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DonFan
07-28-2008, 09:26 AM
Special to The Washington Post, By Dave McKenna
Monday, July 28, 2008

The Eagles don't do medleys. That, and a barrage of non-oldies, kept music history's fifth-best-selling pop act from getting to all its hits Saturday at the Verizon Center, even with a show that had two sets and ended about four hours after it began.

The band treated the crowd to (or made it endure) about half of last year's double disc, "Long Road Out of Eden." A few fine moments resulted, the best being the nearly a cappella "No More Walks in the Wood," which brought the Eagles into Crosby, Stills and Nash territory.

Yet even though this was the band that made laid-back almost a prerequisite in rock in the 1970s, most of the new material -- including "Too Busy Being Fabulous," "No More Cloudy Days," "Somebody" and the title track -- conveyed enough of a peaceful, easy feeling to put the crowd to sleep. And the cliches got silly thick during "Waiting in the Weeds." (In a matter of mere verses, Don Henley sang "every dog will have his day," "the dream was over," "go down in flame," "floating on the breeze," "the outskirts of this lonesome town," "the flavor of the week" and "fallen out of your good graces.")

When Timothy B. Schmit sang Paul Carrack's mellow "I Don't Want to Hear Any More," he summarized how an awful lot of folks felt about the new stuff.

The four main members (Henley, Schmit, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey) eventually began taking turns in the spotlight to render one incredibly golden oldie after another. ("The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975" remains the best-selling LP of all time, with more than 29 million units moved.)

Schmit lacks the star power of his mates, but he nailed every falsetto note on 1979's "I Can't Tell You Why," the night's most soulful ballad and the closest thing to R&B in the Eagles songbook.

Henley, who bounced from guitar to congas to a full drum kit, shined brightest with his first vintage offering of the night, the period piece from 1976 "Hotel California." As he sang his solo hit "Boys of Summer," with all its built-in wistfulness -- "Don't look back! You can never look back!" -- the mostly middle-aged fans in the full house ignored the advice and nodded nostalgically. They'd paid a lot of money to look back.

Walsh, still playing the goof, provided the night's rockingest moments. He delivered non-Eagles fare including the James Gang's "Funk No. 49," "Walk Away" and "Rocky Mountain Way." He moved to his solo songbook for "Life's Been Good," as the backdrop showed dozens of very old photos of him and other Eagles. (For follicular reasons, late-model Henley looks absolutely nothing like his young self.)

Many of Frey's songs, however, haven't aged a bit. "Peaceful Easy Feeling" remains a timeless piece of casual pop -- too casual to be played by guys in dark suits and ties, which was the Eagles' uniform on this night. Frey kept things light and funny with his song introductions, too: He dedicated "Lyin' Eyes" to "my first wife, Plaintiff," and introduced "Witchy Woman" as a song "from our satanic country rock rhythm and blues period."

While those lines surely have been dropped around the globe, Frey tailored some banter to the D.C. crowd. Before "Take It Easy," he said the idea to form the Eagles came to him and Henley after an early 1970s gig at the Cellar Door, when they were both members of Linda Ronstadt's backing band.

Even sweeter local color came via Steuart Smith, an Arlingtonian and area bar-band veteran who has become in essence the fifth Eagle. Smith, who co-produced the new record and wrote more songs on it than either Walsh or Schmidt, took almost every guitar lead of the night. For fans who remember Smith's days playing for mere dozens of folks in area dives with Root Boy Slim and Switchblade, watching and hearing him nail some of the most famous licks in pop history in a full arena was like seeing a kid from the local community theater filling a lead role on Broadway.

TimothyBFan
07-28-2008, 10:06 AM
Once again, a reviewer who isn't giving the new stuff a chance! Give me a break---why aren't they allowed, like everyone else, to have a new cd out and play stuff off of it along with the old stuff without getting sh*t for it!! :cuss:

Also "Schmit lacks the star power of his mates"---all I can say to this reviewer is--- BITE ME!!!!! What do you know?

On a positive note-he at least admits that they are pretty flawless on Waiting in the Weeds and gives Don the credit he deserves.

Why do I keep reading these d*mn reviews--most of them just make me angry!

Brooke
07-28-2008, 10:55 AM
I hear ya, TBF! :enraged:

At least Stuart and Glenn have gotten some kind words for once. Stuart is usually never even mentioned.

Ive always been a dreamer
07-28-2008, 11:15 AM
"...most of the new material -- including "Too Busy Being Fabulous," "No More Cloudy Days," "Somebody" and the title track -- conveyed enough of a peaceful, easy feeling to put the crowd to sleep. And the cliches got silly thick during "Waiting in the Weeds."

"Somebody" put the crowd to sleep! :shock:

"Waiting In the Weeds" cliche! :shock: :shock:

You need to listen up again, Dave! FREAKIN' INCREDIBLE!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

At least, he was a bit kinder when it came to the old hits. Apparently, this guy is pretty heavy into nostalgia. :P

DonFan
07-28-2008, 11:47 AM
Yes, this reviewer is another who seems predisposed not to like the Eagles' new material. Many of his comments irritated me too, particularly the remark about the current Don being "follicularly-challenged"--what about the changes in Glenn since the early days? His hair was so long it practically obscured his handsome face. But the reviewer did have SOME positive things to say, especially about Steuart.

