Customer Reviews

Don Henley Live - Inside Job

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

You all know Henley so I'll spare the career retrospective. This DVD was taped May 25, 2000 at Fair Park Music Hall in Dallas. From the opener of Dirty Laundry through the entire set and closing with Hotel California, this is a great show by a fantastic song writer. Don's voice sounds great on this night and his back-up band is very sharp. Not a lot of talk between songs, but one great tune after another. The other songs include Sunset Grill, Workin' It, Taking You Home, The Boys of Summer, Lilah, Everything is Different Now, The End of the Innocence, All She Wants to Do is Dance, New York Minute, Talking to the Moon, They're Not Here (They're Not Coming), The Heart of the Matter, Desperado, The Long Run, and My Thanksgiving.

That covers the show, now on to the DVD features... well, there really aren't any. The sound quality is excellent and the production is flawless, but no multiple camera angles, no extras, no videos, just a short intro then on to the show. I'm not complaining as the show is fantastic, but if you like whistles and bells look elsewhere. If you love Henley, the Eagles or just great music then you'll still love it.

Don Henley isn't, and never will be, a flamboyant artist and this DVD only serves to prove it. The man takes his music very seriously and expects to be taken seriously in return. What this serves to produce is a very polished stage performance.

As with Eagles performances, "Live: Inside Job" is an extremely good display of top quality musicianship. Henley gives impassioned and nearly flawless renditions of the best of his solo career, some Eagles material (including a twist on the classic "Hotel California") and some good new material. He is well backed up by an excellent band and choir.

This is an excellently produced DVD. None of the material seems out of place, it is visually pleasing but most importantly with anything that Henley does the sound is rich and enveloping. All in all this is a fantastic listening experience for Henley fans but also for anyone who can appreciate good musicianship.

As a big Don Henley fan, I'm amazed at the vocal stamina he's maintained after all these years. He can still hit the high notes with unbelievable ease & clarity. His performance on every song is absolute perfection.

Not as much can be said, however, about the orchestration of this live concert. Many "real" instruments have been replaced by synthesizers (there's not a saxophone to be found in "The End of the Innocence").

The audio engineering of "Inside Job" presents yet another negative. It makes virtually no use of the rear channels, making me wonder why they bothered with DTS encoding in the first place.

Knowing what I know now, would I buy this DVD again? Sure. But only because I'm a diehard Don Henley fan.

This is a great DVD. The sound is very well recorded and reproduced. The video quality is excellent as well. If you want a flashy stage with lots of props and costume changes--forget it. But it is a concert you will love. It has a unique version of Hotel California--I would call it a Tex Mex version. It works. Other Eagle songs include The Long Run, and the never-get-tired-of-hearing-it Desperado. Many new songs from his Inside Job CD, as well as some older Henley material--from Boys of Summer and All She Wants To Do is Dance to the more mellow stuff like Heart Of The Matter, and End Of Innocence. In my opinion a perfect blend of old and new stuff; upbeat and mellow. If you like Don Henley, you will like this.

Don Henley is one of those artists people either love or hate: he strikes one as either wise and insightful or smug and arrogant. In "Live Inside Job," Henley reminds us that whatever the viewer's opinion of him, he's written an impressive list of songs that spans three decades. The concert (taken in part from A&E's "Live By Request" broadcast) leans heavily on songs from "Inside Job," although there is a good sampling from all of Henley's solo albums. Eagles fans who buy the DVD may be disappointed by the sparsity of Eagles songs, although Henley closes with a ska/reggae version of "Hotel California" that is worth the the price of the DVD alone. The DVD has a few drawbacks: at times, the sound mix is bad (Henley's vocals on "Taking You Home" are almost inaudible at first) and there are virtually no extras (a couple videos would have been a nice touch). Those are minor disadvantages, though, and the concert itself is an enjoyable reminder of how blue-eyed soulful a singer Henley still is. This is a nice addition to anyone's collection of music DVD's.

A friend of mine suggested I watch The Eagles Hell Freezes Over and I got hooked ever since! I take my music very seriously and the Eagles are awesome! I bought this video because in my opinion, The Eagles are an awesome band! I heard some reviewers saying that Don Henley in this concert is not flashly and looks like he put on weight and can't hit the high notes like he used to, my response to this is, Don Henley is in his 50's, put yourself in his shoes, if you would to be his age, you too would be a little more heavy set, just think about what you say, before you say it. This Video I give 5 stars across the board, the man is extremely talented, yes he is a little older, but dudes and dudettes he is not 20 any more, and his talent at his age will give most the run for their money. If you are reading this and are sincere about music, especially the Eagles and Don Henley, he is awesome and I wish he could live for ever! Get this video, you are not wasting your money.

I have been a fan of Don Henley since I was just a little girl and I still love his music today. After seing The Eagles live recently and listening to their music and watching their DVD -- I just couldn't get enough of them, especially of Don who is my favourite band member so when I found this DVD I was thrilled. Buying it was money well spent. It's a great show by a great performer and WOW what a voice this man has. What tallent! His music is timeless. I loved practically everything about this DVD and there are lots of familiar songs. I wasn't keen on Hotel California but I have Hell Freezes Over and can watch it on that. All the other songs are brilliant!! Don's version of HC was obviously meant to be different and that's what it is -- variety and for that I like what he has done. Some comments here about him thinking he is 'God' in the concert are just uncalled for and frankly rude. He is a singer, on stage, giving a concert. What do you expect him to do, hide out the back and sing from there? He is having a fun time and enjoying himself.

Great DVD! I agree with others that the DTS mix is not as good as 'Hell Freezes Over' but it's certainly a pleasant listening experience.

One thing I notice with my DVD (which I'm not sure if it's a defect or what) is that, on either the DTS or DD version, the rear surround speakers seem to become more noticeable half way in the middle of the flute solo at the beginning of Lilah. You can actually hear the flute sound move from the front to the rear speakers (hummm!?!). Before that point, there is not much going on in the rear speakers, but after that point, the surround experience is greater with more instrumentation and background vocals coming from the rear. Is it just me?!? I'll probably return the DVD for another copy to hear if it acts the same way.

None the less, the sound quality is very clean and this DVD is a keeper!

Live - Inside Job is Don Henley at his best. From his solo career to his years with The Eagles, it's all covered here! Henley rocks on "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" while inciting so many great memories with "Desperado". This a concert no Eagles fan or Henley fan should miss owning! I only wish there were more concerts available by both the Eagles and Don Henley on DVD. I'd own them ALL!!

I have been a long time Eagles fan and particular favored all the artists that have come through including henley, fry, schmidt, walsch, etc..... You cannot compare "hell freezes over" with "inside job" for a number of reasons.. First of all"Hell freezes over to me is the bench mark of reproduction of live concert that with all those boys together puts on a show like no other... to me Timmothy B has great singing ability, Walsch has his own unique blend of input into the show that he does not get credit for and truely has great abilities... Henley I feel has more passion in his singing surrounded by these guys however in Inside job if you truely want to appreciate the man, the song writer, the "passion" it is a great concert and dvd... great quality as a music experience and not a flashy show but great quality music.. My only dissapointment is the changing of Hotel California. He should have finished a more traditional version but who am I to judge. There are so many classics but as usual coming off this new album "Taking you home" will always be a favorite... "everything is different now" is a great version and a underated song along with "My thanksgiving" Desperado in his last verse makes a difference than the usual, and " There not here, they're not coming" is just a fun road song.... My last comments are as a person myself with a love of music, Henly truely is a great song writer..