LISTENING IN: The Eagles still soaring

They’re no longer the new kids in town – in fact, it’s been just over 45 years since The Eagles released their epic LP “Hotel California,” which the band is playing in it’s entirety in concerts at dates across Canada as we speak.

Such is the import, and acclaim, of the album that Don Henley and the boys (notably missing the band’s co-founder, the late Glenn Frey) can do so. After all, who can’t sing almost every word of the title track – “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!”?

But one song doesn’t a classic album make and there were other hits – such as “Life in the Fast Lane” and, of course, the first single “New Kid in Town,” which reached No. 1 in its own right in the US and Canada.

The Eagles currently do a great job with Vince Gill filling in for Frey, who died too soon of an illness in 2016, but like most things, the original always seems best, so in case you aren’t catching The Eagles on tour, we give you this version of “New Kid” (from a 2004 concert in Melbourne, Australia), which proves, without a doubt, that we still love you, Glenn, even when you’re not around.

Lyrics

There’s talk on the street, it sounds so familiar
Great expectations everybody’s watching you
People you meet, they all seem to know you
Even your old friends treat you like you’re something new

Johnny come lately
The new kid in town
Everybody loves you
So don’t let them down

You look in her eyes, the music begins to play
Hopeless romantics, here we go again
But after awhile, you’re lookin’ the other way
It’s those restless hearts that never mend

Oh, Johnny come lately
The new kid in town
Will she still love you?
(A-a-h…) When you’re not around…

There’s so many things you should have told her
But night after night, you’re willing to hold her, just hold her
Tears on your shoulder

There’s talk on the street, it’s there to remind you
Doesn’t really matter which side you’re on
You’re walking away, and they’re talking behind you
They will never forget you ’til somebody new comes along

Where you been lately?
There’s a new kid in town
Everybody loves him, don’t they?
(A-a-h…) And he’s holding her
And you’re still around…

Oh, my-my
There’s a new kid in town
Just another new kid in town…(Ah, ah, ah)
Ooh, ooh, Everybody’s talking ’bout
The new kid in town (Ooh hoo)
(Ooh hoo) Everybody’s walking like
The new kid in town (Ooh hoo)

There’s a new kid in town, I don’t want to hear it
There’s a new kid in town, I don’t want to hear it
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town
Everybody’s talking
There’s a new kid in town
People started walking
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid

First published at Travel Industry Today