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Ive always been a dreamer
07-15-2007, 08:48 PM
I am starting this topic in honor of Don's upcoming 60th birthday. Soda and I were just discussing this yesterday.

Rank Don's solo albums from best to worst. Of course, feel free to give us the reasons for your ratings. I'm not including greatest hit compilations. Only these four:

I Can't Stand Still
Building the Perfect Beast
The End of the Innocence
Inside Job

Maleah
07-15-2007, 10:33 PM
K........give me some time to listen to all of them a few times and I'll be back :D

sodascouts
07-15-2007, 11:13 PM
1. Building the Perfect Beast
2. I Can't Stand Still
3. The End of the Innocence
4. Inside Job

I've had BTPB for ages and like pretty much every song on it, with the exception of the title track. His other efforts are more uneven, but they each have very strong songs on them.

Freypower
07-16-2007, 12:42 AM
That's the problem. His albums are uneven in quality. To me he hasn't made one album that is totally, consistently good. Even the album I consider his best has a couple of clangers on it.

1. The End Of The Innocence

Overall this is his most consistent album if the weakest tracks (which IMO are Shangri-La and Gimme What You Got) are ignored. However I feel that Heart Of The Matter and New York Minute were done better by the Eagles and that affects how I feel about it. But in terms of the quality of the songwriting I feel that the title track, Last Worthless Evening and Little Tin God plus I Will Not Go Quietly and If Dirt Were Dollars make this album the standout.

2. I Can't Stand Still

This still seems the most 'personal' to me. For Talking To The Moon alone it is essential. He hasn't really bettered Dirty Laundry. Nobody's Business is unique. The title track rocks. The Unclouded Day has a certain raw charm. Lilah is gorgeous and Long Way Home is nice.

3. Inside Job

I used to dislike this album very much. I'm afraid I still don't think the 'personal' songs here work except for My Thanksgiving. I think Miss Ghost is the standout followed by Damn, It Rose. The tracks I used to dismiss as 'Henley rants' - the title track, Workin' It, Nobody Else In The World But You (Stevie Wonder really adds something to this, as does a certain familiar voice in the background) are improving.

4. Building The Perfect Beast

In my opinion after you've taken away the superb Boys Of Summer and the magnificent Month of Sundays there is not a lot left. I will give honourable mentions to You're Not Drinking Enough and ASWTDID. Unfortunately the 80s production has made the album sound very dated. NB this is my opinion only. I feel I should like this album more, and I just don't (I feel the same way about the Soul Searchin' album).

Ive always been a dreamer
07-16-2007, 07:03 PM
I agree that while Don has some real gems in his solo work, his albums are rather uneven in quality. However, while I usually have a difficult time with these types of questions, it’s actually pretty easy for me to rank Don’s solo work. So here I go:

1. The End Of The Innocence

To me, this album is an exception about the uneven quality of Don’s work. While Shangri-La and Gimme What You Got are no better than average, I don’t think they are awful either. The rest of the songs are so good, that it more than makes up for the average ones, IMO. I disagree with FP somewhat in that I think the exceptional songs here are the title track, LWE, NYM, and HOTM. So while I can’t say the album is strong from start to finish, I still rank it as an exceptional piece of work overall.

2. I Can't Stand Still

I agree with many of FP’s comments here except I rate Dirty Laundry and Lilah as the two really exceptional tracks here. Talking to the Moon and Long Way Home are both very good. However, after these songs, I think there is a definate drop-off in quality, although most of the songs are still enjoyable. I’m not crazy about the title track, Johnny Can’t Read, or The Unclouded Day, but they aren’t awful. Overall, this is a very good album, IMO.

3. Building The Perfect Beast

Again, I agree with most of what FP said except I think this album is better than Inside Job because it has the gems on it that Inside Job doesn’t come close to reaching. Of course, there is the masterpiece, BOS, but I think ASWTDID and Sunset Grill are the other exceptional tracks on this album. Once you get beyond these, most of remaining tracks are average. I do enjoy Not Enough Love In the World and Drivin’ With Your Eyes Closed. But the problem is that there are also a few real stinkers such as the title track, Man With a Mission, and Land of the Living.

