It was something of a running joke on this blog for a few years that I had never featured a Jackson Browne song. Daily commenter Dana was particularly perturbed that one of his favorite artists was getting short shrift.
Browne made his first appearance for Song of the Day #799 and showed up occasionally on Random Weekends in the years that followed. But 11 years later, for Song of the Day #4,679, I finally decided to fully immerse myself in the singer-songwriter’s catalog.
The ensuing deep dive covered Browne’s (then) 14 studio albums, starting with the introspective folk rock of the 70s, segueing into the politically conscious pop of the 80s, and closing with the mixed bag of the 90s and beyond. I discovered some truly wonderful work, particularly in those mid-70s albums, along with some cringey activism in his later years.
I have to thank reader Russ Paris, who ran a Jackson Browne fan site for 17 years and was incredibly patient watching me stumble my way through Browne’s discography for the first time. Russ provided a ton of information and insight in the comments of these posts.
In my final post of the Deep Dive, I recapped the three weeks and offered up my ranking of Browne’s albums.
Meet Me In Montauk 