Inside Job
Often taken to task for the maudlin mellowness of his back catalog, Don Henley's viewpoint onInside Jobis frequently as astringent as any of the best of his solo work, if refreshingly more stylistically diverse. Whether skewering the self-absorbed target of "Nobody Else in the World but You" with some welcome funk or lambasting the corporate co-opting of Mother Nature in "Goodbye to a River," Henley still wears his heart proudly on his sleeve. But the changes in his life have also blunted a previous propensity for self-righteousness into something more akin to subtle, resigned irony, and this album wears it well, especially on strangely downbeat "celebrations" like "For My Wedding." Featuring a typically all-star cast of guest musician pals (includingStevie Wonder,Randy Newman,Glenn Frey, and Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench), coproducer Stan Lynch (formerly ofTom Petty's Heartbreakers) has helped Henley fashion a more timeless, deftly shaded production envelope that should age better than most. Though he still can't help lament his world's hardening and loss of innocence (to the point of "They're Not Here, They're Not Coming," echoing Randy Newman's "Trouble in Paradise" nostalgic plea to "bring back the Duke of Earl"), Henley does it here with a subtle grace that may just win him a few new, late-blooming fans. It's an album that underscores how quickly life's fine wine can unexpectedly turn to vinegar.--Jerry McCulley