Freypower
07-28-2008, 07:47 PM
I know what the reviewer means about the alleged use of 'cliches' in WITW. Don has always used 'cliches' but he does it in a very refreshing and ironic way. Look at those lines he's quoted. Every one of them works. Could the reviewer have written that song? I think not.

I wish someone would tell these people that the past tense of 'shine' is 'shone'.

Of course they'll give local boy Steuy his props but I am so glad they did, and that he wasn't just called an 'expert mimic' which I saw in another recent review.

Nice comments about Glenn for a change.

siny
07-29-2008, 12:42 AM
When Timothy B. Schmit sang Paul Carrack's mellow "I Don't Want to Hear Any More," he summarized how an awful lot of folks felt about the new stuff.

I just love it how he speaks for the entire audience like he knows what's in their heads :roll: If an "awful" lot of folks did not want to hear their new stuff, it would not go multiplatinum, I would think.
Fortunately, the Eagles are in a position to ignore their critics, which is probably exactly what they are doing.

Mrs Frey
07-29-2008, 04:11 AM
Thanks for this review, DF.

Sigh. I'm so tired of reading negative press about the LROOE album. :roll: As I mentioned in a post elsewhere, I would have been disappointed if I didn't hear songs from the new album. Songs like "Somebody" and WITW gave me some of the biggest thrills of my special night in London. If the reviewer didn't like the songs, he would CERTAINLY be in the minority. The six million plus listeners who bought the album would confirm that.

I liked the kind words about Glenn :heart:, as FP says, "for a change". The comments about the cliches in WITW irritated me, as those so-called cliches he is quoting are being quoted out of context of the song.

As for Tim's so-called lack of starpower, I beg to differ. The crowd always gets excited when Tim takes the lead vocal. The reviewer needs to watch F1 and HFO for proof of that.

The comment about Don's hair was unnecessary. Seventies fashion is seventies fashion.

At least I learnt something from the review, and that is about Steuart's musical background. I'm very happy that after all the dues he has paid over the years, that his talent is being recognised by such an awesome band. The Eagles couldn't have done better, IMHO.

sodascouts
07-29-2008, 01:33 PM
All I can say here is UGH. I would be crushed if they dropped one of those new songs that no one supposedly wants to hear before Chicago. And I have seen for myself that How Long always gets a great response from the crowd (although they dropped most of the new stuff for the Hard Rock concert). Busy Being Fabulous didn't do too shabbily either!

Recently, I was working on making a MySpace for GlennFreyOnline (I'll do it for all the guys eventually). I was making a sidebar with both Desperado Glenn and currently Glenn. In the Desperado photo, his hair wasn't obscuring his face, and his mouth was closed, and he did indeed look like his old self. It's only with the hair hanging over his face and the facial hair, plus the display of his real teeth rather than his "new-and-improved" teeth, that make him look so very different in some old photos.

But then again I'd say the same for Don. All you have to do is concentrate on the face, the eyes, and that famous crook of the eyebrow to see that today's Don isn't so very different from 70s Don. Especially when he gets the facial hair goin' on!

P.S. FP - he may have said "shined" instead of "shone" but at least he correctly identified Tim's son as "I Don't Want to Hear Any More" rather than "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore." Whenever I see the latter in a review, I think, "Don't they have editors who are supposed to correct that kind of stuff?!"

Glennsallnighter
07-29-2008, 04:21 PM
The Eagles don't do medleys. That, and a barrage of non-oldies, kept music history's fifth-best-selling pop act from getting to all its hits Saturday at the Verizon Center, even with a show that had two sets and ended about four hours after it began.

I suppose realistically they have so many hits from both their older and new albums, they will NEVER manage to get to them all! Even on an allnighter!! But I'd LOVE a 4 hour gig!!



The band treated the crowd to (or made it endure) about half of last year's double disc, "Long Road Out of Eden." A few fine moments resulted, the best being the nearly a cappella "No More Walks in the Wood," which brought the Eagles into Crosby, Stills and Nash territory.

Yet even though this was the band that made laid-back almost a prerequisite in rock in the 1970s, most of the new material -- including "Too Busy Being Fabulous," "No More Cloudy Days," "Somebody" and the title track -- conveyed enough of a peaceful, easy feeling to put the crowd to sleep. And the cliches got silly thick during "Waiting in the Weeds." (In a matter of mere verses, Don Henley sang "every dog will have his day," "the dream was over," "go down in flame," "floating on the breeze," "the outskirts of this lonesome town," "the flavor of the week" and "fallen out of your good graces.")

