Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 12, 1993 TAG: 9307120011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On the one hand, his goofball antics and power-chord guitar-playing kept things lively at his concert with Glenn Frey Saturday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The downside was that Walsh's singing was dreadfully bad.
Sign him up as spokesman for the vocally impaired. It was ugly.
If it had not been for a terrific backing band - that included a saving chorus of harmony singing - Walsh's turns at the microphone could have been unbearable.
Frey, on the other hand, was in fine voice. Where he maybe lacked Walsh's eccentricity, at least Frey countered with a welcome professional polish.
He started the show, which was attended by a dismal crowd of 4,902 - only half the civic center's capacity. The small audience was surprising, given the double-billing of two former members of the Eagles.
Frey opened with a trio of nondescript numbers from his post-Eagles solo career, before Walsh's arrival on stage livened things up. Together, they launched into Walsh's "Ordinary Average Guy," with Walsh sporting a tuxedo from his senior prom and an oversized, orange foam-rubber cowboy hat.
"I've got a big head," he explained.
Walsh played the zonked-out rocker routine to the hilt. In fact, he played fruit-loop so effectively, it was hard to tell how much of it - if any - was an act.
The first Eagles song the pair played was a soaring "New Kid in Town" that featured Frey on vocals and his tight, 14-person band. The ensemble included two female backup singers, a four-man horn section, two guitarists, two keyboard players, two drummers, a percussionist, and bass player.
But then Frey couldn't resist the temptation to combine some of his best-known songs into a tired medley. And sadly, he chose a few of his finer songs, "Lyin' Eyes," "Part of Me, Part of You," and "Take It Easy."
It would have been so much better to have played any one of these songs all the way through, and not play the others, than it was to offer teasing snippets of each and ruin all three.
Frey and his big band offset this foul, however, with a rollicking "This Rock Won't Roll," a new song that he had not performed in public before Roanoke. Saturday's concert was recorded to be included on a live album and Frey said he hopes the song will become a hit off the record.
"This Rock Won't Roll" perhaps isn't the most original idea Frey has ever had, but its bluesy, horn-driven groove was infectious.
Not so good was Frey and Walsh's feeble attempts at humor. "Did Lyle Lovett? Is Al Green?" They wasted so much time telling bad jokes between songs that it killed much of the show's momentum.
There were a few exceptions. They dedicated Walsh's "Walk Away" to their first wives who coincidently shared the same first name: plaintiff, joked Frey.
And Walsh's goofy spin on the Ever Ready battery bunny, circling the stage with a marching drum and rabbit ears, was a fun distraction as Frey rolled through, "The Heat Is On," from the film "Beverly Hills Cop."
The pair ended their 2 1/2-hour show with most of their signature showstoppers, although there were a couple of glaring omissions. They did not play "Already Gone," "Victim of Love" or "Hotel California."
No doubt on "Hotel California," at least, they did not want to try matching fellow former-Eagle Don Henley's original vocals. However, Frey was able to turn in a respectable "Desperado," which Henley originally sang with the Eagles.
"Life in the Fast Lane" was another highlight.
Walsh displayed his power-chord prowess on "Funk No. 49," "Life's Been Good" and "Rocky Mountain Way" - all of them good, kicking songs that nicely balanced Frey's more pop-oriented arrangements.
If marble-mouthed Walsh just would have let someone else sing for him.
by CNB