Customer Reviews

Very Best of

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Unbelievably a second Don Henley solo compilation with blaspemous omissions. Again no "I cant stand still", " Johnny Cant Read" ,"Driving with your eyes closed" "A month of Sundays" or "Who Owns this place". Who the heck needs four songs from Inside Job? And yet the first single is missing. One freaking song from the first solo album. What a joke. This is nothing more than a repackaging of the Actual Miles with the Inside Job songs replacing the subpar new songs. For a Henley novice this is ok,but for a longtime Henley fan this is nothing special.

There is no question about the lack of great artists right now in the music industry. But back in the 80's, there were a lot of greats whom really told the stories of what Americana was like for those who had struggled from Bruce Hornsby, John Mellencamp, the definitive Bruce Springsteen, and the biggest writer of them all, the Thoreau of the 80's, Don Henley. While he had left The Eagles due to creative differences, his strongest suits were from his solo works, which told the dark stories of those who've dealt with opression, and also those who had sought a better life. Yet, while Don had only released 4 solo albums over the years, his songs actually still tell the stories that last, even in these economic times for the unemployed, and for those who had loved his music. Now a new hits collection comes out of the shadows, and reintroduces Don's music to a whole new generation of fans.

The 2009 Very Best Of Don Henley, is released, and showcases the best of his works from his solo works, Inside Job, Building The Perfect Beast, I Can Stand Still, and his landmark 1989 album The End Of The Innocence. The songs here at first doesn't seperate itself from his other dynamic hits record, 1995's Actual Miles by the track listing (the first 10 tracks are in the same order as was Actual Miles), but still does the job nicely at showcasing his solo works. The collection includes all of his strongest songs from Heart Of The Matter, the deep and sobering New York Minute, to classics like The Boys Of Summer, which later on was covered by The Ataris, and Dirty Laundry. The collection does showcase Don's 2000 album Inside Job nicely though, by his biggest hits from that record, Taking You Home where he sung about being a first-time father and Everything Is Different Now. Sadly though, there are a couple of disadvantages to the record. The first one though is that a few of his solo works could've been highlighted here including Workin' It, and his deep sequel to Hotel California, The Garden Of Allah which was on Actual Miles. The seocnd one is that I also thought there could've been some of his classic duets here on the album as well like Leather & Lace with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac and Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough with Patty Smyth.

All in all, despite a few flaws, The Very Best Of Don Henley is still a strong reflection of his music, a great buy for those who've loved his works over the years, as well as for anyone who had recently enjoyed the reunion album he did recently with The Eagles, Long Road Out Of Eden. Still, if you haven't yet heard any of Don Henley's solo works before, than The Very Best Of Don Henley is a great buy for you, and that is still the heart of the Henley.

Album Cover: B+

Songs: B 1/2+

Price: B

Remastering: B

Overall: B 1/2+

This compilation album is identical to Actual Miles... same songs, same order with the following exception.

They remove two of the three new songs that was on Actual Miles and replace them with 3 songs from Inside Job.

No new music... they could have at least put some of his lesser known hits instead of rehashing the exact same playlist from Actual Miles.

Johnny Can't Read

I Can't Stand Still

Talking to the Moon

Them And Us

Month of Sundays

Driving With Your Eyes Closed

All great early stuff that could have been added

I at least expected his cover of Everybody Wants To Rule The World which he was singing in concert... that they could have done without any new effort.

I have been a huge fan of Don Henley both in and out of the Eagles. His solo career got off to an amazing start with "I Can't Stand Still". This album was not only a big departure from what the Eagles had just done (The Long Run), it dabbled with technology like nobody's business. The lead single, "Dirty Laundry" immediately demonstrated something new and different. The keyboard parts were looped and cycled in a way that gave them their own life. Henley was likely looking around at the burgeoning new-wave scene and decided to incorporate those sounds into the mix. The result, even today, does not sound dated. This "Very Best Of" collection lacks the depth needed to represent all the stylistic changes, AOR singles, and important missing links. Some record exec must have blindly repackaged this with some light remastering. It shows that these guys aren't music fans, they're money grubs. Here's my Don Henley best of in chronological order: DIRTY LAUNDRY, YOU BETTER HANG UP, JOHNNY CAN'T READ, BOYS OF SUMMER, NOT ENOUGH LOVE IN THE WORLD, ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE, SUNSET GRILL, DRIVING WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED, THE END OF THE INNOCENCE, HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?, I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY, LAST WORTHLESS EVENING, HEART OF THE MATTER, NEW YORK MINUTE, TAKING YOU HOME AND the big song left off every Henley collection thus far, SIT DOWN YOU'RE ROCKIN' THE BOAT from the Leap of Faith soundtrack. This is a fair and satisfying collection. If you wanted to go deeper, GIMME WHAT YOU GOT, THE GARDEN OF ALLAH, and the somber MONTH OF SUNDAYS would make nice editions. As a fan of AOR music, this collection is pathetic. Hopefully, Henley had nothing to do with it's release.

Don Henley / The very best of... : The 14 tracks on this single CD covers all the best of Henley's solo work and it makes for an extremely entertaining experience. This is a true Five Star hits album.

Hey, it's Don Henley - 'nuff said. I would enjoy this guy's voice if he was singing Yankee Doodle Dandy. Wish more of the songs were a little more rockin' instead of pop sounding, but I still play it over and over.

In the UK The Eagles were massive from the mid 1970s onwards.

This Don Henley collection focuses mostly on 1980s and beyond.

Dirty Laundry is not entirely to my taste and, to be honest, much of this album can't hold my attention for long.

Having said that there is the suberb The Boys Of Summer, the nearly as good The End Of Innocence and the touching and hopeful For My Wedding.

For me 3 stars are just about right, but check it out for yourself.

Never been that eagles fan really, but i have always thought that Don Henley was the most talanted in that group. His solo performances has been a fine turn of up and down. Very easy to overlook as a mainstream fillup, but also in a way to pay some attention to. Sometimes there is a thin line of getting almost bored listen to it, but then when you are about to turn it off, some fine moments arrive.

I guess this collection of songs is the ultimate of Don Henleys talent. Never too exciting, but there are moments of quality and high level of interest. Some of the songs is still worth an "ear". I belive "boys of summer" will always be Don Henleys finest moment......and it would also be mine from this fine collection of songs.

He's great to listen to no matter how old or young you are and if you ever get a chance to see him - go for it! The CD's a great compilation of his songs!

I am a huge fan of "The Eagles" and really enjoy the Don Henley songs... With that said, I have been waiting years for a re-master of Actual Miles, which did not happen... As an older fan of classic rock, I appreciate the "album" concept and of course the "greatest hits" releases of those artists that achieve a certain level of success. Certainly the 2009 release of "The Very Best of Don Henley" is a great replacement for "Actual Miles"... the sound is fantastic... The new title for Henley's very well-known and appreciated songs will make it easier for people to easily locate his music over the next few decades... This release is a "must have" for those that enjoy Eagles and Don Henley music...