Somewhere during this concert, (I think it’s just before the band plays Tequila Sunrise), you can hear Don Henley tell the crowd that for the record, they never broke up... they just took a fourteen-year vacation. Wow! That must have been quite some vacation — and what a comeback this is!
How many rock bands return to the fray after more than a decade with a sound that is so fresh and contemporary? Those who do are usually pale ghosts of their former selves. Not so with The Eagles. They’ve matured incredibly during their not-so-brief hiatus. In a way, it’s nice to see that despite the fact that Don Henley, Glen Frey and Joe Walsh are looking much older, there is a quantum leap in their musical skills. The unplugged version of Hotel California stands testimony to this. The overall arrangement of the song - right from the extended guitar intro all the way to the intricate ornamentation on the Flamenco guitar gives this version a unique appeal that, I must admit, the original never had.
All in all, if you are a fan of The Eagles, you must have this album to complete your collection — because it represents a significant step in the band’s evolution over the years.