All She Wants to Do Is Dance: This one barely made the list. And if you see the video, you will take it off your own. However, the opening riff, as Steven King described in one of his books, is nasty. And salvages it. Barely. I’d rather listen to If Dirt Were Dollars but this isn’t my personal preference list. OK, maybe it kind of is. But I have to be fair; this is one of his bigger hits and had its moments. Particularly in 1985.
Driving With Your Eyes Closed: Don Henley raps. That’s be entertaining enough. But there’s something about “Aw, my little maniac I’m crazy over you”. Blatantly stolen from Boys of Summer. Or maybe it was the other way around? Either way, this is a fun song. That’s right. A Don Henley song. Fun.
I Will Not Go Quietly: Don Henley and Axl Rose. Can you imagine a more odd couple? The prince of late 1970’s so-cal laid back rock and a (barely) post hair band deranged self destructive rock star? Actually Henley and Rose are more alike than you’d think. Welcome to the Jungle” and “Hotel California” are basically the same song. “If you got the money honey, we got your disease…” Quick: which song does that lyric belong to? Both Henley and Rose had this extraterrestrial like quality to their voices. And they were both, ahem, a bit high maintenance if you believe what you read. So they came together for this song and it was one of the most underrated rock vocal collaboration ever.
Dirty Laundry: In the ultimate irony, the production and overall sound is now dated whereas its lyrics were probably ahead of their time when it was released. Could have been tightened up a bit, but Henley has made a career of getting everything in there.
My Thanksgiving: Could have been a great swan song except half a billion people were waiting to buy more Eagles albums. Buy the mediocre Inside Job album or just download it. But hear the song. It’s good. And they don’t play it on the radio.
New York Minute: Multi-dimensional and at times under-appreciated song. Unlike some of his other 80’s output, this has actually aged well. The lyrics are timeless and the orchestration is both sparse and haunting. The narcissism of some of his Eagles work is gone and this is just an open pleading with no agenda. He seems to be speaking directly to somebody when he wails, “on some solitary rock a desperate lover left his mark…..’baby, I’ve changed…PLEASE come back…”
If you’ve never felt that before I both envy you and somehow think you missed out
4. Heart of the Matter: He’s thrown the towel in for the most part on what was and what could have been. It’s time to leave the building, but hopefully she’ll validate.
3. Month of Sundays: While I never really understood the romance associated with small farms, this is a generational conflict song as much as a save the farmer message. Or at least that’s how I hear it. When he sings “that little punk, he never had to serve”, well, true in 1984. Today the opposite could be said. Which makes this an effective time capsule as opposed to a dated sentiment.
2. Sunset Grill: Hotel California re-visited. “Maybe we’ll leave come springtime, meanwhile, have another beer. What would we do without all these jerks anyway, besides, all our friends are here…” Perfect combination of longing, ambition, ambivalence and inertia that so many wrestle with every day of their lives.
1. Boys of Summer: How good is this song? This song is so good that the corny seagull sounds and layers of synth are somehow part of its charm. Hard to believe that a Don Henley song with a classic video and 8 trillion airplays could actually be underrated, but this song is underrated. VH1 had a countdown of its top 50 videos of the 1980’s or whatever and this didn’t make it. But Buffalo Dance did.
Honorable Mentions: You Must Not Be Drinking Enough (sloppy enough to tell the tale and also fun), Long Way Home
Notable Omissions: End of the Innocence (decent enough, but too much of the worst of Henley’s instincts), Last Worthless Evening (she isn’t going to give you a chance to show you how to love again because you already screwed up once). Taking You Home (there were days, lonely days, when the world wouldn’t throw you a crumb? Are you messing with me? Are you the same guy who sang about old world shadows hanging heavy in the air?)
All in all, Henley’s solo output is maybe more interesting than the Eagles stuff. Maybe it’s the lack of oooh-ooooh’s or something. Good artist. Who somehow is good enough to overcome his own worst instincts.
