Don Henley

Don Henley’s reputation as the brooding heart of the Eagles’ California-based mythos takes centre stage on his solo records. The career-defining 1984 smash “The Boys of Summer” blends conflicted nostalgia with chilly synth chords to evoke a sense of weariness every bit as cinematic as “Hotel California”. If Henley could be biting as an Eagle (see 1976’s “Life In the Fast Line”), he’s indignant as a solo artist. During his most prolific years, 1982 through 1990, the singer and drummer skewered the tabloid press (“Dirty Laundry”) while decrying political indifference (“All She Wants to Do Is Dance”). Even the contemplative “The End of the Innocence” reveals a bitter aftertaste. Though Henley set aside his solo career when the Eagles reformed in 1994, he stepped out front again for 2000’s Inside Job and 2015’s Cass County. The latter finds an older though no less irascible Henley embracing the country and folk music he had soaked up as a young Texan in the ’50s and ’60s.