Clocking in at a bloated 70-minutes plus, on-again/off-again Eagle Don
Henley's 13-song opus Inside Job is a frustrating mix of navel-gazing
(but mostly decent) personal songs about how great his life is, and
self-centered sarcastic observations about how much the rest of the
world sucks. The conflicting perspectives are jarring, and the songs
that work do so only as individual tracks. The album lacks a sense of
flow or any cohesive feel.
For a guy who made his solo career skewering others, the best barb
Henley can conjure up this time is "They're Not Here, They're Not
Coming," a rocking slap at UFO nuts. Otherwise, his angry songs are lame
retreads and worse, especially cliche-ridden dross like "The Genie" (you
can't get it back in the bottle) and "Miss Ghost" (Don can see right
through her). Not only are these songs throwaways, they're throwaways
that go on for nearly seven minutes a pop.
The autobiographical stuff is better, and summed up in the disc's best
track, "Everything is Different Now." Henley fesses up to his sardonic
sourpuss rep ("I hate to tell you this, but I'm very, very happy/ I know
that's not what you'd expect from me at all/I'm not the kind to smile
and bow out gracefully/ I always wanted to take it to the wall") and
provides the less-than-shocking revelation that One Good Woman can
change your life. But as the music moves from brooding growl to joyous
chanting choir, the hooky chorus and it's hard-fought happiness have a
conviction that convinces.
A couple other snapshots from Henley's life — "My Thanksgiving," "For My
Wedding," "Annabelle" — also have heart, though the soul quotient remains
questionable. He's got enough respectable material here for about half a
solid album. Calling Glen Frey!