4. Inside Job

This is an album that I really have tried to like, but it just does nothing for me. It is just way too slow for my taste. I will say that I don’t think this one is uneven, but unfortunately not in a good way. ;) There are no exceptional tracks here. I like Taking You Home and My Thanksgiving a lot, but after that, none of the songs really do much for me. Miss Ghost, Goodbye To a River, and They’re Not Here, They’re Not Coming are pretty good because they attempt to pick up the tempo at bit. So is Nobody Else In the World But You, but even Glenn and Stevie Wonder’s presence are not nearly enough to save this album for me. I think another problem here for me is that even though there was over a 10-year gap, this album was the follow-up to the EOTI masterpiece.

Now even though I said earlier that the Actual Miles album doesn’t count here, I will mention that it includes You Don’t Know Me at All, which I just love. It is one of my favorites of Don’s solo songs. It rocks! I also like Everybody Knows and Garden of Allah a lot.

Marco
07-20-2007, 12:10 PM
The End Of the innocence is my favorite,
but I also like Building the Perfect.....
I can`t tell that about the first album because, I like only Dirty Laundry

I haven`t Inside Job

glenneaglesfan
07-20-2007, 03:57 PM
I’d already been thinking about a similar topic, as in the last month I have at last bought The End Of The Innocence and Building The Perfect Beast. I can’t vote on I Can’t Stand Still, as I haven’t bought it yet.

My vote of the three:
The End Of The Innocence
Building The Perfect Beast
Inside Job

TEOTI has the lovely title track, which imo is a masterpiece. It has everything – melody, good gritty lyrics, and evokes nice visuals. How Bad Do You Want It was new to me, but I like it as a rocker, as I like I Will Not Go Quietly. The Last Worthless Evening, well, the first chords on my iPod shuffle always make me listen – this is a beautiful song, and heartfelt. New York Minute is also a fine song, if you are in the right mood. I love the HFO version. Shangri-La, Gimme What You Got and If Dirt Were Dollars are listenable to, but not outstanding. Little Tin God has good lyrics, but is a bit repetitive. The Heart Of The Matter is another beautiful song, and one of my favourites from Actual Miles (where I first heard it)..

BTPB. The Boys Of Summer has to rate as one of the best tracks ever. I’ve wallowed about it before, so won’t repeat. Just say it’s stood the test of time, and still has the ability to raise hairs on my neck when the bridge starts. I already knew Not Enough Love In The World, All She Wants To Do Is Dance and Sunset Grill, so these are familiar old friends. Of the others, Man With A Mission is fun, and surprisingly similar to Get Over It. A Month Of Sundays is moving and lyrical. The other tracks are ok, and I think with time they will grow on me.

IJ. The first Don solo album that I bought. This was after seeing the video of the F1 version of TBOS, and also the slightly disturbing video of Everything Is Different Now, on a programme called Launchcast. I love Goodbye To a River on this, and still enjoy Everything Is Different Now, and They’re Not here, They’re Not Coming is fun, but I haven’t downloaded any of the other tracks.
Gosh, I nearly forgot My Thanksgiving - this is a superb song and I love it.

Selena
07-21-2007, 06:28 AM
Agree with FP that there is not one album that has maybe only 1 or 2 clangers on it, sadly there are at least 3 on each. However I do like them all and well, here goes...

1. The End of the Innocence
The title track, Heart of the Matter & New York Minute seal the top spot for this album.

2. Building the Perfect Beast
Boys of Summer which I still remember just loving every time I heard it on the radio back then...aaah the memories! I'm also a very big fan of Sunset Grill, plus A Month of Sundays reminds me so much of Springsteen its not funny 8) .

3. I Can't Stand Still
Talking to the Moon & Long Way Home are gems. Dirty Laundry rocks live every time.

4. Inside Job
Goodbye to a River & Taking You Home are the best of an ok bunch.

Maleah
07-21-2007, 10:54 AM
Ok....I think I've listened to them enough to offer my opinion now :D :lol:
I agree that they all have "clangers," but most albums do. I think I've only ever had 2 cd's that I liked every single song. And that's LIKE...not love! :lol: Anyway, here we go............