Well I don't think anyone would have fallen to sleep with the rendition of 'Somebody' that I heard in London, or BBF (What song is 'Too Busy Being Fabulous'? :roll: ). They were full of fire! Obviously the nature of NMCD is that it is a quieter ballad, but again peaceful rather than soporific! And while there are some cliches in WITW, the way they have been put together has created a vocal masterpiece not a 'silly thick' anthem.



When Timothy B. Schmit sang Paul Carrack's mellow "I Don't Want to Hear Any More," he summarized how an awful lot of folks felt about the new stuff.

Speak for yourself Dave. I certainly do! Why are people packing these auditoria out if they don't want to hear Any More?



The four main members (Henley, Schmit, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey) eventually began taking turns in the spotlight to render one incredibly golden oldie after another. ("The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975" remains the best-selling LP of all time, with more than 29 million units moved.)

While finally a bit of praise I think its slightly 'tongue in cheek'. Like he's saying 'Those songs are so well known you don't have to do any work to trot them out' he doesn't comment on the reaction to these songs either. Seem's like some people can't be satisfied!



Schmit lacks the star power of his mates, but he nailed every falsetto note on 1979's "I Can't Tell You Why," the night's most soulful ballad and the closest thing to R&B in the Eagles songbook.
Tim certainly has a substantial following and his own unique way of interacting with the crowd. In that he Does have star power, and he made a little girl very happy in London by waving to her :wink: . He is her star!!


Henley, who bounced from guitar to congas to a full drum kit, shined brightest with his first vintage offering of the night, the period piece from 1976 "Hotel California." As he sang his solo hit "Boys of Summer," with all its built-in wistfulness -- "Don't look back! You can never look back!" -- the mostly middle-aged fans in the full house ignored the advice and nodded nostalgically. They'd paid a lot of money to look back.

And they weren't regretting a single penny of it i'd guess!
Again, I too noticed the grammatical error! I corrected the same one in my 4 year old last week on the rare occasion when the sun SHONE!



Walsh, still playing the goof, provided the night's rockingest moments. He delivered non-Eagles fare including the James Gang's "Funk No. 49," "Walk Away" and "Rocky Mountain Way." He moved to his solo songbook for "Life's Been Good," as the backdrop showed dozens of very old photos of him and other Eagles. (For follicular reasons, late-model Henley looks absolutely nothing like his young self.)

With the utmost respect to him, I wonder does this reviewer look like he did 37 years ago either, or is he too 'follicularly challenged'? Of course its possible he wasn't alive then.......



Many of Frey's songs, however, haven't aged a bit. "Peaceful Easy Feeling" remains a timeless piece of casual pop -- too casual to be played by guys in dark suits and ties, which was the Eagles' uniform on this night. Frey kept things light and funny with his song introductions, too: He dedicated "Lyin' Eyes" to "my first wife, Plaintiff," and introduced "Witchy Woman" as a song "from our satanic country rock rhythm and blues period."

While those lines surely have been dropped around the globe, Frey tailored some banter to the D.C. crowd. Before "Take It Easy," he said the idea to form the Eagles came to him and Henley after an early 1970s gig at the Cellar Door, when they were both members of Linda Ronstadt's backing band.

Good for Glenn :heart: and at last a bit of genuine praise for him. Of course an Eagles concert wouldn't be the same without his banter. He's been having it a bit rough in some reviews, or ignored. I think the suits have been commented on in previous reviews. If thats what they choose to wear its fine by me. And if they come to Dublin their choice of attire will be least on my mind!!


Even sweeter local color came via Steuart Smith, an Arlingtonian and area bar-band veteran who has become in essence the fifth Eagle. Smith, who co-produced the new record and wrote more songs on it than either Walsh or Schmidt, took almost every guitar lead of the night. For fans who remember Smith's days playing for mere dozens of folks in area dives with Root Boy Slim and Switchblade, watching and hearing him nail some of the most famous licks in pop history in a full arena was like seeing a kid from the local community theater filling a lead role on Broadway.

Well it is nice to see Steuart getting some recognition too.

However I DO feel that this and a lot of the reviews have been very negative and certainly do NOT reflect the feelings of the fans who are attending them. As everyone here knows, I had a fantastic experience. As have many other Border members. These papers should get genuine fans to do the reviews. I would say that the REAL fans want to hear as much as possible of the new work sung live (after all THEY have the album and are familiar with these). I would love to read a review of a REAL fan in a publication. What I have read here on the Border from the members who have been to the different gigs far surpasses some of the nonsense some of the so called pros are submitting.

Mrs Frey
07-30-2008, 02:20 AM
Excellent analysis, GA. I couldn't agree more.

Glennsallnighter
07-30-2008, 02:27 AM
Why, thank you MF :hug:

DonFan
07-30-2008, 09:24 AM
I know what the reviewer means about the alleged use of 'cliches' in WITW. Don has always used 'cliches' but he does it in a very refreshing and ironic way. Look at those lines he's quoted. Every one of them works.

I love what Charles M. Young wrote about this in his last article on the Eagles in Rolling Stone:

"Henley rips the skin off cliches' and renders righteous judgment with this gritty Stax tenor."