Jackson Browne released his biggest hit between albums, when he wrote ‘Somebody’s Baby’ for the soundtrack of 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The song made it to #7, one spot higher than his first-ever single, and only other top ten hit, ‘Doctor My Eyes.’
The following year he released Lawyers in Love, another rock album in the vein of Hold Out. Again, the critical response wasn’t great, and again, I kind of dig it.
Jackson Browne started the new decade with 1980’s Hold Out, an album considered his first dud by most critics. Nevertheless, it was also his first (and only) album to reach #1 on the Billboard chart, powered by his newfound popularity post-Running On Empty and a couple of minor hit singles.
I remember seeing this album in cut out bins back when I used to spend much of my free time CD shopping. Between that fact, the critical consensus, and the cheap-looking cover art, I did not have high hopes for this record.
Today’s random iTunes selection is a cut from Ron Sexsmith’s 1995 major-label debut, a self-titled collection of sweetly melodic soft rock songs.
The Canadian Sexsmith had never been to Lebanon, Tennessee, when he wrote this track. He was working as a delivery man and overheard a co-worker saying a package had come “all the way from Lebanon, Tennessee.” Liking the juxtaposition of the city and state name, he turned it into a song.
September of My Years is a 1966 concept album by Frank Sinatra, exploring the existential angst of middle age. Sinatra won one of his three Album of the Year Grammys for this record.
When I was a kid, hearing September of My Years along with so many other Sinatra classics, I always thought of this as an old man’s album. As in, the final thoughts of a man on his death bed, looking back on a long and eventful life.
The Jackson Browne album people know best, and the one that has sold more than any other by far, is the one least representative of his overall output.
1977’s Running on Empty, Browne’s fifth release, is a concept record about life on the road, with all of its tracks recorded during live shows or in hotel rooms, buses or backstage. Browne has solo writing credits on only two songs (the two best, as it turns out) and four are covers. The mood and style of this album is a long way from the cerebral folk rock of his earlier releases.
Meet Me In Montauk 