80's Jams #72: Don Henley "The Boys Of Summer" (1984)

The tune -- written and almost entirely performed by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- is melancholic and gorgeous, and Henley wisely dials down his histrionic tendencies to deliver the most low-key vocal performance of his career, singing the verses in a quiet near-monotone that perfectly counterpoints the beseeching chorus. Although much was made of the yuppie-baiting line about a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac (although one rather doubts that Henley was driving a beat-up Datsun at the time himself), the song's overall feel is much more personal and intimate than that soundbite suggests. It's truly Don Henley's masterpiece. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:kcfyxx9kldte