Review: Eagles just as impressive as ever

The Eagles
Forsyth Barr Stadium
Saturday, March 2

Reviewed by Marian Poole

The Eagles have huge musical talents, a legacy and following which spans 40 years.

• Eagles keep city humming
• Bucket-list band as good as it gets

A packed stadium, (fittingly dubbed by Don Henley as The Greenhouse), witnessed them resurrected and in full flight. Their melodies are as infectious, their rock as hard and as powerfully virtuosic, their finely crafted lyrics just as punchy and their clearly articulate voices and close harmonies as impressive as ever.

Their playlist featured the tried and true, from Schmit’s Bee Gees styled ballad I Can’t Tell You Why through to the tungsten classic rock of Walsh’s  Rocky Mountain Way with many highlights such as  Witchy Woman in between. Deacon Frey fits his father’s shoes snuggly and made great work of  Peaceful Easy Feeling . Vince Gill’s  New Kid in Town and  Lying Eyes had no trouble in getting the audience singing.

However it is the bad boy of the group, Joe Walsh, who stands out for his blazing brilliance on the guitar, his racked Joe Cocker like voice and for his performance dedication, particularly in  Survival in the City , I Know What You’re Doing , and the stand out numbers  Walk Away . The show just kept on gaining momentum right through the encores,  Fast Lane and Hotel California till the quieter  Desperado sent the audience home, replete and all smiles.  

For Marlon Williams and the Yarra Benders, to have come from playing at Chicks Hotel to opening for the Eagles within a scant two years is a just reward for their musicianship and appeal. Stand out numbers form Williams include the sensuous  Come to Me , the guitar harmonies in Dark Child , the bluesy keyboard in  Being Somebody , the doleful balladry of  Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore and of course the echoes of Roy Orbison and Howard Morrison Cash in  Make Way for Love .