Jackson Browne waited six years to release his next album, 2008’s Time the Conqueror. Perhaps that wasn’t long enough.
I’m sorry to report that this record is the first in Browne’s catalog that did nothing for me from start to finish. The songs are too long and they lack memorable hooks. Every album I’ve heard so far has served up at least one track I consider a keeper, but not this one.
Jackson Browne entered his fourth decade of recording with 2002’s The Naked Ride Home. This album is more personal than political, always a plus.
It’s also the longest record he’s ever released, its ten songs running a full hour. Six of these tracks run six or seven minutes, turning it into a test of patience at times. Often that padded running time is dedicated to long instrumental interludes, which doesn’t help.
Jackson Browne followed up the triumphant comeback of I’m Alive with Looking East, a record more in line with his mid-80s work.
The political songs made a comeback, but fortunately they don’t dominate the album and, for the most part, they are more subtle than earlier efforts. That said, I have to call him out for this particularly awful verse:
I was critical of Jackson Browne’s last two albums of the 80s, but all is forgiven with the arrival of 1993’s I’m Alive. Inspired by his breakup with actress Daryl Hannah, this record marks a return to the personal, confessional songwriting of his early triumphs.
I’m Alive deserves a spot among the great breakup albums. It is sadly beautiful and beautifully sad, a marvel melodically and lyrically. Browne’s words are heartfelt and perceptive, both raw from the painful separation and wise about the path behind and in front of him.
Jackson Browne closed out the 80s with another political album, 1989’s World in Motion. It was another misstep.
How can a man who wrote such poignant and perceptive lyrics about the human condition release a song containing this verse: “When you think about the money spent on defense by a government and the weapons of destruction we’ve built, we’re so sure that we need, and you think of the millions and millions that money could feed, how long can you hear someone crying, how long can you hear someone dying, before you ask yourself why?”
Meet Me In Montauk 