performed in an extended unplugged section), they can still harmonize like nobody else.

Between them, Frey, Henley and Walsh have amassed quite a catalogue of polished, country-tinged tunes - though Frey's bloated "You Belong to the City" and "Smuggler's Blues" argued for a less democratic approach.

And there's still enough snarl in nasty guitar warhorses such as "One of These Nights" and "Life in the Fast Lane" to keep them from seeming like a bunch of out-of-touch geezers.

Henley's grainy tenor was featured prominently in the second set. You could hear it both in its whining mode ("Dirty Laundry," complete with O.J. Simpson references, and "Get Over It," during which the packed arena complained along him about the culture of complaint), and in his more appealing elegaic style ("Desperado," "The Boys of Summer").

But during the show's second half, the Eagles did a surprisingly good job of presenting themselves as a party band, from Frey's rhythm-and-blues-fired ''Heartache Tonight" to Henley's carefree "All She Wants to Do Is Dance. "

Guitar-wise, they presented an army. Augmented by four additional players who switched off on sax, violin, keyboards, percussion and drums, the quintet of trim 46-year-olds (save Frey, who's 45) was able to free Henley from his drum kit and come out with four guitars at once. Walsh and Felder each played potent leads and executed their parts with precision and a camaradarie that seemed to carry over to everyone on stage.

Felder played sweet melodic lines on "New Kid in Town," kicked "Victim of Love" into high gear and played a weepy steel guitar on "The Girl From Yesterday. " Walsh loosed his firepower on Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and on his own crowd-pleasing "Rocky Mountain Way" - which began with an ''Amazing Grace" slide-guitar intro - and "Life's Been Good," with the line "everybody's so different, we haven't changed" eliciting a huge cheer.

As if to prove the point, the Eagles returned for a series of encores that ended with three of their most tried-and-true tunes: "Desperado," with Frey on piano and Henley on vocals, and the two escapist odes to the road, ''Already Gone" and "Take It Easy."

Freypower
11-21-2008, 06:25 PM
Thanks for those, DF.

If Frey's country tunes are 'self-pitying' the reviewer has obviously never listened to the lyrics, none of which are actually about Frey himself (he didn't write PEF, and it isn't self-pitying. Tequila Sunrise isn't, either, even if it may be obliquely about him). As for Lyin' Eyes being 'mean spirited' I guess it is if you don't like the truth being told.

The 'bloated' reference to YBTTC and Smuggler's Blues is baffling. It is so long since we have had any Frey solo songs in an Eagles set. That certainly satisfies the guy's 'arguing for a less democratic approach'. I remain privlieged to have seen Smuggler's Blues, once.

It is far too easy and obvious to say that Walsh provides the interest. But what's the point in protesting. These reviewers call it as they see it, I suppose.

Troubadour
11-21-2008, 07:23 PM
Thanks for posting these, DF. Interesting reading, as always!