Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It would have always been at the back of the mind of the Eagles fan, that if they didn’t see them perform in Liverpool on their 2014 tour, it was quite possible they might never see them again. After all the band had not called in to the city for quite some time before that, and with the passing of Glen Frey in 2016, that performance was to be likely the last time in which an audience would see them.
Memories fade, but hope springs eternal, and almost five years to the day from when they last stepped foot on a Liverpool stage, the roar of expectation could be heard to fill the arena by the Mersey, a cacophony of welcome, of joy that grew throughout the concourse, and finally one that poignantly drew the arrow of time back and allowed all to feel the quiver of the bow as it resounded with serene deep impact.
Whilst the impact of the band on stage could be tangibly felt in the hearts of those who attended the evening at the Arena, it was arguably the moment in which Deacon Frey stepped up to the microphone to say hello to the crowd, to perform just as his father would have to the multitude of Eagles fans, which drew the biggest intake of suspenseful breath, and which garnered the most overpowering sense of applause. It is arguable, that as Don Henley once stated, that the Eagles name could not carry on as a live entity without one of the founding fathers, and like Mr. Henley, a continuing member of the band, but in Glen Frey’s son, the beautiful nature of each track created a sense of maintenance, of conservation of the appeal of the Eagles.
It was natural, beautiful, and alongside Vince Gill, Steuart Smith, the delicate concern of Timothy B. Schmit, the effervescent and sparkling personality of Joe Walsh, and the steadfast resolve of the brilliant Don Henley, what was made abundantly clear was that Deacon is a perfect fit, an environmental sounded piece of the puzzle, the electrifying mystery that is the Eagles.
There can be no definitive answer to whether the band will ever make it back to the U.K., let alone perform in Liverpool, but the acknowledgment, humble and unpretentious from Don Henley that without The Beatles, the music of Eagles would not have happened, was to be applauded, possibly a case of self-deprecation, for surely the talent and connection that lay in his and Glen Frey’s mind when they first met would surely have led to something extraordinary, but it was an admission roundly approved by the sold-out Arena’s audience.
Across songs such as Take It Easy, Take It To The Limit, Tequila Sunrise, New Kid In Town, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Lyin’ Eyes, Vince Gill’s Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away, the superb Life’s Been Good, The Boys Of Summer, Life In The Fast Lane and arguably one of the finest musical creations of all time-Hotel California, the audience were treated to not just memories, memoirs of all things past, but a reminder that the future continues to unfold, that the greatness of the song will always hold true, even when one who sang the tune slowly leaves the stage.
An evening of timeless classics, of new beginnings, of beauty, Eagles were back, and life was good.
Ian D. Hall