Live From The Forum MMXVIII

After seeing the Eagles live in Hyde Park a couple of weeks ago at the BST festival, rather than buying another tour T-shirt I've bought "Live From The Forum MMXVIII" as a reminder of an excellent show. There may be 33 tracks listed but really only 26 of these are music tracks, the others being introductions from each of the members of the then Eagles band: Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey. There is perhaps little or nothing new or surprising here for Eagles afficionados with all of the Eagles's studio albums represented, although with five tracks "The Long Run" is better represented than the others. Three tracks are drawn from "One of These Nights" and "Hotel California", two from "Eagles" and "Desperado" and one apiece from the part studio/part live album "Hell Freezes Over" and their so-so final studio album "The Long Road Out of Eden". The other tracks being the opener "Seven Bridges Road", a five- part harmony arrangement of a Steve Young single that the Eagles regularly use as a show-opener and a number of tracks from the band members' solo careers which perhaps may come as a surprise to those expecting wall-to-wall Eagles. Of these Joe Walsh's career outside the Eagles is best represented with two solo and two James Gang numbers: the rocking "Walk Away", the funky "Funk #49", the vocoder masterpiece "Rocky Mountain Way" and an eight minute blistering "Life's Been Good". Don Henley contributes "The Boys of Summer" (a long-time favourite of mine) and then there is the unknown at least to me, "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" from Vince Gill's pre-Eagles career. Perhaps then disappointingly the set doesn't also include a tribute to Glenn Frey with one of his solos, maybe "The Heat Is On" or my favourite "Smuggler's Blues". With three or more guitars* on every track plus bass from Schmit, drums and percussion from Henley and/or touring drummer Scott Crago, keyboards from Michael Thompson, Will Hollis and occasionally Walsh, odd bits of accordion from Thompson, a fistful of horns with the other fist full of strings the sound throughout is generally clear, full and rounded, and without too much audience noise, a bane of live recordings. With 26 tracks it's difficult to have a favourite or even pick out the top handful but with the emphasis on "The Long Run" and the inclusion of four Joe Walsh/James Gang numbers the balance of the songs is tilted towards the rocking side of country-rock which works perfectly well for me but may not be everybody's choice. Perhaps though I should call-out "Hotel California" which with its mariachi-horns pre-introduction introduction wrong foots the audience, and it's good to be reminded of just how good "Those Shoes" is! On a positive note there's nothing here to avoid (except the introductions, more in a moment); may be the Vince Gill solo doesn't quite wash its face in this company but it doesn't warrant skipping. You can of course always make a case for adding something that's missing and perhaps the most obvious absentee from this pretty rounded set would be "Best of My Love" which they played in Hyde Park. But with over two hours of music here how much more do you need before it becomes too much and you just play your favourites. And that's it. And what a brilliant idea it is to have a live album where all the introductions and other rubbish that you don't want to hear every time you play it are separate tracks that you can skip. Why has it taken so long for anyone to think of this, that alone is five star brilliance, and so incidentally is the music. ----- *In Walsh, Henley, Frey, and Gill the Eagles may have more guitarists than anyone else but long-time touring member guitarist Steuart Smith deserves a special mention as the unsung hero of this line-up for his excellent co-lead guitar work.

This CD has a 5 star rating from me, as I expected. The band is as usual absolutely fantastic, how many bands are there out there where you can find five guitarists up front, okay one of them is the bass guitarist. Between them they are all playing different solos/riffs ie putting it all together and sounding amazing! They are without doubt a very talented group who have been around as The Eagles, a very long time and playing as good as ever. I have read a review or two from people who are not happy with the sound quality and the band sounding tired, he has heard them better, everything they play he's heard before. I can only say it certainly did not sound tired to me, it sounds great!! And to those who are not happy about Vince Gill, the guy is an extremely talented and accomplished guitarist and a singer who fits in perfectly with the rest of the band - he wouldn't be in the band if he didn't meet with their very high standards!

Great from start to finish over 3 hours of classic Eagles

Bought this after seeing the show on TV. I'm sure most Eagles fans will not be disappointed. Although the line up of the band has changed, the music is still great. I can understand that some fans might think that things are not the same now but in my opinion Vince Gill, Deacon Frey and Steuart Smith all add something special to the music. As Don Henley himself says on the album: "It's all about the songs" now and they are some of the best ever.

I have been a lover of their music from way back in the 70s and have many original vinyl albums from back then as well as more recent cds. The lineup has changed of course since then but the quality of the music remains. I watched this concert on tv and knew I had to get the album. It is great that Deacon Frey is keeping up his father's legacy and Vince Gill is a welcome addition. Shame that Don Felder's guitar wizardry is missing but then it has been missing for many years. Joe Walsh may be a brilliant guitarist and contributor to the songs but I do wish he had not shouted out and tried to whip up the audience. He did this on both cds, on cd2 it lasted for quite a while and grated on my ears. For me, the only flaw in an otherwise brilliant album. Hence 4 stars.

The legendary Eagles performing live at the LA Forum. Terrific performance from the band. The sound recording s first class. I love the "Hell Freezes Over" album but I've always been sceptical about how "live" it actually was! This album manages to capture the ambience of the arena. Every rock band/performer should take a listen- this is the standard fans expect from a live concert. The sound engineer of the recent Queen & Adam Lambert Live album should also take notes of how to truly capture a live performance!

Always liked the Eagles, love lots of their songs and I do love a live album, so got this. It is amazing! I dont understand why some people dont approve of Vince Gill being with them, all I can think is that they are the die hard Eagles fans and dont like any change, but Glen is no longer with us, his son is great on the cd and Vince has a perfect voice for Eagles songs and harmonises perfectly. Great album.

Musicians at the top of their game. These guy's get better with time. Even with the addition of Deacon Fry has not changed the magic ( truly talented, like His father ) they transport you to the Forum on an amazing journey. Definitely the best cd I've bought in recent years

Una grabación de muy buena calidad repleta de clásicos y alguna sorpresa

Die EAGLES Konzerte der jüngeren Zeit sind allesamt genial und von einer Professsionalität geprägt, die herausragend ist. Dieses Konzert hier sticht nochmal an Genialität heraus. Der Sound ist so gut, dass man die Musik immer wieder hören mag. Ein MUSS von der EAGLES Fan!

さすがに、年齢に抗えないものは、ちょいちょい感じるものの 思っていたよりクオリティ高かったです。サウンドは、全体的に落ち着いた感じ。 でも、やっぱり全盛期のライブ発掘版が聴きたいな。まだランディがいた頃の。。

excellent live CD from my second favourite band next to the Beatles even though EAGLES have had personnel changes in recent years, their sound is stil unmistakeable Deacon Frey and Vince Gill only make them better

Excellent album live des Aigles rois du country rock américain. Le son est très bon, la setlist parfaite, la virtuosité de ce groupe mythique n'est plus à prouver, mais le plaisir d'écouter ces morceaux (le dernier album en date n'a pas été oublié) reste intact, l'apport de Deacon Frey apporte une touche émotionnelle au concert, l'âme des Eagles se perpétue de père en fils (talentueux), Vince Gill y va également de son immense talent de guitariste et chanteur, Timothy B. Schmidt nous régale dans ses lignes de basse, Joe Walsh, plus déjanté que jamais, joué et chante sans sobriété, Don Henley, le coeur des Eagles, assure tout au long du concert, sa voix n' pas changé après près de 50 ans de carrière .. Un très bon album, témoignage récent de ce groupe mythique.