The End of the Innocence (album)

The End of the Innocence is the third solo studio album by Don Henley, the co-lead vocalist and drummer for the Eagles. The album was released in 1989, on Geffen Records, and would be his last release on that label. It was also his last solo album of the 1980s and it would be eleven years before he released another solo album, 2000's Inside Job.

The End of the Innocence
Studio album by
Don Henley
ReleasedJune 27, 1989 (1989-06-27) [1]
Recorded1987–1989
StudioA&M Studios (Hollywood, CA) and The Complex (Los Angeles, CA)
Genre
Length53:11
LabelGeffen
ProducerDon Henley
Mike Campbell
John Corey
Bruce Hornsby
Danny Kortchmar
Stan Lynch
Don Henley chronology
Building the Perfect Beast
(1984)		 The End of the Innocence
(1989)		 Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits
(1995)
Singles from The End of the Innocence
  1. "The End of the Innocence"
    Released: June 6, 1989
  2. "The Last Worthless Evening"
    Released: October 3, 1989
  3. "The Heart of the Matter"
    Released: January 2, 1990
  4. "New York Minute"
    Released: November 6, 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauC+[3]

The album is his best selling album, selling over 6 million copies in the United States alone, peaking at No. 8. The album featured three Top 40 singles "The End of the Innocence", "The Heart of the Matter", and "The Last Worthless Evening". Those singles reached No. 8, No. 21, and No. 21 respectively. The album also featured "New York Minute" which reached No. 48 on the charts and was recorded by Henley and the Eagles for their live album Hell Freezes Over in 1994. Henley won another Grammy and an MTV Video Music Award nomination for the title track. In 2012, the album was ranked at number 389 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[4]

The song "I Will Not Go Quietly" features Guns N' Roses vocalist Axl Rose in the background, who at the time was also a member of the same label.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone magazine wrote of the album at the time, "Returning to the theme of "Desperado," the former Eagle hitched some of his finest melodies (especially on the gentle title track) to sharply focused lyrical studies of men in troubled transition – from youth to adulthood, innocence to responsibility."[5]

Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Vik Iyengar has written of the album, "Henley took some time before completing his highly anticipated third album, The End of the Innocence. Although he manages to duplicate much of the magic of his previous album, Henley has backed off of the synthesizers and expanded his musical palette." They also add that "Throughout the album, he manages to balance being cynical yet hopeful, and his great melodies allow his poignant lyrics to penetrate. This album is highly recommended for those who like their pop music with a message."[6]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The End of the Innocence" (Henley, Bruce Hornsby)5:16
2."How Bad Do You Want It?" (Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Stan Lynch)3:47
3."I Will Not Go Quietly" (Henley, Kortchmar)5:43
4."The Last Worthless Evening" (John Corey, Henley, Lynch)6:03
5."New York Minute" (Henley, Kortchmar, Jai Winding)6:37
6."Shangri-La" (Henley, Steve Jordan, Kortchmar)4:55
7."Little Tin God" (Henley, Kortchmar, J.D. Souther)4:42
8."Gimme What You Got" (Corey, Henley, Lynch)6:10
9."If Dirt Were Dollars" (Henley, Kortchmar, Souther)4:34
10."The Heart of the Matter" (Mike Campbell, Henley, Souther)5:24

Personnel

Production

  • Producers – Don Henley (Tracks 1-10); Bruce Hornsby (Track 1); Danny Kortchmar (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10); John Corey (Tracks 4 & 8); Stan Lynch (Tracks 4 & 8); Mike Campbell (Track 10).
  • Engineer – Shelly Yakus
  • Basic Track Recording (Tracks 5, 7 & 9) – Greg Ladanyi
  • Assistant Engineer – Brian Scheuble
  • Additional Engineers – Marc DeSisto, Rob Jacobs, Eddie King, Mark McKenna and Bob Vogt.
  • Technicians – Dale Asamoto, Stephen Barncard, Bob Borbonus, Fred Bova, Jonathan Little, Lars Lyons, Gary Mannon, Mike Morengell, Gary Myerberg and Mark Opie.
  • Additional Assistant Technicians – Tom Banghart, Greg Goodman, Ed Goodreau, Randy Staub and Randall Wine.
  • Mixing – Shelly Yakus and Rob Jacobs
  • Mix Assistant – Robert "R.J." Jaczko
  • Mastered By Stephen Marcussen at Precision Lacquer (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Art Direction – Jeri Heiden
  • Front Cover Photo – Ken Nahoum
  • Back Cover Photo – Stephen Danelian
  • Inner Sleeve Photos – Stephen Danelian and Albert Tolot

Charts
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 40
Canadian Albums (RPM)[8] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 87
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 17
US Billboard 200[15] 8

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1989 "I Will Not Go Quietly" Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
1989 "If Dirt Were Dollars" Mainstream Rock Tracks 8
1989 "The End of the Innocence" Adult Contemporary 2
1989 "The End of the Innocence" Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
1989 "The End of the Innocence" The Billboard Hot 100 8
1989 "The Last Worthless Evening" Adult Contemporary 5
1989 "The Last Worthless Evening" Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
1989 "The Last Worthless Evening" The Billboard Hot 100 21
1990 "How Bad Do You Want It?" Mainstream Rock Tracks 8
1990 "How Bad Do You Want It?" The Billboard Hot 100 48
1990 "New York Minute" Adult Contemporary 5
1990 "New York Minute" Mainstream Rock Tracks 24
1990 "New York Minute" The Billboard Hot 100 48
1990 "The Heart of the Matter" Adult Contemporary 3
1990 "The Heart of the Matter" Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
1990 "The Heart of the Matter" The Billboard Hot 100 21

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1989 The End of the Innocence Best Male Rock Vocal Performance [19]

References
  1. Amazon.com
  2. The End of the Innocence at AllMusic
  3. Robert Christgau
  4. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  5. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time-Rolling Stone
  6. AllMusic
  7. "Australiancharts.com – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  8. "RPM100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. 28 August 1989. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  10. "Officialcharts.de – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  11. "Charts.nz – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  12. "Norwegiancharts.com – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  15. "Don Henley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  16. "Canadian album certifications – Don Henley – The End of Innocence". Music Canada.
  17. "British album certifications – Don Henley – The End of Innocence". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The End of Innocence in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  18. "American album certifications – Henley, Don – The End of the Innocence". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  19. Don Henley|Artist|www.grammy.com
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