Eagles appeared to be finished after the 2016 death of
Glenn Frey --
Don Henley said some words to that effect that year -- but in 2017,
Henley,
Joe Walsh, and
Timothy B. Schmit revived the band with
Vince Gill and
Glenn's son Deacon taking
Glenn's place. After playing a pair of festivals in 2017, the group went on tour in 2018, a jaunt that included a three-night stop at the Forum in Los Angeles. Highlights of these shows were assembled as the concert film and album
Live from the Forum MMXVIII, a double-disc 2020 album.
Glenn Frey may be missed, but Deacon and
Gill are pros who smooth over the founding
Frey's absence; Deacon sounds sturdy on
Glenn's songs, while it's quite nice to hear
Gill's 1992 hit "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" in this set list. "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" is the main surprise in an album that delivers familiar songs in expected fashion, but the real noteworthy thing about
Live from the Forum MMXVIII is how the surviving
Eagles don't seem crass carrying on without
Frey. Instead, they seem to be gaining sustenance from their interplay and the songs they've played many times over the decades. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine