Thursday, November 27, 2014

building the perfect beast








Don Henley stepped out of the shadows and never looked back, parlaying pop perfection into this respectable radio ready repast.  After years with The Eagles, Henley had begun a songwriting partnership with Danny Kortchmar that resulted in his solo debut 'I Can't Stand Still'.  Henley considers:    “I sold 650,000 copies or something, which is respectable, I guess, for a first album…I had a gold album and a gold single…I was moderately satisfied...['Building the Perfect Beast'] is an extension of the work I started on that album. The technology is on the record as part of the songwriting to make a point and color the words.”

When Asylum Records executive David Geffen left to form his own label, Henley followed him.  'Building the Perfect Beast' was recorded at at Record One in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles; Bill Schnee Studio at Universal City, C.A.; and The Villa in North Hollywood, Los Angeles.  The album features  Don Henley on lead vocals, percussion, drums, keyboards, chant, and harmony vocals;  and Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar on organ, synthesizer, bass, guitar, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer guitar, chant, and omnichord;   joined by a legion of luminary guests:        Lindsey Buckingham on guitar, backing vocals, and harmony vocals;  Mike Campbell on synthesizer, guitar, and percussion;  Charlie Sexton on guitar;   Tim Drummond, Pino Palladino, and Larry Klein on bass guitar;   Jim Keltner and Ian Wallace on drums;   Kevin McCormick on African drums;   Randy Newman, Steve Porcaro, and Michael Boddicker on synthesizer;   David Paich and Benmont Tench on synthesizer, piano, and keyboards;   Albhy Galuten on synthesizer and synclavier;  Bill Cuomo on synthesizer and percussion;   Jerry Hey on horns;   Belinda Carlisle on backing vocals and harmony vocals;    Michael O'Donahue, Waddy Wachtel, J.D. Souther, and Carla Olson on backing vocals and chant;    Patty Smyth and Martha Davis on backing vocals, chant, and harmony vocals;   Marie-Pascale Elfman and Dominique Mancinelli on backing vocals and ensemble;  and Sam Moore on harmony vocals.   Henley co-produced the sessions with Mike Campbell, Danny Kortchmar, and Greg Ladanyi.  

Henley says:    “I like to think of myself as a good casting director. One of the most joyous parts of recording for me is assembling the musicians and especially the singers. I mean, that’s the fun part at the end, after you’ve sweated the lyrics...I have a lot of nerve. I’ll call anybody. I didn’t know Patty or Sam and some of the others. I was afraid some of those people were not going to be into an old guy from the mellow Seventies, you know? And Patty said, ‘Are you kidding? I used to sing ‘Witchy Woman’ when I was 15!'...It’s really unhealthy to just stick together in little groups...The way people relate to each other on a one-to-one level is directly related to the way the world is and the way the times are...Information is not necessarily a substitute for meaning.”

'Building the Perfect Beast' became a major success for Henley, going to number twenty-four in  Sweden, eighteen in New Zealand, seventeen in Canada, fifteen in Norway, fourteen in the UK, thirteen in the US, and number four in Australia.  





http://www.donhenley.com/








"Boys of Summer" became a smash hit for Henley  and made him much more recognizable in the MTV age, going to fifteen in Canada, twelve in the UK, five on the US pop chart, three on the US adult contemporary chart, and number one on the US hot mainstream rock tracks chart.  The video won MTV Video Music Awards for Video Of The Year, Best Director, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.  Collaborator Mike Campbell reveals:   "I used to have a 4-track machine in my house and I had just gotten a drum machine - it's when the Roger Linn drum machine first came out. I was playing around with that and came up with a rhythm. I made the demo on my little 4-track and I showed it to Tom, but at the time, the record we were working on, Southern Accents, it didn't really sound like anything that would fit into the album. The producer we were working with at the time, Jimmy Iovine, called me up one day and said he had spoken with Don, who I'd never met, and said that he was looking for songs. He gave me his number and I called him up and played it for him and he called me the next day and said he put it on in his car and had written these words and wanted to record it. That's kind of how it started. Basically, he wanted to recreate the demo as close as we could. We ended up changing the key for the voice. We actually cut it in one key, did the whole record with overdubs and everything, and then he decided to change the key like a half step up or something, we had to do the whole record again, but it turned out pretty good."






Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air, the summer’s out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets, the sun goes down alone
I’m drivin’ by your house, though I know you’re not home
But I can see you, your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I never will forget those nights, I wonder if it was a dream

Remember how you made me crazy? Remember how I made you scream?
Now I don’t understand what happened to our love
But baby I’m gonna get you back I’m gonna show you what I’m made of
I can see you, your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
I see you walkin’ real slow and you’re smilin’ at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac

A little voice inside my head said “Don’t look back you can never look back”
I thought I knew what love was, what did I know?
Those days are gone forever, I should just let them go but

I can see you, your brown skin shinin’ in the sun

You got that top pulled down and that radio on baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I can see you, your brown skin shining in the sun

You got that hair slicked back and those Wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone










"Sunset Grill" charted at number twenty-two on the US pop chart, eighteen on the US adult contemporary chart, seven on the US hot mainstream rock tracks chart, and number three on the Canadian adult contemporary chart.   Henley says:  "The worth ethic in America today and how everybody seems to want the most possible money in the quickest amount of time with the least possible effort.  It’s also about the spreading “franchise” mentality, which is creating a non-thinking automaton class of individuals who needn’t create or take responsibility."




Let's go down to the Sunset Grill 

We can watch the working girls go by 
Watch the "basket people" walk around and mumble 
And stare out at the auburn sky 
There's an old man there from the old world 
To him, it's all the same 
Calls all his customers by name

Down at the Sunset Grill 


You see a lot more meanness in the city 

It's the kind that eats you up inside 
Hard to come away with anything that feels like dignity 
Hard to get home with any pride 
These days a man makes you somethin' 
And you never see his face 
But there is no hiding place 

Down at the Sunset Grill 


Respectable little murders pay 

They get more respectable every day 
Don't worry girl, I'm gonna stick by you 
And someday soon we're gonna get in that 
Car and get outta here 

Let's go down to the Sunset Grill 

Watch the working girls go by 
Watch the "basket people" walk around and mumble 
Gaze out at the auburn sky 
Maybe we'll leave come springtime 
Meanwhile, have another beer 
What would we do without all these jerks anyway? 
And besides, all our friends are here 

Down at the Sunset Grill 







"All She Wants to Do Is Dance" went to number thirteen in Canada, ten on the US dance chart, nine on the US pop chart, and number one on the US hot mainstream rock tracks chart. 




"Not Enough Love in the World" hit number thirty-four on the US pop chart, seventeen on the US hot mainstream rock tracks chart, six on the US adult contemporary chart, and three on the Canadian adult contemporary chart.  

I was either standing in your shadow or 

Blocking your light 
Though I kept on trying I could not make it right 
For you girl 

There's just not enough love in the world 

https://rutube.ru/video/35f853756d8ce18549e3bd60c75ae54f/

Don Henley - Not Enough Love In The World от Вадим Субочев на Rutube.












'Building the Perfect Beast' 
full album:

https://www.junodownload.com/products/don-henley-building-the-perfect-beast/1817014-02/


Building the Perfect Beast from Don Henley on Myspace.


1. "The Boys of Summer" (Don Henley, Mike Campbell) 4:45
2. "You Can't Make Love" (Henley, Danny Kortchmar) 3:34
3. "Man With a Mission" (Henley, Kortchmar, J.D. Souther) 2:43
4. "You're Not Drinking Enough" (Kortchmar) 4:40
5. "Not Enough Love in the World" (Henley, Kortchmar, Benmont Tench) 3:54
6. "Building the Perfect Beast" (Henley, Kortchmar) 4:59
7. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (Kortchmar) 4:28
8. "Sunset Grill" (Henley, Kortchmar, Tench) 6:22
9. "Drivin' With Your Eyes Closed" (Henley, Kortchmar, Stan Lynch) 3:41
10. "Land of the Living" (Henley, Kortchmar) 3:24




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