TORONTO - It's been a long road between studio albums, but it proved somewhat heavenly for fans of the Eagles last night at the sold-out Air Canada Centre, the first of three shows this week for the band.

The legendary California band -- featuring Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit -- released the double-album Long Road Out of Eden last year, the first album of new material since 1979's The Long Run.

And while the group made sure that fans got their money's worth with one hit song after another, they took a little time during each of the two lengthy sets to weave in a sampling from the new record.

Neatly dressed as if each member were about to ask your grandmother out on a date and with Henley celebrating his last night being 60 years young, the main quartet and an ensemble cast began with How Long and the far better Guilty of the Crime led by the band's lone loose cannon in guitarist Joe Walsh.

Walsh came alive and definitely got the crowd into the evening with In the City as he donned a Maple Leafs baseball cap and again much later on during Funk #49 and Life's Been Good which had him wearing a helmet camera.

Perhaps the group's material doesn't lend itself to rousing sing-alongs or extremely memorable moments. In fact, it's quite businesslike as each member rarely interacted with the crowd and just went along into the ensuing track.

While each of the four core members had their moments in the spotlight, Schmit's time seemed to be the weakest during the dim-the-lights mood of I Can't Tell You Why and the equally lukewarm I Don't Want to Hear Any More. By the end of it, many fans probably had the same thought going through their heads.

Fortunately, the Eagles got a much needed kick in the butt from the brass section during the opening set. Not to say that songs such as Hotel California, Henley's solo nugget The Boys of Summer or Lyin' Eyes (which Frey dedicated to his first wife, Plaintiff) were mediocre fillers, but The Long Run was definitely improved by their presence and performance.

After a 25-minute break, phase two began much like the first half as the new album was again the focus. The sweet harmonies on No More Walks in the Wood brought to mind Crosby, Stills and Nash while No More Cloudy Days fared just as well thanks to Frey taking control of this toe-tapper.

What definitely didn't work was a lengthy and politically-oriented song which also happens to be the new album's title track, Long Road Out of Eden. Here Henley tried to steer the song but it was fairly evident it was rather aimless musically.

Given the depth of hits the Eagles have, it was an easy miscue to overcome. The slow, waltz-like Take it to the Limit (again Frey quipping that it was what his wife does to her credit card) earned a standing ovation from some, Henley's Dirty Laundry, a rather timeless barb at media sensationalism, also came off great as images of Fox News anchors, Entertainment Tonight hosts and talk show hosts like Maury Povich and Jerry Springer appeared on the video screen behind the band.

With midnight slowly but surely on the horizon, the Eagles were slated to deliver more gems such as Take it Easy and Desperado before finally calling it a night.

Given how long the show was, they almost came close to calling it a morning also.