They did a few songs I really like, and remind me of my early days playing in bands that covered those tunes, but they never really moved me. I've seen a few posts by people who are excited to be going to see them, and I went "Pfffffft." I'd certainly enjoy the show if I went, but there's a bunch of bands I'd enjoy a lot more.
With all due respect, there's a million bands who do what the Eagles do, only most of them never got big. The only reason I'd go would be to see Joe Walsh, and that's only if I had a free ticket. If I did happen to go to see them, I might think about falling off the wagon and getting blasted, just in case they sucked. I doubt I'd buy a t-shirt.
We've been hearing a lot lately about bands using backing tracks, even to the point of miming to prerecorded lead vocal tracks. I've also seen a lot of vids popping up in my YT feed with titles like "Bands Who Really Should Retire." It's sad but true, and I'd have to agree, especially if they have to resort to replacing themselves with backing tracks, not to mention lying, by pretending to sing.
i don't have a problem with bands using backing tracks live, even harmony vocals and such, as long as they don't try to hide it. People are used to hearing the studio versions of the songs, and usually there's overdubs- harmony vocals, leads and whatnot, and four or five people can't cover all that stuff live.
I get it, but having said that, I'd much prefer to hear what the guys can still do by their lonesomes, and nothing else. If they have to drop a song down a step or two, so what? We all lose vocal range over time. Good bands can figure out how to cover for the extra stuff live, or just leave it out and enjoy the extra space.
We all recall the infamous Milli Vanilli debacle, where their backing track got stuck, which totally blew their scene. It took everyone by surprise, not the least of whom Milli Vanilli, and they lost it. Here we see either Milli or Vanilli...no, I'm kidding...either Rob of Fab running off the stage after the mishap.
He'd have been better off owning up to it and apologizing on the spot, but he chose to run. To their credit it took them completely by surprise, and I can only imagine what that was like. I bet their dicks shrank down to size 1, and they probably threw up.
I don't remember, or care, whatever damage control they and their label did, but first impressions are everything, and running away didn't help. As we know, they sank into drug abuse and such, and their careers were pretty much over as far as I can remember. At least one of them has gone to that great backstage area in the sky.
The gig where the "backing" vocal tracks, which were actually the only audible tracks, started skipping, is all over YouTube. They were "singing" one of their hits, and the backing track glitched-out and started repeating "Girl you know it, girl you know it, girl you know it" over and over. It was just like a vinyl record skipping. Actually it was the perfect place for a skip. It stayed in rhythm with the song, like it was planned, that is if it hadn't kept going and going. I hope someone has sampled it.
At first they tried to go with it, no doubt in total shock and hoping it'd stop...they kept dancing and pretending to sing "Girl you know it" again and again, like maybe it was a new arrangement or something, but after it repeated "Girl you know it" for the fifteenth time, they gave up and turned tail. That was rough.
To be fair to Rob and Fab, faking it wasn't their idea; it was the record company's. The voices live and on records weren't theirs at all. At least most bands, when they use backing vocal tracks, are singing it themselves. The record co. execs didn't think they could sing well enough to be Pop stars, but they looked good doing it, and so much about Pop music is image, which has little to do with music. They signed the papers so they did exactly as they were told. It's a shame, but welcome to the music biz. Don't get me started...
I saw some things coming out about how the Eagles, a band known for their vocals, were using prerecorded lead vocal tracks, and miming. I was a little shocked but not surprised, if that makes sense. So Don Henley goes into the studio one night, catches the perfect buzz or whatever, uses a many takes as he needs and sings the lead vocal, possibly even Autotuned, and they use that live. That's sad, and more than that it's deceitful. I keep trying to tell people that about 85% of what we're presented with is bullshit, and unfortunately it includes the music business.
As much as I'm not the biggest Eagles' fan I was disgruntled hearing about them lip syncing, but then when I looked up ticket prices I was downright pissed. Tickets start at around $300 and go up to almost $900. Those aren't scalper prices, and God only knows what scalpers will get; those are prices from major brokers like Ticketfucker and all them. I get inflation but that's insane. They're charging that kind of money and they're not even singing? It's a joke and they should be ashamed.
I watched a video where someone was looking into it, and sure enough, ol' Don Henley's been puling our leg. Don, Don, Don. The guy isolated the vocals from live performances of Desperado, from 2023 and 2024. He ran them through various programs that analyzed waveforms and such, and they were identical, but listening told the tale.
He played them together and split them between left and right channels. I had headphones on, and at first I thought he was playing them separately but he was playing both at the same time. It was the exact same vocal. Busted!
There was zero "chorus" effect when someone is, say, doubling their part on a lead vocal on a studio recording to make it sound thicker. It's largely done with automation these days, but in the analog days it was done quite a bit. The guy would sing the lead vocal and then sing it again on another track. In that case you want to sing both parts identically, but a human being can't do that, and it's the slight differences that give it depth and fullness and make it sound so good.
Even when I realized that it was both vocals being played at once, and you could even hear different crowd noise, I could tell that it was the exact same vocal part. It was flat, compared to the chorus effect it should have had if he'd actually been singing live both times, with two slightly different vocals. It was also bullshit.
I'd like to think that if I were in a legendary but elderly band and I still wanted to pay live, which is great, even if I had to drop a song five steps and sing like a bullfrog, at least I'd be honest about it. I don't generally care for between-song banter in most cases, but I'd address the crowd and tell them that I appreciate them still taking an interest in the band and that I was going to sing like a bullfrog, but I wouldn't bullshit them. That would never happen of course, because I never signed my soul away. I came close, but thank God I didn't. It's an evil business. It hurts a music lover like myself but it's a fact.
Maybe it's time these aged bands hang it up, or maybe come out in dinosaur suits, tell the audience that all the songs have been dropped down five steps and they're no spring chickens, but if people still want to see them that's great, and just play it up. And if it were I, I damn sure wouldn't charge the better part of a grand for a ticket. That's belligerent. Maybe it's time for some of these bands to quit the stage, but to charge $875 for a ticket and then try to trick us...they should be run off the stage. That's bullshit.
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