Five years after the excellent You’re Only Lonely, Southern California’s mellowest son returned with another shot at the commercial mainstream (or the country market) with Home by Dawn. Despite the copyright date of 1984, the album rarely succumbs to that era's garish productions. The drums here (played by Souther!) are more forceful, while the beautiful melodies that made him an honorary member of The Eagles are all in place, as are guest vocal spots from Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Linda Ronstadt, and Russ Martin, plus guitar work from Waddy Wachtel and Billy Joe Walker. The Danny Kortchmar/Souther track “Say You Will” throws Henley, Ronstadt, and Souther into an impressive showdown, with an upbeat tune that deserved more attention than it received. But then that’s often been Souther’s fortune. His albums are always well-crafted, with songs that other writers would sell their souls for. Country-rock fans know what they have, and songs like the title track, “I’ll Take Care of You,” “Don’t Know What I’m Gonna Do," and “Bad News Travels Fast” deserve a much wider audience.