Word: rocke
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Henley responded to the crisis in classic rock-'n'-roll fashion: a fair amount of rambunctious confusion, running concurrently with some studious dissipation, followed by the release of his own solo album in 1982. I Can't Stand Still sold well, but nowhere near what it deserved to. It was a superb album, yet the solid commercial breakthrough would come with his second release, Building the Perfect Beast. Its keynote single, The Boys of Summer, a romantic song full of nostalgia and vitriol, won Henley a Grammy. Now Henley is closing out the '80s with a splendid third album...
...three sides to every story:/ Yours, mine, and the cold, hard truth." There seems to be a lot of truth on this new album. Much of it sounds tough, as on one of Henley's favorite tracks, I Will Not Go Quietly ("It kicks ass more than any previous rock-'n'- roll songs I've done"), but nothing is delivered here with the jaded swagger that often got the Eagles branded as a slick bunch of SoCal libertines. That was mostly a bum rap, and it has taken Henley until now not only to find his own voice but also...
...bank is his gift for songwriting, which keeps growing. Talking about the legacy of the Eagles, he says, "The Eagles were another link in the chain, a logical extension of what came before. But I don't think the '70s will ever be as important in the history of rock as the '60s, because you don't have the cultural and sociological upheaval combined with music." Fair enough. But there's a corner of the '80s that ought to read "Property of D. Henley." And that real estate is prime space. He'll be building on it for quite...
...also warned Hong Kong residents who try to help the mainland democracy movement that they should not "lift a rock only to crush their own feet." The British colony reverts to Chinese rule...
Strange, though, are the ways of fate and fame. The movie shows Lewis' bravado being directed at his cousin, revivalist Jimmy Swaggart, who is portrayed at more or less regular intervals denouncing rock 'n' roll as the "devil's music" and praying for the redemption of Jerry Lee's blighted soul. But the real-life Swaggart has since been brought low by the revelation of particularly tacky sexual practices. Lewis' music, manner and morality now seem almost innocent in comparison with what has followed him up the charts and into the hearts of adolescents during the past three decades. Even...