Eagles tribute takes it easy at Newbury

The Alter Eagles at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore, on Friday, April 22. Review by BRIAN HARRINGTON

The Eagles are, without doubt, one of the most successful and iconic rock bands on the planet, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide. They have an extensive and hugely impressive back catalogue and I think it is fair to say that The Alter Eagles’ setlist tonight included more than enough hits to satisfy any fan.

Opening with the a capella harmonies from Silver Dagger and segueing in to Take It Easy, just as The Eagles did in some of their live shows back in the 1970s, The Alter Eagles pumped out hit after Eagles hit, along with their own brand of humour and excellent communication with their audience.

Instrumentally The Alter Eagles are excellent with some particularly fine lead guitar. Their harmonies when working together are superb, however for me and several other people I spoke to, the solo vocals were less than convincing at times. That said, they had people singing along and dancing at the front virtually from the start.

They continued with Witchy Woman, Life In The Fast Lane and New Kid In Town before the first set ended with the Don Henley hit Dirty Laundry, released originally in 1984, but later included in some Eagles live concerts, including most notably the 2003 ‘farewell’ tour and indeed more recently in 2016 and 2020.

The second set opened with the epic (and one of my personal favourites) Long Road Out Of Eden, and included another Don Henley track The Boys of Summer, alongside favourites like Take it to The Limit and One of These Nights before the two song encore
of Desperado and, of course, Hotel
California.

A real trip down memory lane for the near-capacity audience at Arlington Arts, with plenty to entertain and enjoy.