Very Best of Don Henley

Old school troubadour, social critic, rebel and upstream non-conformist Don Henley has never been everybody's shot of tequila, nor would he ever want to be.

As the most successful — and one of the best — American drummer-singers-to-go-solo, this former Eagles thumper has been around for yonks, making waves and making conscience music.

Over the years he has variously slammed and panned airheaded American girls, the frothy lightness of television news, chair warmers in the White House, the poor state of literacy in the USA, homelessness, and other social issues.

But rather than stand on a soap-box and preach to society with hand on heart, he expressed his opinions through his music and although it riled some, many others loved it and still do.

Not that Henley's life has been totally committed to mooning society. He has also produced a number of touching love songs; un-soppy, real to life and deeply emotional. Some of them are in this collection too.

With a voice and style of the serious rockers from the seventies he has produced four albums and a number of singles that have sold millions.

Some of his best songs such as 'Dirty Laundry' (his only single to go to gold), 'The Boys of Summer' (one of the finest thousand-mile-blues driving songs ever), his all time best-seller, 'The End of The Innocence' as well as 'Sunset Grill', 'I Will Not Go Quietly' and 'New York Minute' feature in this collection.

One of my all-time favourites, 'Everybody Knows', is all about deceit, self-enrichment and corruption… "Everybody knows the poor get poorer and the rich get richer" and "everybody knows the boat is leaking, everybody knows the captain lied".

It's so spot on that one might suspect Henley could see into the future many years ago when he wrote it because it's also quite a fitting description of a certain ruling political party somewhere near the southern tip of Africa.

Besides fourteen of Henley's best songs this double album also has a six-video CD, and four "bonus audio" numbers.

'The Very Best of Don Henley' is pure gold. If you don't know the man and his music get on down to the nearest music store where you can listen to this album.

Then listen, really listen, to what he is saying and singing about and who knows, you might even buy your first Don Henley album and acquire a taste for tequila….