The 500 - #389 - The End Of The Innocence - Don Henley

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 389

Album Title: The End Of The Innocence
Artist: Don Henley
Genre:  Rock, West Coast Rock (Yacht Rock) & more
Recorded: A&M Studios & The Complex, California
Released: June, 1989
My age at release: 23
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify New York Minute

It is remarkable how music can transport an individual to a different time and place. Perhaps it is a haunting melody, an inspired lyric or even a record's distinctive sound. For me, The End Of The Innocence, the third solo album by Don Henley, is one of those records.  

Released in summer of 1989 this record captures a quintessentially late-eighties sound. In part, this is a result of the production and instrumentation used in the making of the record. My understanding of sound engineering is rudimentary. So, without becoming mired in too much technical-speak, I'll summarize the three major elements at play in the creation of this undeniably eighties audio landscape.

• First, there are the synthesizers, specifically the use of the Yamaha DX7 (below). This is the best selling synthesizer in history and the first commercially available digital instrument that could imitate other "brighter" acoustic sounds - mimicking the sound of brass instruments.  

• Next, there is the use of a sound-capturing technique called gated reverb. It is particularly noticeable when used to secure the sound from the snare drum. This recording method creates a clean, punchy sound, with little delay (or echo).
• Finally, there is some post-production trickery. In particular, the use of an arpeggiator, which helps augment the sound texture of familiar rock instruments -- guitar, bass and saxophone. 

A modern digital arpeggiator

The result is a record that, like a museum piece or an insect suspended in amber, remains as a lasting tribute to a specific era in music production. For listeners of this generation, hearing it again is a trip back in time.

Prior to this week, I had not listened to The End Of The Innocence in its entirely for at least twenty years. However, during the summer of 1989, I played the compact disc dozens of times. Returning to it after all that time felt like finding a forgotten jacket at the back of a closet -- even though it doesn't fit, every stitch and seam is soaked in memories (in my case, coffee stains and tobacco smoke).

For the two summers preceding 1989, I worked as a swimming instructor and lifeguard at both a local city pool and water-park named Wally World, built on a lonely, treeless plot of land on the fringes of London, Ontario. 

Additionally, I supplemented my income with a part-time gig as a server and bartender at a then-popular pizza parlor. 

Me hanging out post-work at Fluffy's Pizza Place (1987)

Foolishly, that summer I decided to forgo tips and sunshine for a night shift at a cardboard and box factory. In part, this was to allow me to take summer session courses at the university. 

I became miserable with my decision immediately. Not only did my earnings drop, but the job was dreadfully boring. It was so mind-numbingly dull that I actually yearned for another summer, broiling in the hot sun atop a water-slide tower, marshaling sugar-fueled, ebullient children for six hours a day. 

"Wait...Go...Wait...Go...Don't push...Wait...OK Go"  

Trust me, life-guarding only looks cool and sexy on Baywatch. 

Promotional shot from the 1990s television series Baywatch

Music was my salvation and The End of the Innocence soundtrack was part of my daily escape. The record, caffeine and nicotine helped. 

In the late weeks of August, with barely any savings for the upcoming school year, I climbed into my 1987 Mustang and drove to Calgary to meet my girlfriend's father (now father-in-law) for the first time. I made the drive in about 30 hours and shortly before reaching the city limits, the title track played on a mixed cassette I had made for the journey. That is my "cast in amber" moment...frozen in time.