The Best of the Eagles – Together and Alone
Dunstan Playhouse 22 April 2017
Review by Geoff Jenke
The Best of the Eagles was a tribute concert recreating the sounds and songs of the Eagles as well as solo songs performed by members of the Eagles. The Eagles were one of the biggest selling acts in the world with over 150 million records sold and their Greatest Hits 1971 – 1975 one of the ten biggest selling albums ever.
With the future of the Eagles in limbo due to the passing of Glen Frey, it is timely this tribute band should be doing the rounds. Production was excellent as was the music and the vocals a pretty good reproduction of the original Eagles. All five members of the band contributed to the vocals and harmonies.
The show started with a very rocky version of Life in the Fast Lane before a selection of slower Eagles songs including Peaceful Easy Feeling, New Kid in Town and I Can’t Tell You Why. However the first set of the night belonged to the “Joe Walsh” songs, Life’s Been Good to Me and Rocky Mountain Way, although I felt the later song ended when it should of started to really kick in.
After a short break the band returned with a rockier selection of songs. Kicking off with a great version of Boys of Summer the band moved into more Eagle songs including Wasted Time, Witchy Woman and Take It to The Limit.
The Heat is On, while a big hit for Glen Frey, is a song that should be left in the 80’s. However a superb version of Desperado made up for it and an extended Heartache Tonight gave the band a chance for introductions and small solo’s from each of the players.
Naturally Hotel California was the encore song. Although complete with twin neck guitar, the song fell flat compared to the other versions of songs they had played throughout the night. That didn’t stop the crowd from giving the band a rousing standing ovation at the end.
While the show was entertaining, it seemed torn between being a stage show and a concert. With a bit of fine tuning, it could easily be turned into a good stage show to be played in theatres like The Dunstan Playhouse. If they want it to be a concert then a suitable hotel venue would be better.
Still, we got a lot of Eagle hits an enjoyable evening was had by all attending.
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