On 19th May 1974, I went to the Bristol Hippodrome to see Steely Dan, my favourite band of all time. I also saw them during that tour at the Rainbow Theatre in London and then not at Sheffield City Hall where we arrived at the venue to find the gig cancelled. They were brilliant both times we did see them. Almost three years later, on 4th May 1977, I went to Stafford Bingley Hall to see The Eagles on their Hotel California show. They were very good in a venue that was literally a large cow shed. What both bands had in common was that they performed with their original line-up, Steely Dan, or very close to it, The Eagles. In May 2024, both bands are appearing in Manchester, as part of the Eagles ‘Long Goodbye’ tour. What a rip-off that will be.
The Eagles will have but one original member in their line-up, the great Don Henley. Also on the show will be Joe Walsh who has been with the band since 1977, and was on the tour we saw, and Timothy B Schmit, who joined later that year. The band will be augmented by country and western singer Vince Gill, who in no sense of the word is an authentic Eagle and Deacon Frey who is the late Glenn Frey’s son. You can call Walsh and Schmit Eagles, but in my view the band without Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner (deceased) and Bernie Leadon is barely the Eagles at all.
Similarly, Steely Dan will have one original member, Donald Fagen, his great musical partner Walter Becker being unavailable on account of his death. The Dan have a stellar line-up of touring musicians, some of whom like guitarist Jon Herington and drummer Keith Carlock have been with Fagen for years, but again, is this really Steely Dan? I’d say no, it’s Fagen touring the hits with a high class backing band.
There will be three Long Goodbye dates in Manchester and on each night – and we know this is true because it happens at every gig the bands play – the setlists will be exactly the same. The Dan will play the same 12 songs, beginning and ending with a cover. The Eagles will play 20, starting with Seven Bridges Road and ending with Heartache Tonight. The songs will be played impeccably by great musicians and doubtless the audience will be thrilled, which I suppose is all that matters, but there is no chance I will be part of it.
Of course, it is not always possible that a band will retain its original line-up. People quit bands, get fired from bands and, sadly, die. One of the best gigs I have ever seen was Toto at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018. Again, absolutely stellar musicians who put on a great show. But how many original members were present? Three, although many of the others in the band had been with them a very long time. With Steve Lukather, David Paich and Steve Porcaro present, I believe that band was authentic Toto, given that original lead singer Bobby Kimball was absent due to declining health and the great Jeff Porcaro, who was a second drummer with the original Steely Dan when I saw them in 1974, had died years before. But I see the contradiction of my argument as to whether you can justifiably refer to a band by their name when some of the original members have gone. Maybe it’s just a matter of opinion?
The Who without Keith Moon and John Entwistle? I’d say yes. Led Zeppelin without John Bonham? Yes. Queen without Freddie Mercury? Who gives a fuck, they’re so crap anyway. See what I mean?
It won’t be the inevitably staggeringly expensive ticket prices that will put me off going to Manchester to see The Eagles and Steely Dan. It will be, to me, the sheer pointlessness of it. I own all the studio output of both bands and it won’t be better played live. And there will be nothing new. Nothing from the Eagles’ final and bang average 2007 album Long Road Out Of Eden, so essentially nothing recorded after 1979, with the exception of one song, I Can’t Tell You Why from 1994’s Hell Freezes Over, one of four new songs were included to encourage folk (like me) to buy the live album of songs they already had. Steely Dan will play nothing newer than a track or two their magnificent Gaucho album of 1980. It’s a heritage show, it’s a touring jukebox, it’s a cash cow and a final pension contribution for the musicians themselves and who can blame them for that?
Two of my favourite bands of all time and I could not care less. Instead I shall visit small halls to see the likes of Beach Fossils, Say She She and The Bees in the coming months. The Eagles and Steely Dan will doubtless do a great show, but wouldn’t your money be better spent supporting bands in local venues?
That’s me sorted, then. No more nostalgia tours for me. No more touring jukeboxes and singing along to nothing except the old songs. Sorry, what did you say? Tom Johnston has recovered from back surgery and will be touring with the Doobie Brothers again this year? And he will be touring with fellow original member Patrick Simmons, as well as Michael McDonald and John McFee who weren’t in the original line-up but, you know, have been in the band so long you can call them Doobies, can’t you? Hmm. Maybe some nostalgia and double standards.
But hey, in the end you just want to listen to the music. See what I did there? All the time.