1. The End of the Innocence - as much as I dislike the long hair (lol), I think this was Don in his prime. I adore BOS & DL, but Heart of the Matter is a song that, no matter how many times I hear it, it just grabs me and makes me sit up and pay attention to the lyrics. There's also the title track, which is just gorgeous. When Don's voice goes from singing low to soaring in The Last Worthless Evening it gives me goosebumps! that's one thing I've always loved about his singing. He sings with such passion. You can almost feel like he's reliving the memories at that very moment that the song brings back to memory. I also really like the bluesy tone to New York Minute. How Bad Do You Want It and I Will Not Go Quietly fall into the I like them a lot, but I don't love them category. However, I don't care for Little Tin God or Shangri-La at all. The rest fall in between, imo.
Best songs: HOTM, LWE, EOTI, NYM
Worst songs: Little Tin God, Shangri-La

2. Building The Perfect Beast - Boys of Summer....need I say more? lol Absolutely flawless! All She Wants To Do Is Dance is so much fun. Everytime I hear it, especially in the car, it makes me wish I COULD dance! :lol: I know a lot of people think it's dated, but I don't care.....I love it anywyay. :) I also really like Not Enough Love In The World. I love Don's vocals on it and, while some of the lyrics are cliche, some are really great! Last but not least for my fav.'s....Sunset Grill. Now if the eagles were to get rid of a song, it would be my choice.....but I'd want to hear it at a Don solo gig!
Best songs: BOS, ASWTDID, NELITW, SG (with honorable mention to You're Not Drinking Enough!)
Worst songs: The only one I really dislike is the title track. The rest fall into the take them or leave them slot

3. I Can't Stand Still - It contains the song that made me fall in love with both Don AND the Eagles! Dirty Laundry! I love everything about that song...from the lyrics to the vocals to the bass line to the guitar solos to the keyboards.......everything! To be honest, I really haven't heard the entire album.......but because it contains DL and Talking to the Moon.....it's ahead of IJ. :D
Best songs: DL, Talking to the Moon, Lilah
Worst songs: don't know enough of them to say

4. Inside Job - it's actually kinda sad that I had to place it 4th because, unlike most people, I really like the album! I LOVE Taking You Home! from the first time I heard it, I loved the melody, the vocals, and I don't think the lyrics are as horrible as some say. My Thanksgiving is another favorite. I don't always listen to it, but it's another one of Don's songs that I really listen closely to what it's saying every time I hear it. I think For My Wedding is a pretty song as well. I think the album speaks of where Don was in his life at that moment and there's nothing wrong with that. Who cares if most of the songs are kinda mushy :lol: Honestly though, haven't heard the entire album of this either. So I'll just have to say -
Best songs: My Thanksgiving, Taking You Home
Worst songs: I don't think EIDN is THAT bad....but the video just about pushes it there :shock:


Wow........that was kinda long! Sorry guys! :lol: :lol: :lol:

farewell
07-21-2007, 02:38 PM
gotta say that I only have Inside Job and Actual Miles.

But think its time to by any of the others. Often nose around in music shops in town, but beside these two, I can not buy the others here, unless I order them to ship from Amerika. I will soon I think. Maybe for my birthday in october.
Can say that I don't like Garden of Allah, thats for sure for me.
But about Inside Job, I do like the album. Agree its a bit jazzy, my hubby doesn't like it either.
The only song I don't like is the title song, (heard that before?) but I do like almost al the other songs. The piano solo in Goodbye to a river is so beautiful. For my wedding is sweet, (also is annabel although not special high quality) but so is my thanks giving. These are a nice change with the rock songs.

Yeah, like most of them. But You say all it's the less best one?
Gotta hear the others then

Maleah
07-21-2007, 03:00 PM
I don't like Garden of allah at all either. Usually I find at least SOMETHING to like about one of Don's songs........but not that one. :lol:

farewell
07-21-2007, 03:06 PM
hehe, agree.

sodascouts
07-21-2007, 03:10 PM
1. Building the Perfect Beast
2. I Can't Stand Still
3. The End of the Innocence
4. Inside Job

I've had BTPB for ages and like pretty much every song on it, with the exception of the title track. His other efforts are more uneven, but they each have very strong songs on them.

Now that I have some more time, I'm going to extend on mine.

1. As I mentioned before, I think BTPB has the largest percentage of strong songs. When I burned myself a "best of Don Henley" CD a few years ago, this album got the most of its songs on there. Not Enough Love in the World and Boys of Summer are two of my all-time favorites.

