I began listening to Jackson Browne in February 2023.
Jackson Browne (1972): B
For Everyman (1973): A-
Late for the Sky (1974): B
The Pretender (1976): B
Running on Empty (1977): B+
Hold Out (1980): B
Jackson Browne (1972):
There's just something about singer-songwriters that burst onto the scene in the early 70s that make me immediately suspicious but Browne has his roots back in Greenwich Village during the mid-60s where he first began writing songs. Now that he’s finally taken to the studio, his aim is agreeable, his singing is calming yet sharp, and his folk-rock is tasteful. At the moment, his storytelling is too universal for anything to seize my imagination or attention--a character named Jamaica is the only surprising detail on the entire lyric sheet--but I'm pleased with the groundwork that is already there. A little more tension, perhaps a smidgen faster, and some more pointed narratives, and he'll be fine. B
For Everyman (1973):
It's certainly a more mature work--Jackson trades in "I am a child" for "I Thought I Was a Child"--and the consistency of the tracks is better. Although I'm rarely impressed with the entirety of a narrative, the occasional one-liner will knock me out. The exceptions--most notably "Ready or Not," an autobiographical tune about becoming a father--blossom with further listens. Nevertheless, the standout moments are musical: the two songs with the greatest pedal steel guitarist to walk the earth, the duet with Bonnie Raitt, and the talents of multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, most notably his slide guitar on "These Days." A-
Late for the Sky (1974):
Jackson's wide-eyed view of the world ("adrift on an ocean of loneliness/My dreams like nets were thrown/To catch the love that I'd heard of") has started getting even more sickening and it seems that every time he lays down some truth, it has to be dressed up with a silly metaphor ("it's like you're standing in the window/Of a house nobody lives in/And I'm sitting in a car across the way"). I might have to stop reading his lyrics--the music is his most consistent so far but I'm not pleased with his further dissent into the vague. B
The Pretender (1976):
Even by his last album, most of his fans believed Browne ready for a big artist statement, which he delivered. Because I've yet to be convinced that he's earned such an undertaking, I'm still uncertain how I feel as strings overtake the final two songs. But even with a mariachi-style song awkwardly crammed into the middle of the record, most of the album is damn satisfying musically and it's no surprise: though his songs rarely jolt with much energy, Browne is friends with all the best session musicians. B
Running on Empty (1977):
Although it is not entirely a live album, all of it was recorded on the road and it's all new songs. The band's chemistry is strong--all of his favorite sessions players joined him on tour--and, because none of the songs got the proper studio treatment, it's not too touched up, which gives the vocals and instruments some nice intimacy. B+
Hold Out (1980):
Most of Browne's fans probably aren't very happy with the synthesizers and the punchy drums but Browne incorporates both into his album with much more success than most of his peers around this time. Although it's certainly not his most reflective or ambitious work, it is a solid piece of music and it went to number one for a reason. B
