Building the Perfect Beast

Building the Perfect Beast is the second solo studio album by Don Henley. The album was released on November 19, 1984 on the Geffen Records label. A commercial and critical success, it is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Henley's solo work.

Building the Perfect Beast
Studio album by
Don Henley
ReleasedNovember 19, 1984 (1984-11-19)
Recorded1983-1984
StudioRecord One, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles; Bill Schnee Studio, Universal City, CA; The Villa, North Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Genre
Length47:08 (CD and Cassette version)
LabelGeffen
Producer
Don Henley chronology
I Can't Stand Still
(1982)		 Building the Perfect Beast
(1984)		 The End of the Innocence
(1989)
Singles from Building the Perfect Beast
  1. "The Boys of Summer[1]"
    Released: October 1984
  2. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance[2]"
    Released: February 1985
  3. "Not Enough Love in the World[3]"
    Released: May 1985
  4. "Sunset Grill[4]"
    Released: August 1985
  5. "Drivin' with Your Eyes Closed[5]"
    Released: November 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Rolling Stone(Positive)[7]
Robert ChristgauB[8]
iTunes(Positive)[9]

For the album, Henley collaborated with members of the then line-up of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, who contributed to the writing of the songs: guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Stan Lynch, the last of which would later collaborate with Henley in composing the Eagles' song "Learn to Be Still", which was released on their live album Hell Freezes Over. The album also features contributions from Fleetwood Mac's guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, The Go-Go's lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle, and features contributions from Randy Newman, Jim Keltner, Waddy Wachtel, Pino Palladino, Steve Porcaro, and Ian Wallace.

The album reached #13 on the Billboard 200[10] and was certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[11] The album spawned four singles which all reached the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100, including "The Boys of Summer", which would become one of Henley's most popular songs and win him numerous awards, including a Grammy Award and four MTV Video Music Awards.

In 1989, the album was ranked No. 73 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s".

Critical reception

Reviewing the album in Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder wrote that Building the Perfect Beast is a meticulously crafted and programmed set of songs about love and politics. The first side is given to personal reflections on love and loss, such as the wistful "Boys of Summer." Side two is more issue-oriented, tackling subjects from genetic engineering ("Building the Perfect Beast") to America's reckless foreign policy ("All She Wants to Do Is Dance"). The album's longest and most ambitious piece, "Sunset Grill," describes in disturbingly vivid images a character's sense of entrapment in an evil, convulsive metropolis: "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."[12]

Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Vik Iyengar has written of the album, "After experimenting with synthesizers and a pop sound on his solo debut, Don Henley hits the mark on his sophomore release, Building the Perfect Beast. This album established Henley as an artist in his own right after many successful years with the Eagles, as it spawned numerous hits."[13]

Release

Japanese reissue

The original mix of the album was reissued in Japan in a replica of the original Compact disc art work. The album was remastered, for this reissue using Direct Stream Digital (DSD) to transfer the digital files. The release was a limited edition in the SHM-CD format.[14]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Boys of Summer"Don Henley, Mike Campbell4:45
2."You Can't Make Love"Henley, Danny Kortchmar3:34
3."Man with a Mission"Henley, Kortchmar, J. D. Souther2:43
4."You're Not Drinking Enough"Kortchmar4:40
5."Not Enough Love in the World"Henley, Kortchmar, Benmont Tench3:54
6."Building the Perfect Beast"Henley, Kortchmar4:59
7."All She Wants to Do Is Dance"Kortchmar4:28
8."A Month of Sundays"Henley4:30
9."Sunset Grill"Henley, Kortchmar, Tench6:22
10."Drivin' with Your Eyes Closed"Henley, Kortchmar, Stan Lynch3:41
11."Land of the Living"Henley, Kortchmar3:24
Total length:47:08

Note: "A Month of Sundays" appeared on the cassette and compact disc versions of the album, but was not included on the LP format. On vinyl it was released as the B-side of the single "The Boys of Summer."

