“Wisdom to impart”: The artist Don Henley thought got better with age
Any rock musician usually has a ticking clock on them from the minute they release a classic. As much as they might like to sustain their high for as long as they can, there’s only so long that anyone has in the public eye before the audiences dry up or they start to phone it in whenever they make a record. Don Henley always had a certain craftsmanship behind his greatest tunes, though, and he used this songwriter as an example of how to keep improving with age.
Going back through the Eagles’ discography, though, it’s not like there aren’t some rough patches. It was clear that they may have been in over their heads a little bit by making a concept record on Desperado, and while The Long Run did boast some fine singles, it’s easy to hear how tired every member of the band is as they desperately attempt to make music together.
Once Henley went solo, though, he had the most solid track record of his bandmates. Since he didn’t have to cater to everyone else’s ego, a lot of his solo outings were more reflective of the kind of America that he saw every day, whether that was tales about people getting their hearts broken or looking back and seeing how far America has fallen since his childhood.
Because Henley never forgot about the idea of writing from experience, and that was something that Leonard Cohen knew all too well. While Songs of Leonard Cohen is still seen as one of the finest singer-songwriter albums of all time, each part of his career showed a glimpse at the world-weary poet trying to find love.
I mean, think about it for a second. Cohen had the masterpiece ‘Hallelujah’ included on one of his 1980s albums over a decade into his career, and yet it’s still heralded as one of the greatest pieces of music of the 20th century. Even when he shuffled off this mortal coil, You Want It Darker was the best way to wrap things up, as if he was planning on saying goodbye with one last musical love letter.
While Cohen may not have been as big a star as he was in his prime when he passed, Henley thought that any writer should study what he did, saying, “Some people like Leonard Cohen get better as they get older; they actually have wisdom to impart, and they have things to say in their songs, and they don’t get played. You hear this mindless bubble gum crap, anything to say to anybody.”
Then again, the true artists know where to look regarding the classics. Legends of Cohen’s stature may not grace the pop charts like they used to, but the rapturous reception David Bowie got with Blackstar showed that people are still willing to look at where musical icons are going even up to their final hours.
And Henley hasn’t exactly stopped, either continuing to bring new tunes in his solo career or delivering the classics with the Eagles. It’s never easy to keep that creative fire burning forever, but even if Henley hasn’t released a record in years, Cohen is proof that getting better over time isn’t impossible, either.
