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Could the Eagles be America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band?
The legendary Los Angeles troupe made a pretty convincing argument for that being the case during its sold-out show on Sept. 20 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
What’s bizarre, however, is that a case even needs to be made.
The Eagles’ credentials are beyond reproach, in terms of longevity, body of work, influence — on multiple music genres — and continued popularity. And don’t forget the personnel, with a number of the core band members ranking as household names
Then there’s the matter of sales figures, which truly separate the Eagles from the rest of the competition. The group has two of the three top-selling albums of all time, with the compilation “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975″ and and “Hotel California” coming in at No. 1 and 3 respectively. Thus, you might not be surprised to learn that the Eagles also rank as the biggest-selling American band of all time.
7 bridges road opener pic.twitter.com/WMyfzdqVXg
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
But, amazingly, the group isn’t always mentioned when someone brings up the topic of best American bands of all time. Indeed, I took to social media asking for people to post their nominees for the throne. There were votes (including my own) for R.E.M., many mentions of the Beach Boys as well as strong support for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Metallica.
Yet, there wasn’t a single peep made in support of the Eagles, which leads me to another question:
Could one of the biggest rock bands of all time also be one of the most underrated?
As bizarre as sounds, the answer is yes.
The group wasted little time displaying its credentials in San Francisco. Making their first local stop since founding member Glenn Frey died in early 2016, the Eagles opened their set by showcasing their beautiful vocal harmonies on “Seven Bridges Road” in front of the roughly 40,000 fans in attendance.
And then the hits just kept coming, with Deacon Frey handling vocals on a warm, touching take of his father Glenn’s famed “Take It Easy” and Don Henley — the sole remaining original member of the band — then crooning “One of These Nights” from behind the drums.
Deacon Frey singing "Take It Easy" w/ Eagles. Touching pic.twitter.com/bHAAL8eyVt
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
Vince Gill, the country superstar who is now a touring member of the Eagles, stepped up big time as he sang a strong lead on “Take It to the Limit.” Gill remained at the microphone as the the group — which also features longtime members Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit — poured up “Tequila Sunrise.”
Vince gill taking it to the limit (one more time) with Eagles pic.twitter.com/qFkUtsxB0F
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
As the night wore on, and a dozen or so more songs that rank as undisputed rock ‘n’ roll classics ran by on a gorgeous, warm late-summer night in the City by the Bay, I again began to consider why the Eagles aren’t more highly regarded in some circles.
And the best I could come up with is that the band is a victim of it’s own success. The group has been so overplayed for decades, making some want to run from the speakers whenever, say, “Take It Easy” comes on. I can remember my own distinct moment of Eagles overload, which occurred while I was in the dorms at San Francisco State University and my neighbors’ enthusiasm for the band left me never wanting to hear “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” ever again.
But with some distance from those dorm days — more distance than I am willing to admit — I had an open mind and ear for the Eagles classics at AT&T and the songs mostly sounded great. The old country-rock numbers were particularly enjoyable, in large part due to Gill’s always amazing vocals.
And “Hotel California,” which came in the encore, felt as epic as ever, full of mystery, intrigue and blistering guitar work. It’s a crowning achievement that gives even more weight to the argument that the Eagles could be the greatest American rock band of all time. For with “Hotel California,” the Eagles truly have an anthem that can go toe-to-toe with any other in the rock history.
This. pic.twitter.com/BCL8fSgDia
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
The Eagles topped a bill that also included superstar country music act the Zac Brown Band, which brought some great covers — like the Charlie Daniels Band’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and (no joke) Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” — to the party.
The Doobie Brothers opened the six-hour evening of music with a set of fan favorites that illustrated exactly why this San Jose band should’ve been enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame years ago.
Don't you just love country music? @zacbrownband does bohemian rhapsody pic.twitter.com/Ot47eurCvS
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
Devil went down to Georgia @zacbrownband pic.twitter.com/bh5r5rxpML
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
The @zacbrownband takes stage in SF pic.twitter.com/LPVH1mjkg7
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
The Eagles’ headlining show was the first of two nights of classic rock scheduled at AT&T Park. Journey and Def Leppard were set to co-headline a concert, with Foreigner opening, on Sept. 21 Show time is 6 p.m.; $39.50-$176, www.ticketmaster.com.
That show is also expected to be at capacity, meaning that a total of some 80,000 ticket-holders were witnessing classic rock at AT&T over two days.
San Jose's mighty @TheDoobieBros pic.twitter.com/Y2NS14m3y8
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
Let @TheDoobieBros into @rockhall pic.twitter.com/rIkT5EpW6S
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) September 21, 2018