Personnel
  • Don Henley – lead vocals, harmony vocals (2, 5, 7, 11) drums (2, 3, 4, 7, 8), percussion (5, 6, 10), keyboards (5), synthesizer (6), chant voices (6), synthesizer arrangement (9)
  • Danny Kortchmar – guitar (1-7, 9, 10, 11), synthesizer (1, 3, 6), horns (3), organ (4), omnichord (4) percussion (6, 10, 11), chant voices (6), synthesizer guitar solo (9), horn solo (9), synthesizer arrangement (9), keyboards (10), bass (10), arrangements (11)
  • Mike Campbell – synthesizer (1), guitar (1), percussion (1)
  • Steve Porcaro – synthesizer (1, 4), programming (7)
  • Benmont Tench – keyboards (2, 5), acoustic piano (8), synthesizer (9), synthesizer arrangement (9)
  • David Paich – acoustic piano (4), synthesizer (7, 8), synthesizer arrangement (8), piano solo (9)
  • Michael Boddicker – programming (6), sequencing (6), synthesizer (8, 9), E-mu Emulator (9), synthesizer arrangement (9)
  • Albhy Galuten – synclavier (6)
  • Randy Newman – synthesizer (8), synthesizer arrangement (8, 9)
  • Bill Cuomo – synthesizer (11), percussion (11), programming (11)
  • Lindsey Buckingham – guitar (2), harmony vocals (2)
  • Charlie Sexton – guitar (3)
  • Larry Klein – bass guitar (1)
  • Pino Palladino – bass guitar (2, 9, 11)
  • Tim Drummond – bass guitar (4, 5)
  • Ian Wallace – drums (5)
  • Kevin McCormick – African drums (6)
  • Jim Keltner – additional drums (8)
  • Maren Jensen – intro and interlude composer (8)
  • Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (9)
  • Belinda Carlisle – harmony vocals (3)
  • Sam Moore – harmony vocals (4)
  • Martha Davis – chant voices (6), harmony vocals (7)
  • Michael O'Donahue – chant voices (6)
  • Carla Olson – chant voices (6)
  • Patty Smyth – chant voices (6), harmony vocals (6, 7, 9, 11)
  • J. D. Souther – chant voices (6)
  • Waddy Wachtel – chant voices (6)
  • Marie-Pascale Elfman – the French Girls ensemble (10)
  • Dominique Mancinelli – the French Girls ensemble (10)

Production
  • Producers – Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi (all tracks); Mike Campbell (Track 1).
  • Recorded and Mixed by Niko Bolas and Greg Ladanyi
  • Additional Engineers – Niko Bolas, Richard Bosworth and Tom Knox.
  • Assistant Engineers – Richard Bosworth, Dan Garcia, David Schober and Duane Seykora.
  • Horns on Track 10 recorded by Allen Sides, assisted by Mark Ettel.
  • Mastered by Mike Reese and Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Graphic Coordinator – Jeri McManus
  • Art Direction – Don Henley, Maren Jensen and Jeri McManus.
  • Photography – Herb Ritts
  • Management – Front Line Management

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 23
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 18
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 14
US Billboard 200[21] 13

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1984 "Sunset Grill" Mainstream Rock Tracks 7
1984 "The Boys of Summer" Adult Contemporary 33
1984 "The Boys of Summer" Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
1984 "The Boys of Summer" Billboard Hot 100 5
1985 "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" Hot Dance Music/Club Play 10
1985 "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 34
1985 "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 65
1985 "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
1985 "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" Billboard Hot 100 9
1985 "Drivin' with Your Eyes Closed" Mainstream Rock Tracks 9
1985 "Not Enough Love in the World" Adult Contemporary 6
1985 "Not Enough Love in the World" Mainstream Rock Tracks 17
1985 "Not Enough Love in the World" The Billboard Hot 100 34
1985 "Sunset Grill" Adult Contemporary 18
1985 "Sunset Grill" Billboard Hot 100 22

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] 3x Platinum 3,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1985 "The Boys of Summer" Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
gollark: I don't see how sometimes doing things not involving that makes those things *bad*.
gollark: People like nature. Camping has nature.
gollark: Because people... enjoy camping, I suppose?
gollark: Not sure what you mean by "poisoning ourselves", though.
gollark: The environmental things seem mostly fixable or workaroundable right now.

References
  1. "Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer".
  2. "Don Henley - All She Wants To Do Is Dance".
  3. "Don Henley - Not Enough Love In The World".
  4. "Don Henley - Sunset Grill".
  5. "Don Henley - Drivin' With Your Eyes Closed". Discogs.
  6. Building the Perfect Beast at AllMusic
  7. "100 Best Albums of the Eighties". Rolling Stone.
  8. "Robert Christgau: CG: Don Henley". www.robertchristgau.com.
  9. Building the Perfect Beast Archived October 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Don Henley Awards". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  11. "American album certifications – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  12. Don Henley: Building the Perfect Beast, retrieved 21 June 2014
  13. Building the Perfect Beast, retrieved 21 June 2014
  14. Giuranna Don Henley, Building the Perfect Beast the High Fidelity SCHCD Check |url= value (help), retrieved 21 June 2014
  15. "Australiancharts.com – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  17. "Charts.nz – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  19. "Swedishcharts.com – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  21. "Don Henley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
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