Yeah, the poll needs work. I love the Eagles and also enjoy Henley’s solo works. Plus I enjoy him singing background vocals on Trisha Yearwood’s “Walkaway Joe” and as a duet partner with Patti Smyth on “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough.”
That being said, it’s pretty obvious that he takes himself waaaaay too seriously.
This is the biggest issue - he comes across like a bit of a douchebag. And some of his songs are really schmaltzy - End of the Innocence; argh. But the riff on Driving With Your Eyes Closed is really cool (go Danny Kortchmer on guitar), and songs like Johnny Can’t Read and Dirty Laundry are fun in a black humor sorta way. And I actually dig Down at the Sunset Grill like the male version of Sheryl Crow’s All I Wanna Do…
Not always, he once joined Mr. Nixon on stage when Mojo was about to play the already mentioned song:
I’m meh, he has a couple songs that I kinda like but there are also a few that I don’t. Even the songs that I like, I won’t actually seek them out, but if they come on the radio I won’t change the station.
I voted for “even better than the Eagles,” though I would have voted for “I like the Eagles AND Henley solo about the same,” if that had been an option.
I can’t vote for any of those options. I like the Eagles more than Henley’s solo stuff, but I do like Henley. I really like “Boys of Summer” and “Dirty Laundry” is pretty good. I also like his duet with Stevie Nicks, “Leather and Lace.”
The songs he selects(ed?) as singles always made me kind of gaggy after they were inevitably played into the ground. There are album tracks, however, on “Building the Perfect Beast” and “End of the Innocence” that I still love to this day.
Nevertheless, I voted meh.
Good vocalist. I like his duet with Stevie Nicks.
Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin’ Eagles, man!
Mojo Nixon was too kind. He should be forced to listen to Yoko Ono records 24/7 with the speakers cranked to 11.
Agree. Agree. Agree.
Your poll really needed a “Don Henley Must Die” option.
Heart of the Matter is one of my favorite songs of all time, so I had to vote for even better than The Eagles, but that’s a difficult choice for me. I like them both equally, more or less. Dirty Laundry is also an exceptionally poigniant, intelligent song. End of the Innocence is unforgettable and touching. Boys of Summer is catchy and can be pretty sad if you’re in the right mood. Of course, I couldn’t even begin to list all the fantastic Eagles songs he sang, so it’s difficult… but he is one of THE best examples of a successful solo career after a very successful band career.
His solo stuff is all right, but hardly remarkable.
Don Henley the musician, or Don Henley the orthodontist?
True - and so is Sting. Maybe you *need *to be a bit of a douchebag to chart a solo career after a band…
I like those songs. I also like the covers of “Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat” and “Everybody Knows.”
Overall, hit and miss. Which really isn’t covered by the options in the poll.
Steve Perry had a respectable solo career after a band. I have no idea if he was a douchebag or not. He was reportedly more of a hermit than anything.
I went with “meh” in the poll, although I like him about equally with his Eagles work. I also agree with the sentiment upthread that he takes himself way too seriously.
I also consider him to be a decent drummer who should spend a little more time with the kit and less time trying so hard to be a frontman.
[hijack]What’s Sting done since leaving The Police that was worth listening to?
He’s written lines like “I don’t subscribe to his point of view.” Didn’t know you could sing an op-ed 'til I heard that one.
[/hijack]
I’m gonna go with ‘better.’ “Heart of the Matter” is one of my favorite songs, and maybe it’s because it’s been a decade and a half since I’ve listened to classic rock with any regularity, but “Boys of Summer” sounds better to me all the time. And “Leather and Lace,” his duet with Stevie Nicks, is a wonderful song.
I really like Building The Perfect Beast, which is a very solid album in all respects.
I agree with the overplayed-ness of Boys of Summer, but I’ve also always felt that that song was a little more melancholic and complex than it’s usually given room to be; being sandwiched between Come Sail Away and Smokin’ on the local classic rock station as it often is.
Boys of Summer always manages to make me sad, but that’s because I associate it strongly with my first major heartbreak.