Cincinnati November 18th

Take it easy? Not the Eagles

Concert review
By Bill Thompson
bthompson@enquirer.com

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 and
Glenn 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 Arena
Tuesday night, but also proved they have no intention of taking it easy during a tour that will
take them around the world over the next year.
The group played for nearly three hours with a short break (not bad for a foursome whose
youngest 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 energy
and kept the fans engaged throughout.
Its unlikely, however, that the arena would have been almost full if the boys had spent the
evening 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 lyrics
and 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. For
most 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 solo
careers 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 for
a 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. But
in retrospect, it wasnt surprising. Although Henley and 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

choice is Walsh.
He gained fame with the James Gang while going to Kent State in the late 1960s, so when the
band broke into Walk Away and Funk 49, it didnt matter that the tunes had as much to do
with the Eagles as Hannah Montana does.
Unlike young Ms. Cyrus, however, Walsh can make a guitar do tricks. After deferring to Smith
in the shows first half, he came to life with stinging solos on the Gang songs, plus a jump-upand-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 fans
Monday, 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 for
the 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 "Hotel
California."
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 a
choirboy'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 an
obvious 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."

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, they
took 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 occasionally
clashed 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.

Hershey November 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 have
been 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 album
from 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 for
a rock and roll show. Nobody stood up for the first 20 minutes.

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 over
the 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&B
stylings.
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 images
similar 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 environmental
statement 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 Randy
Meisner, 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 greed remember this is the band that made a deal to sell its disc
exclusively at Wal-Mart to secure a better royalty deal nearly stopped the show dead in its
tracks.

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 and
the 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 might
have 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 his
disc 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 classics

Monday, 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 eeriness
and spookiness was intact.

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, and
Walsh 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 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.

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.

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 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 eeriness
and spookiness was intact.
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, and
Walsh 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 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.