2. I Can't Stand Still - I love the ballads - when Don gets soft and sentimental without sounding sappy. Songs like Talking to the Moon, Long Way Home, Lilah... gorgeous and moving.

3. The End of the Innocence - so many magnificent songs on here, some of my favorites of Don - The Heart of the Matter, the title track, Last Worthless Evening. It's just that it also houses my LEAST favorites, and those detract from the album overall, so it gets knocked down to three.

4. Inside Job - this also has lovely songs on it, but none of them are as memorable as what you get on the other three, so it gets last place.

The thing is, none of these are bad. It's all relative. I'd put Inside Job against the best of a lot of other groups and singers. He's that good.

Marco
07-21-2007, 03:29 PM
What You think of the song The End Of The Innocence? It`s my favorite song

Freypower
07-22-2007, 08:14 PM
I love the song The End of the Innocence but I have always thought that it is one of Don's more 'American' songs - and yet I feel that way about A Month Of Sundays, which I adore. I think the Bruce Hornsby piano is sometimes a bit repetitive and I am never entirely sure about the attack on Reagan as opposed to the 'personal' stuff - it seems a sometimes uneasy melding of two separate songs.

Brooke
07-23-2007, 04:06 PM
You know, I never listen to these albums! I keep Actual Miles in my car cd changer. It never leaves unless I have to take it to the one in the house! It has all the songs I want to hear! (Plus, like you dreamer, it has You Don't Know Me At All and Everybody Knows!)

So, I have gotten them out and been listening. Forgot about some of those songs! Some of them were very forgettable! It's really hard to rate them. In terms of how many songs that I like on each album it's very close. Each one has 5 or 6 songs that are good. So here goes my popularity contest:

1. BTPB-I would have thought that EOTI would have been #1 for me, but this one has more favorites on it: Boys of Summer, one of his best...EVER! I also really like You're Not Drinking Enough, Not Enough Love In The World, All She Wants to do is Dance, Sunset Grill, and A Month of Sundays. (Sunset Grill is not aging well for me though!)

2. EOTI-I think the title track is just beautiful. Heart of the Matter is also gorgeous. Other faves here are I Will Not Go Quietly, Last Worthless Evening, New York Minute.

3. ICSS-This one only has 4 faves on it, but they are big ones! Dirty Laundry is another of Don's best. It totally ROCKS! I also really like Talking to the Moon, Lilah, and The Unclouded Day. There's one song on there that I'm like...what was that?!

4. IJ-My favorite song on this album is Miss Ghost. It's just so cool! And sexy! I also like Taking You Home, Annabel, For My Wedding, My Thanksgiving and They're Not Here, They're Not Coming (which I think is a hoot!) But none of them rate anywhere close to some of the above. imo!

There ya go! Whew, that was hard! :D

DonFan
07-25-2007, 12:18 PM
My turn! I had to wait until I had time to really answer this properly.
Don's body of work is so impressive, it is difficult to dissect his albums in this fashion (and I am admittedly a bit prejudiced :wink: ) but I will give it my best shot.

1. End of the Innocence comes first with me. Heart of the Matter really is a masterpiece, and I feel the same way about the title track. I also absolutely adore New York Minute--it is moody and atmospheric and just gorgeous. Last Worthless Evening perfectly captures the mood of the singles scene, and Gimme What You Got is such an apt reflection of our materialistic society. I Will Not Go Quietly is the most straight-on rocker Don has ever written--plus, okay, it is just HOT 8) -- How Bad Do You Want it rocks, too.

2. Inside Job is next for me. Surprise! Since I "re-discovered" Don & the Eagles at a later point in my life, I relate to so many of the songs on this album. It is a personal journey for Don and I love it. For My Wedding is such an honest look at getting married (I know he didn't write it, but he sings it so beautifully); the love of his children reflected in Taking You Home and and the touching lullaby Annabel; the importance of saving the environment in Goodbye to a River; and Miss Ghost and The Genie--okay, they are HOT too :twisted: ; and I just adore My Thanksgiving--it is probably my favorite song on the album.

3. & 4. Building the Perfect Beast and I Can't Stand Still are tied here--because they contain all his well-loved and well-played radio hits that I also love: BOS, ASWTDID, Sunset Grill, Not Enough Love in the World and Dirty Laundry. I Can't Stand Still may just edge out BTPB, however, because of the absolutely gorgeous Talking To the Moon and Lilah.

