|
"Inside Job"
Often taken to task for the maudlin
mellowness of his back catalog, Don Henley's viewpoint on Inside
Job is frequently as astringent as any of the best of his solo
work, if refreshingly more stylistically diverse. Whether skewering
the self-absorbed target of "Nobody Else in the World but
You" with some welcome funk or lambasting the corporate
co-opting of Mother Nature in "Goodbye to a River,"
Don Henley still wears his heart proudly on his sleeve. But the
changes in his life have also blunted a previous propensity for
self-righteousness into something more akin to subtle, resigned
irony, and this album wears it well, especially on strangely
downbeat "celebrations" like "For My Wedding."
Featuring a typically all-star cast of guest musician pals (including
Stevie Wonder, Randy Newman, Glenn Frey, and Heartbreakers Mike
Campbell and Benmont Tench), coproducer Stan Lynch (formerly
of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) has helped Henley fashion a more
timeless, deftly shaded production envelope that should age better
than most. Though he still can't help lament his world's hardening
and loss of innocence (to the point of "They're Not Here,
They're Not Coming," echoing Randy Newman's "Trouble
in Paradise" nostalgic plea to "bring back the Duke
of Earl"), Henley does it here with a subtle grace that
may just win him a few new, late-blooming fans. It's an album
that underscores how quickly life's fine wine can unexpectedly
turn to vinegar. --Jerry McCulley |
