The Eagles brought their iconic masterpiece to life in Phoenix on Hotel California Tour

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why “Hotel California” is the album the Eagles have taken to revisiting in its entirety these past few years.

It’s their crowning achievement, a 26-times-platinum masterstroke.

The title track remains their greatest hit, an epic guitar solo tagged at the end of a wounded morality play about a hedonistic culture in a hell of its own making.

It’s the album that welcomed Joe Walsh to the table, expanding the scope of their sound even further than "One of These Nights."

The whole album has held up amazingly well, from the killer guitar riff Walsh brought to the party on "Life in the Fast Lane" to the bittersweet yacht-rock of "New Kid in Town," the soulful balladry of “Wasted Time" and the majesty of “Pretty Maids All in a Row.”

And the Eagles that returned to downtown Phoenix on Wednesday, March 1, for a sold-out show at Footprint Center made that album come alive in concert.

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The Eagles were joined by a symphony orchestra

Henley, Walsh and longtime member Timothy B. Schmit (whose first appearance on an Eagles album was just after “Hotel California”) were joined by country star Vince Gill, who signed on in 2017 after the death of founding member Glenn Frey.

Their ranks were further fleshed out by four touring members: Scott F. Crago on drums and percussion; Steuart Smith on guitar, mandolin and backing vocals; Will Hollis on keyboards, synths and backing vocals; and Michael Thompson on piano, keys, accordion and backing vocals.

Smith did a heroic job of duplicating the guitar licks and entire solos that defined so many of the Eagles greatest hits in a lineup that now features three extremely talented guitarists in Smith, Walsh and Gill.

Several songs featured a symphony orchestra conducted by their old pal Jim Ed Norman, who supplied the string arrangements on three Eagles albums, not the least of which was “Hotel California.”

A choir emerged in matching robes to join the orchestra in underscoring Henley’s plaintive vocal on “The Last Resort,” the song that brings the album to a stately finish.

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Following 'Hotel California' with 'Their Greatest Hits' and more

“That concludes the ‘Hotel California’ portion of the show,” Henley said, with a smile, “because albums were only 40 minutes long back then.”

After taking a beat to introduce “some very important people up here on the stage that are making all this happen,” including members of the Phoenix Metro Orchestra and Solis, Choir of the Sun, he promised they’d be back to “play everything else we know.”

That may have been a slight exaggeration, but they did come back from intermission with a second set that went on for an hour and 45 minutes and included every single on “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975),” an album destined to remain the biggest-selling album in U.S. history, having overtaken Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Frey’s son Deacon, who joined the band in 2017, left to pursue his own solo career in 2022, but Henley brought him out as a surprise guest after opening the second set with “Seven Bridges Road” to take the spotlight on two early hits his father used to sing.

At the end of "Peaceful Easy Feeling," a photograph of Glenn Frey filled the screen above the stage.

The orchestra returned on two second-half highlights — "Take it to the Limit" and a gorgeous "Desperado."

Henley also dusted off his solo hit “The Boys of Summer.” And Walsh did three non-Eagles songs — the James Gang hit “Funk #49,” the epic talk-box showcase “Rocky Mountain Way” and “Life’s Been Good” — in addition to taking a turn in the spotlight on two Eagles songs — the “Hotel California” ballad “Pretty Maids All in a Row” and “In the City,” one of four songs from “The Long Run.”

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Walsh will always be the Eagles wild card, a cartoonishly crowd-pleasing goofball who, as Schmit said, “makes great faces.”

But beneath the buffoonish exterior lies a priceless combination of raw talent and a tendency toward spontaneity in a show that might begin to feel a bit too smooth around the edges if they reined him in.

Having said that, the Eagles’ relentless pursuit of perfection is what elevates their live performances to a whole other level.

If Henley’s voice has aged more than a day or two in the 50 years since “Desperado” hit the streets, you’d be hard-pressed to hear it in his yearning vocal on the title track to “Hotel California,” much less the high notes on “One of These Nights.”

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Schmit’s vocal showcase, “I Can’t Tell You Why,” remains a soulful highlight of the Eagles set. And Gill is a brilliant addition, a point made obvious before he’d even hit those Orbisonesque high notes on “New Kid in Town.”

But it's the way those voices blend that ultimately sets this band apart.

That airtight wall of harmonies supporting Gill’s angelic vocal when he hit the line about “tears on your shoulder” in “New Kid in Town” could not have been more breathtaking.

And there were countless other instances, from “Seven Bridges Road” to “Take it to the Limit,” that spoke to not just what amazing singers these guys are by nature but the discipline required to achieve that level of perfection while still sounding utterly human in an age of smoke and mirrors.

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Eagles 'Hotel California' Tour setlist

Set 1: 'Hotel California'

"Hotel California"

"New Kid in Town"

"Life in the Fast Lane"

"Wasted Time"

"Wasted Time (Reprise)"

"Victim of Love"

"Pretty Maids All in a Row"

"Try and Love Again"

"The Last Resort"

Set 2: 'Their Greatest Hits' and more

"Seven Bridges Road"

"Take It Easy"

"Peaceful Easy Feeling"

"One of These Nights"

"Take It to the Limit"

"Witchy Woman"

"In the City"

"I Can't Tell You Why"

"Tequila Sunrise"

"Lyin' Eyes"

"Life's Been Good"

"The Boys of Summer"

"Funk #49"

"Heartache Tonight"

Encore:

"Rocky Mountain Way"

"Desperado"

"Already Gone"

"Best of My Love"

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hotel California Tour brings Eagles' greatest hits to life in Phoenix