The Eagles, playing MGM, take their history seriously

If the Eagles had stayed mad at each other instead of launching an endless farewell tour in 1993, would their live and filmed histories be an hour or so shorter?

Probably not. Most of the 31 hits in their concert retrospective cover the “Life in the Fast Lane” glory days, not the “Long Road Out of Eden” album.

But a band often accused of crassness in its cash-grabbing is behaving more like a hip indie band in the fan-centered approach to the tour — which visits the MGM Grand Garden on Saturday for the second time this year — and the three-hour video documentary which shares the name “The History of the Eagles.”

The Eagles were always generous with two-set concerts covering 30 or more songs. But the new tour is more like an old VH-1 “Storytellers.” It starts out with Don Henley and Glenn Frey sitting on road cases and talking about the earliest days of defining the quintessential California peaceful, easy sound.

Past bandmate Bernie Leadon pulls up a chair, and current Eagles Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit roll in as the volume increases.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.