One extra note: You Don't Know Me At All on Actual Miles is a great song--it is quintessential Don.

katherine5832
12-18-2007, 10:55 PM
I'm a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to his first and last CD's. I just got them in the mail yesterday and have been listening to them. I was going to post something about them, but I found this thread so I'll add my two cents here. I liked I Can't Stand Still immediately, but found Inside Job hard to get into. However, today's a new day and it's growing on me. So here's my list from most favorite to least:

1) Building the Perfect Beast: 4 words - THE BOYS OF SUMMER! 8) This is my all time favorite Henley song. Like many others, I'm sure, this song just transports me back to high school and the days when MTV actually played videos. What a concept! There's not a song on this CD that I don't like, but my other faves are Sunset Grill, All She Wants to Do is Dance, Not Enough Love in the World (with some of my favorite lyrics: "You don't have to prove nothing to nobody, just take good care of yourself."), and A Month of Sundays.

2) End of the Innocence: Of course, I love End of the Innocence, Heart of the Matter, and New York Minute, but my favorite from this CD has always been and will always be Last Worthless Evening. It just turns me into a puddle of mush everytime I hear it. I've always thought it's one of his sexiest songs. The other songs are fine, but none are real standouts, except maybe I Will Not Go Quietly for the "pull you, pull you, pull you, pull you right up close to me" lyrics - woo-doggie!

3) I Can't Stand Still - Wow! This was a nice surprise last night. Because it was his first solo venture, I wasn't expecting much (except for Dirty Laundry, of course). I saw him perform Talking to the Moon and Lilah on the Inside Job DVD and kind of liked them, but I like those two even more after listening to the CD last night. I have to say, though, it was Nobody's Business that really got to me. Just from listening to the first few notes made me think, "How Bob Seger-esque" and then I looked at the liner notes and saw that he had co-written the song with Don and J.D. I absolutely love this song and was pretty much singing it all day at work today. I really like everything on this CD, so actually it's close to moving into the #2 spot. We'll see after a few more listens.

4) Inside Job - Well, it's growing on me. Last night, I wasn't too keen on some of the songs. The ones that I really do like are Taking You Home, Everything is Different Now (although the video is really, really creepy), Workin' It, My Thanksgiving and Annabel (I just had to let out a sigh at the end of this one). My favorite, though, is They're Not Here, They're Not Coming. It's kind of a goofy song, but I can't help but sing along (...cold, cold, cold, cold, etc. etc.) :o
I'm having a hard time warming up to Goodbye to a River, Damn It, Rose, and Miss Ghost.

DonFan
12-18-2007, 11:14 PM
Good analysis, Katherine.
Hopefully Inside Job will continue to grow on you. I like They're Not Here, They're Not Coming too. It is a funny, catchy song and he gets tickled singing it on the Inside Job Live DVD.
(And you're right--the video for Everything Is Different Now is awful. I really like the song, but the video is so off base, it makes you wonder, "What WAS he thinking?")

sodascouts
12-19-2007, 04:56 PM
1) Building the Perfect Beast: 4 words - THE BOYS OF SUMMER! 8) This is my all time favorite Henley song. Like many others, I'm sure, this song just transports me back to high school and the days when MTV actually played videos. What a concept! There's not a song on this CD that I don't like, but my other faves are Sunset Grill, All She Wants to Do is Dance, Not Enough Love in the World (with some of my favorite lyrics: "You don't have to prove nothing to nobody, just take good care of yourself."), and A Month of Sundays.

Oh, i know! Great song after great song.


2) End of the Innocence: Of course, I love End of the Innocence, Heart of the Matter, and New York Minute, but my favorite from this CD has always been and will always be Last Worthless Evening. It just turns me into a puddle of mush everytime I hear it. I've always thought it's one of his sexiest songs. The other songs are fine, but none are real standouts, except maybe I Will Not Go Quietly for the "pull you, pull you, pull you, pull you right up close to me" lyrics - woo-doggie!

Good choices again. LWE has so much heart - what woman wouldn't want to hear that coming from a guy?


