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Charted: Dec. 15, 1984

Rating: 4.080 (average of 11 ratings)

Genre: rock

Quotable: --

Album Tracks:

  1. The Boys of Summer (Campbell/ Henley) [4:45]
  2. You Can’t Make Love [3:34]
  3. Man with a Mission (Henley/ Kortchmar/ Souther) [2:43]
  4. You’re Not Drinking Enough (Kortchmar) [4:40]
  5. Not Enough Love in the World (Henley/ Kortchmar/ Tench) [3:54]
  6. Building the Perfect Beast [4:59]
  7. All She Wants to Do Is Dance (Kortchmar) [4:28]
  8. A Month of Sundays (Henley) [4:31]
  9. Sunset Grill (Henley/ Kortchmar/ Tench) [6:22]
  10. Drivin’ with Your Eyes Closed (Henley/ Kortchmar/ Lynch) [3:41]
  11. Land of the Living [3:24]
Songs by Henley/ Kortchmar unless noted otherwise.

Total Running Time: 47:01

Sales:

sales in U.S. only 3 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 3 million

Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 13
peak on U.K. album chart 14

Singles/Hit Songs:

  • The Boys of Summer (11/10/84) #5 US, #1 AR, #33 AC
  • Sunset Grill (12/15/84) #15a US, #7 AR, #18 AC
  • All She Wants to Do Is Dance (1/26/85) #8a US, #1 AR
  • Drivin’ with Your Eyes Closed (4/13/85) #9 AR
  • Not Enough Love in the World (5/25/85) #30a US, #17 AR, #6 AC

Building the Perfect Beast
Don Henley
Review:
“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. While the songs seem crafted for pop radio, it's hard to fault him for choosing arrangements that would get his messages to the masses. Unlike most pop in the 1980s, however, Henley had deep intellectual themes layered beneath the synthesizer sounds and crisp production. In the opening song Boys of Summer, he talks about trying to recapture the past while knowing that things will never be the same. Henley has a gift for writing about the heart and soul of America and for mixing his love for the country and small-town life (Sunset Grill) with cynicism about government (All She Wants to Do Is Dance) and modernization (Month of Sundays). Although the politics and the sound of the album make the decade of release easy to place, Henley's earnest delivery and universal messages give many of the tracks a timeless feel, which is no small feat. This is Henley's most consistent album, and it is the place to start for those wanting to sample his solo work” (Iyengar).

Review Source(s):

Last updated January 17, 2009.