TORONTO -- Somewhere along the line, probably around the midway point of their three-decade-long career, The Eagles managed to change themselves from a moderately popular countryish California soft-rock band into one of the biggest acts on the planet, with something like 120 million albums sold.

How they did it involves a perfect storm situation that combines the rise of middle-of-the-road country rock with the crest of oldies radio and yuppie nostalgia -- and the addition of wacko guitarist Joe Walsh to add that certain missing something called blues rock.

Their timing was perfect, and even an acrimonious temporary breakup couldn't stop their long summer in the fast lane.

The extremely well-oiled Eagles machine rolled into the Air Canada Centre last night as part of their cheekily titled Farewell 1 tour, and proceeded to charm the 50-something crowd with note-perfect renditions of nearly all their favourite songs -- from sweet acoustic early numbers like Peaceful Easy Feeling through middle-era hits like Take It To The Limit and One Of These Nights to more recent tunes, like the 9/11-themed Hole In The World. The four principal singer/songwriters -- Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Walsh and bassist Timothy B. Schmit -- were in fine form, backed by an eight-man band that included trumpet and saxes as well as an extra guitarist, keyboardist and drummer, who allowed Henley to step out from behind his drum kit and take centre stage from time to time.

In fact, sometimes it seemed that there were too many people on stage, beefing up the guitars and adding unnecessary synthesizer touches to songs that would have come across better without them.

And it was the softer numbers, like Lyin' Eyes and Tequila Sunrise, that best showed off the group's still-impressive harmonies and remarkable ability to hit all the high notes -- even if Sunrise did have a mariachi trumpet accent. Other songs, though, like Already Gone, lacked the breeziness and bounce of the original version.

The other problem was an overreliance on the various band members' solo work. While Walsh provided the goofy fun and guitar pyrotechnics we've come to expect on songs like Life's Been Good and Walk Away, Frey's cheesy You Belong To The City and Henley's wretched Sunset Grill took up time that could have been devoted to better songs they wrote together.

But the crowd lapped it all up, like a slickly packaged greatest-hits DVD come to life.