Celebration of "The End of the Innocence"

[sodascouts]

Happy Birthday to The End of the Innocence! It turns 22 this year!

[WalshFan88]

Happy Birthday! It's the same age as me!

[EaglesKiwi]

Happy Birthday End of the Innocence.

Another one I only bought recently (couple of months ago). I actually became an Eagles fan because of the songs from this album performed on HFO (HOTM and NYM) - the Eagles performance being even better than the original.

Whilst I normally prefer to get whole albums as CDs, I downloaded this one off iTunes because I couldn't stand the album cover photo (how can someone so HS&G look so terrible in one photo?!! The cigarette doesn't help either ).

Love, love, love this album. To me (as a newbie to it), it doesn't sound like a 20-year old album at all. LWE is absolutely heart-melting, and I laugh every time I hear "she just stared at me uncomprehendingly - like cows at a passing train" on IDWD.

The only song I skip occasionally is Shangri-La, which doesn't quite work for me either musically OR lyrically.

[Koala]

Happy Birthday to The End of the Innocence! What should I say it is my favorite album from Don, love it!!!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

HAPPY 22ND ANNIVERSARY THE END OF THE INNOCENCE!!!

I absolutely love this album and consider it a near masterpiece. It is by far my favorite of Don's solo albums and ranks up there near the top of my all time favorite Eagles solo albums. Anyone whose never heard this one should definitely give it a listen.

[TimothyBFan]

With you Dreamer--definitely my fave Don album and one of my fave solo efforts also. Some wonderful guest on this one like Bruce Hornsby, Axl Rose, Cheryl Crow, Mellisa Ethridge, Waddy, J.D., Danny Kortchmar, Jeff Porcaro... and the list goes on and on!! Not a bad song in the bunch!!!

But has it really been 22 years?!?!? Not possible! I was only in my mid 20's and that was just last week!

[Troubadour]

Happy Birthday to The End Of The Innocence! What an incredible album. It contains four of, what I consider to be, Don's best songs.

The End Of The Innocence - The title track remains one of my favourite songs. The piano part at the beginning gets me every time. Don's voice is so gorgeous and the song manages to sound incredibly romantic while talking about deeper, darker issues, both emotional and political. Beautiful lyrics. I consider this a true masterpiece.

New York Minute - This is in the same league as EOTI for me. I love the lyrics and the message... Things can change in a split second, so never take anything forgranted. But, also, don't lose hope. As quickly as things can change for the worse, they can change for the better. I think the most poignant line in the whole thing is "you can get out of the rain". (Often skipped over, blended in nicely with the rest of the song... but it's there.) I like the small twist of hope that is present in this song with that line.

The Last Worthless Evening - I remember reading a quote from an article that said something like "The song that got all those women with a crush on Don Henley swooning." Heck yeah! It's so sexy, sweet and romantic, and the video is a rather nice complement to the song... I was thrilled to hear Don sing this the first time I saw him in Quapaw, Oklahoma. I think this is what every girl would like to hear from a guy! One of my favourite lines is "I know you're still afraid to rush into anything, but there's so many summers, babe, and just so many springs." I also like his admittance that he is not perfect and he has made some "big mistakes"... but that, if she gives him a chance, he will be there for her. Altogether now: siiiiiiiiiiigh.

The Heart Of The Matter - This song holds so much meaning for a lot of people, and it's easy to see why. I could easily quote the entire lyric, but I'll mention this as a favourite part: "You better put it all behind you, baby, cos life goes on, you keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside." This has helped me out in a lot of different situations in my life. He just speaks the truth. You can tell that writing this was a painful but cathartic experience, and it resonates. I love the original, but the Eagles took it to a whole new level when they performed the acoustic version on Hell Freezes Over. INCREDIBLE.

I've also got to give props to I Will Not Go Quietly. I love that Don has done something a little rockier (another song I was lucky enough to hear in Quapaw.) You can really hear Danny Kortchmar's harder, grungier influence here and I like it! I love the "never stop fighting" attitude. Just a kick-ass song.

I'm gonna have to pull this album out tomorrow and listen to it from beginning to end. It's been a while.

Can I also mention the cover? YUM!

[Brooke]

Troub, those are my favorite songs from the album, too. Great review there!

Your mention of the cover made me go take a look. I couldn't remember it!

So, here we go:



I don't think it's a bad picture, but I want to brush that hair away from that gorgeous face! lol

[Troubadour]

Yeah, the long hair isn't my favourite look for Don, but there's something about this cover that I love. It's simple and classy, quite atmospheric, and his eyes look beautiful. He looks contemplative and sexy. His style was perfect for that time period, I guess.

[sodascouts]

I don't think it's a bad picture, but I want to brush that hair away from that gorgeous face! lol

Agreed! lol