Probably the Best Live Concert DVD Out There

(Note: I purchased the HD DVD version of "Eagles- Farewell I Tour: Live From Melbourne", which comes in a single high definition DVD. I played this on a Toshiba A-2 player. This review is not based on the standard DVD format, which might differ somewhat).

The Eagles are probably one of Rock and Roll's most creative and talented bands. I say creative because no single genre defines them. Some have described them as "classic" rock, others as country-western, and still others as blues and even a little soul. The fact that they sound just as good today- no, better- than they did during their late 1970s heyday- tells you that the group's members are all masters of their craft, and not aging rocksters out to make a few dollars on a nostalgic voyage through yesterday.

This is probably the best rock concert DVD you will find out there, in part because of its musical and acoustic qualities and in part because the superb HD quality gives you a nearly front-row concert experience. I know that many people throw around superlatives when it comes to personal tastes in things like music, but "Eagles- Farewell I.." is likely to make new fans both out of people who have never listened to the group before and out of those who simply never caught on to them way back when.

The Eagles have by far the best four-part harmonies of any rock band, and every single member of the group contributes vocal and (numerous) instrumental talents, a rarity these days. This concert brings together old Eagles and solo member classics as well as a few newer songs, including the tender 'Love Will Keep us Alive' from their 1994 "Hell Freezes Over" reunion album, the 2002 acapella single 'Hole in the World', begun before 9/11 but completed appropriately just after that tragic event, and three songs that have since been released on the "Long Road Out of Eden" (2007) album: 'No More Cloudy Days', 'Fast Company', and 'Do Something'. An interesting addition to the Eagles lineup is 'Funk No. 49', an old Joe Walsh/James Gang funksy-bluesy classic that is probably the least "Eagles-esque" song of the group (although it is still in keeping with their creative flair and vocal-instrumental consonance).

Although most of the group's members are in their late 50s or early 60s (this concert was originally filmed in late 2004), they sound as good as they did live in the 1970s, and just about as good as they do on the worked studio cuts- a remarkable feat if you consider that most singers lose vocal range after a few years, let alone a few decades. The group's co-founders, Don Henley and Glenn Frey, are notorious perfectionists; none of the songs is simply improvised or hashed together "unplugged". I have personally never been a fan of groups that think that if they sound more rough- around-the-edges and more improvised that they are somehow more "earthy", "natural" or "original". I'll take an amazingly synchronized Eagles harmonization over a slapdash rough live cut any day. The Eagles are what you imagine rock-and-roll perfection to sound like: vocally and instrumentally impeccable, with songs that don't seem the least bit aged (unfortunately the singers can't pull off that fountain of youth themselves, but no matter).

This DVD brings together a number of the artists' solo hits, including: Don Henley's 'Boys of Summer', and the scathingly pop-news-critical 'Dirty Laundry', Frey's 'You Belong to the City', and Joe Walsh's 'One Day at Time', 'Life's Been Good', 'Rocky Mountain Way' and the aforementioned 'Funk No. 49'. Timothy B. Schmidt, although principally on base guitar, contributes the superbly mellifluous 'I Can't Tell You Why' and its modern near-chimera, 'Love Will Keep us Alive'. And, of course, we have all the Eagles classics, including the original live version of 'Hotel California'.

Although the four principal members sound great themselves, they are accompanied by talented musicians on drums, keyboards, strings, sax and trumpets, creating for the band what in a studio might be considered a "wall of sound", a full-spectrum background accompaniment that is a stereophonic tour-de-force.

Possibly the only minor drawback for me about this concert is Joe Walsh's onstage antics (and awfully uncoordinated attire- purple and yellow?). Walsh has always had a knack for practical jokes, and does bring an amazing amount of youthful energy to the group, but I think he sometimes appears a little too out-of-place in comparison with the more subdued Henley, Frey, and Schmidt. But this is not to say he is vocally and instrumentally unprepared; he's just a bit, shall I say, fey. Maybe this is just the type of energy an aging band like the Eagles needs, as it seems Walsh is highly popular on a personal level with the other three (and God knows they can't afford to lose any more members).

Although this concert probably sounds great in standard DVD format, I suggest you watch it in full 1080 i/p HD if you have the technology, as it brings you practically right up into the audience for an unparalleled experience.

I have yet to see a concert DVD that comes anywhere near the musical and visual quality of 'Eagles- Farewell I Tour' DVD. Even if you have never been a big fan of the group, I think you would not be disappointed.