Jon Crosby performs with The Rewinders for One of These Nights - Tribute to the Eagles, Benefit for Orchestra Kentucky at the Capitol Arts Center. Photo by Pennman 4/29/2011.

I really like the Eagles, so it was a no-brainer to check out The Rewinders doing all their greatest hits. But to be honest, my main motivation was to see if they could do the Eagles as much justice as they always do the Beatles in Beatle Madness. I have seen that one twice, and although it’s a different thing since Beatle Madness is always a joint effort between The Rewinders and Orchestra Kentucky, the replication is out of this world. So the anticipation was high for a similar experience with One of These Nights.

First off, although nothing was pre-arranged (I’m a professional, after all), I was happy to hear several songs from my favorite Eagles album, “On the Border”, including perhaps one of my top five favorite songs, “James Dean”. Jon Crosby did a great job handling the lead vocals on this one, and the energy was right on. Since “On the Border” is often overlooked (except for “Best of My Love”, which they performed too) I was pleasantly surprised. So we can stop right here and give the concert an A+, but let’s continue.

Just about any big hit an Eagles fan would want to hear was played. I really challenged myself to think of some that I was disappointed about not hearing, and only came up with one. I don’t believe they played the sexy “Those Shoes”, and I do like that one a lot. But come on, can’t knock them for that with the fabulous set list they did come up with.

Let’s start with the highlights. There was a tasty version of “I Can’t Tell You Why” that featured some really smooth lead guitar by Bhrett Puckett and some sweet backing vocals by Tony & Susan Norman. I have to give a lot of credit to Kevin Snyder for taking on the lead vocal, because trying to hit the highest of Timothy Schmit’s notes is a daunting task. Snyder did a great job, but opted not to go falsetto on just a few notes that I think called for it. But the song was still one of my favorites of the night. One song I thought Snyder was flawless on was “Take It to the Limit”. I’m a sucker for Joe Walsh, within and without the Eagles, so had to love “Life in the Fast Lane” and the dueling guitars of Joe Roberts and John McCracken in “Hotel California”. Then there was “Desperado”. I had heard that Puckett’s voice sounds like Don Henley. Well now I can attest to it. I could keep going on highlights, but I’ll just point out one more; “In the City”, which featured some nice rhythm guitar by Roberts.

Other tunes included “Ol 55”, “Heartache Tonight”, “Lyin Eyes”, “Witchy Woman”, “New Kid in Town”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Outlaw Man”, and great group vocals on “Seven Bridges Road”. Oh there were more during a two-set, plus 2 hour show. Great value for the money.

Rounding out the band was the versatile Ernie Raymer playing a number of different instruments, including spectacular keyboards on “Desperado”, yielding much musical niceties, and the ever solid rhythm section of bassist Dave Allen and drummer Kevin Lovelace.

So to answer the million dollar question, I’d have to say Beatle Madness still has a slight edge over One of these Nights as far as the reproduction of the original recordings. But this was so close it’s like splitting hairs. If The Rewinders decide to do this again sometime I would see it again; it was that good. And if you’re an Eagles fan and didn’t get there, boy did you miss something.

P.S. – The Rewinders & Orchestra Kentucky will be reprising Beatle Madness in a whole new way. On June 17, 2011 they will perform the show at Bowling Green Ball Park, home of the Hot Rods. It will commemorate The Beatles 1965 concert at New York’s Shea Stadium. I highly recommend it. Tickets are on sale now. www.orchestrakentucky.com    

The Rewinders played One of These Nights – Tribute to the Eagles, a Benefit for Orchestra Kentucky at the Capitol Arts Center on 4/29/2011.     

About the author: Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg or www.facebook.com/pennman