Don Henley "The End Of The Innocence"

The End of the Innocence is the third solo studio album by Don Henley, the 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 album is his best selling album, selling over 6 million copies in the United States alone, peaking at #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 #8, #21, and #21 respectively. The album also featured "New York Minute" which reached #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 for the title track. In 2003, the album was ranked at number 389 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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.

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."


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."