EAGLES // BT MURRAYFIELD STADIUM, EDINBURGH
EAGLES CELEBRATE FIFTY YEARS WITH A SPECIAL SHOW AT EDINBURGH’S BT MURRAYFIELD STADIUM
★★★★★ (5/5)
EAGLES // BT MURRAYFIELD STADIUM EDINBURGH - 22.06.2022
PHOTOCREDIT: CALUM BUCHAN
The Eagles, described as one of the most successful American bands ever and known for their unique blend of country rock and stunning vocal harmonies, came to Scotland for one date at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium as part of the UK and Ireland leg of their tour. With fifty years in the music business and their first single, Take It Easy, released in May 1972, the Eagles continue to draw in capacity crowds of both young and old.
Seven Bridges Road opened the night in a bright and dynamic way with its unifying five-part harmonies, leading onto the sultry overtones of One of These Nights. New Kid in Town and Witchy Woman followed quickly in succession, a real blast back to the seventies – toes were a-tapping and fans swaying in their seats. As Vince Gill went on to take lead vocals for Take It To The Limit and invited audience participation, the stadium just filled with song.
Don Henley said “Our mission this evening is to give you a two hour vacation from all the turbulence going on in the world. We’re not going to do much talking, no wind machines, no fireworks, no butt-wagging choreography, just a bunch of guys with guitars” and that’s exactly what the Eagles delivered – precision guitar playing, strong vocals and pitch perfect harmonies. Don Henley, Timothy B Schmit and Joe Walsh may be in their seventies now, but coupled with their dedicated touring musicians, the Eagles continue to sound as perfect as they always have.
After the death of Glenn Frey in 2016, Vince Gill, an already established country music artist, joined the band with Glenn Frey’s son, Deacon, though in recent times it has mostly been cameo performances Deacon has made. With vocals every bit as good as those of his late father, Deacon had the Murrayfield crowd singing along to Peaceful Easy Feeling and Take It Easy. Vince Gill did an excellent job of vocals on Lyin’ Eyes, formerly sung by Glenn Frey – definitely big shoes to fill.
Joe Walsh stepped up to sing Life’s Been Good, which he would admit is not the easiest of songs to play, but he handled it with ease. Ever the rock legend that he is, Walsh competed in killer guitar licks throughout the evening with touring musician, Steuart Smith, and had a fantastic guitar duel with Vince Gill during Funk #49. Indeed, he announced, in his humorous fashion, “It’s a lot more fun to be 20 in the ‘70s, than 70 in the ‘20s!’
The iconic, well loved hits kept coming – Tequila Sunrise, Best of My Love, Heartache Tonight, Life in the Fast Lane and Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer; the songs that the Murrayfield fans knew the words to already and they sang in unison. As the Eagles left the stage for a four song encore, the stadium was a sea of mobile lights anticipating Hotel California and they were not let down. Hotel California’s long guitar coda was voted the best guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitarist back in 1998. Rocky Mountain Way and Desperado swiftly followed, with Deacon Frey taking lead vocals for the last song of the night, Already Gone.
The Eagles, with their ability to bring multiple genres of music to their events – country, rock, pop, funk and gospel – and their continued passion for playing music, has maintained their longevity and appeal to a wide ranging audience worldwide. May they keep going strong!
REVIEW BY // CATHERINE BUCHAN
PHOTOS BY // CALUM BUCHAN
SETLIST:
BT MURRAYFIELD STADIUM, EDINBURGH
SEVEN BRIDGES ROAD
ONE OF THESE NIGHTS
NEW KID IN TOWN
WITCHY WOMAN
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
LYIN’ EYES
IN THE CITY
I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY
TEQUILA SUNRISE
BEST OF MY LOVE
PEACEFUL EASY FEELING
TAKE IT EASY
THESE SHOES
THE BOYS OF SUMMER
LIFE’S BEEN GOOD
VICTIM OF LOVE
FUNK #49
HEARTACHE TONIGHT
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
ENCORE:
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY
DESPERADO
ALREADY GONE