Don Henley's Actual Miles--The Miles Are Actually Pretty Accurate

Don Henley began his professional career as a member of the rock band Shiloh in the late sixties. After one album with the band, Henley made his way west and became a member of Linda Ronstadt's backup band (were they called the Stone Ponies?). In 1971, he co-founded The Eagles, a band which began as a California country-rock act but eventually evolved into a group focused on a harder, edgier rock sound, aided in no small part by the addition of Joe Walsh to the lineup in the late seventies. All good things must end, and in 1981, The Eagles broke up and went their separate ways. The inevitable reunion took place in the early nineties and produced a wildly successful album, along with an extended live tour, but that's another story.

Henley began his solo career in 1982 with the release of I Can't Stand Still. More albums followed, and Henley quickly established himself as a talented vocalist with a keen sense of melody, without forsaking the hard, beat-driven music that he learned in the latter days of The Eagles. With The Eagles, he teamed with other band members, most often Glen Frey, in writing songs--in his solo career, his most frequent collaborator was Danny Kortchmar, the producer-guitarist that had a hand in the studio end of Henley's solo career. In my research for preparing this review, I was surprised to learn that Henley had never written a song by himself. Be that as it may, Henley's solo work demonstrates that he had a talent for apt political and social commentary--it's probably no coincidence that he became active in political and environmental issues. His most notable effort is the Walden Woods Project, a group dedicated to preserving Henry David Thoreau's rustic Waldon Pond area.

Actual Miles was released in 1995 as the obligatory "greatest hits" collection--since Henley's solo career had spanned some thirteen years at that point, he had a body of work in existence that justified a summation of his music. This album has a total of thirteen tracks, which I believe give the listener excellent insight into the music of Don Henley.

Not only is the music representative of the career of Don Henley, the personnel on the songs reads a little like a mini Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame. To begin with, former Eagle buddies Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit make guest appearances, while the Toto contingent of Steve Lukather, Jeff Pocaro and Steve Pocaro add their contributions. Chick singers Sheryl Crow and Patti Smyth lend themselves to backing vocals, and Bruce Hornsby and Axl Rose pitch in to help Henley. Not a bad bunch of folks to have working on your record, huh?

The Music

Dirty Laundry is a scathing look at the media and television "talking heads" who Henley portrays as being almost eager to seize upon any tragedy just for the thrill of reporting it. All She Wants To Do Is Dance describes mindless hedonism in the midst of violent political unrest, while The Boys Of Summer, Sunset Grill, and The End Of The Innocence all wax nostalgic, albeit with a sometimes jaded eye. Not Enough Love In The World and The Last Worthless Evening work well as good old fashioned love ballads, although if Henley has a fault, it's that his songs sometimes run on a bit too long.

The Heart Of The Matter is a break-up song where all emotional strings are cut, while You Don't Know Me is a bitter emotional catharsis. The Garden Of Allah is a cutting indictment of the American legal system, centering around the O. J. Simpson trial, while I Will Not Go Quietly represents Henley's unflinching attitude about defending his beliefs. Everybody Knows is a sugary cover of a Leonard Cohen number, complete with piano and strings, while New York Minute is Henley's version of a ballroom classic.

I'll admit that I'm not a huge Don Henley fan, but this is a great collection of his work, nontheless. It says a lot about his musical and philosophical maturity, and it catalogues his music as a solo performer quite nicely.

Thanks for reading.