3) I Can't Stand Still - Wow! This was a nice surprise last night. Because it was his first solo venture, I wasn't expecting much (except for Dirty Laundry, of course). I saw him perform Talking to the Moon and Lilah on the Inside Job DVD and kind of liked them, but I like those two even more after listening to the CD last night. I have to say, though, it was Nobody's Business that really got to me. Just from listening to the first few notes made me think, "How Bob Seger-esque" and then I looked at the liner notes and saw that he had co-written the song with Don and J.D. I absolutely love this song and was pretty much singing it all day at work today. I really like everything on this CD, so actually it's close to moving into the #2 spot. We'll see after a few more listens.

The ballads from this CD are what kill me. Talking to the Moon.... incredible.

Inside Job is OK... but yeah, not his best.

Ive always been a dreamer
12-19-2007, 05:21 PM
I mentioned this earlier in my original post, and Soda and I have also discussed this before. Again, IMHO, the problem with BTPB is that it is very uneven to me. It has the incomparable BOS, as well as other gems that you all mentioned like ASWTDID and Sunset Grill. However, I think it also has a few of Don's weakest solo songs on it such as the title track, Man With a Mission, and Land of the Living. I feel the same way about ICSS. Katherine, I still struggle to like a lot of the songs on Inside Job, too. Overall, the album is just too slow for my taste. However, my solution to that is to listen to EOTI instead. :wink: I think that is one incredible album - I just love it.

Freypower
12-19-2007, 06:52 PM
That was funny how Katherine is having trouble with Goodbye To A River, Miss Ghost & Damn It, Rose from IJ. Those are easily my three favourite tracks on that album. Overall, I am actually starting to really like IJ, but the songs I still struggle with are the 'personal' ones.

I agree with Dreamer about BTPB being uneven as well as some of it sounding very dated with all the synthesisers.

sodascouts
12-19-2007, 10:34 PM
I find Miss Ghost to be unbelievably sexy!

katherine5832
12-19-2007, 10:43 PM
That was funny how Katherine is having trouble with Goodbye To A River, Miss Ghost & Damn It, Rose from IJ. Those are easily my three favourite tracks on that album.
Freypower, I read your original post before adding my comments and thought the same thing - how funny it is that two people can have such different opinions about the same songs. When I read your comments, I thought, "What is it that I'm missing with those songs?" I've listened a few more times, but I still haven't quite gotten to the point where I can say I like them. I'm just indifferent to them right now. Of course, I guess I don't have to love everything that he puts out, but I sure want to try. I do have to say, though, that overall, I'm enjoying Inside Job more than I did a couple of days ago.

DonFan
12-19-2007, 10:53 PM
I find Miss Ghost to be unbelievably sexy!

You and me both! 8)

Brooke
12-19-2007, 11:06 PM
I find Miss Ghost to be unbelievably sexy!

You and me both! 8)

Me three! It's my fave song on the album easily! :heart:

Freypower
12-19-2007, 11:09 PM
That was funny how Katherine is having trouble with Goodbye To A River, Miss Ghost & Damn It, Rose from IJ. Those are easily my three favourite tracks on that album.
Freypower, I read your original post before adding my comments and thought the same thing - how funny it is that two people can have such different opinions about the same songs. When I read your comments, I thought, "What is it that I'm missing with those songs?" I've listened a few more times, but I still haven't quite gotten to the point where I can say I like them. I'm just indifferent to them right now. Of course, I guess I don't have to love everything that he puts out, but I sure want to try. I do have to say, though, that overall, I'm enjoying Inside Job more than I did a couple of days ago.

Now this is interesting. Why do I like these songs? I'm not that good at talking about Don's songs really. But I'll try.

GTAR - gorgeous, haunting melody and thought provoking lyrics. Listen to the way he sings 'what will I tell this child of mine'. He's put all his deeply felt enviornmental concerns into this beautiful, passionate song.

Miss Ghost - as others have said, it's sexy! The story is spun out and told in a very enticing way with Don's inimitable mix of cynicism and nostalgia for something that's gone.

Damn It, Rose - for me to say a song is worthy of Bob Dylan is high praise indeed, but this one is, particularly the verses about the 'puffed up little fart' and his 'hollow rebellion'. Of course what Rose has done sounds pretty hollow too. It's just rueful and heartfelt.

Well, that was something of a departure for me!