There are the albums you love\u2026 and then there are the albums you\u2019re supposed to<\/i> love.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m supposed to love Jackson Browne\u2019s Late For The Sky<\/i>\u2014at least, according to the evidence:<\/p>\n
1. I have a soft spot for sensitive singer-songwriters (see James Taylor, Carole King, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the list goes on.). Okay then: let\u2019s do this.<\/p>\n Late For The Sky<\/i> is Browne\u2019s third album, co-produced by JB with the late, great Al Schmitt, who would go on to win a slew of Grammys working with acts like George Benson, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. It benefits from guest spots by notable pals including Don Henley, J.D. Souther and Dan Fogelberg, and the core band features the late, great master guitarist David Lindley, the terrific Jai Winding on keys, and the rock-solid Doug Haywood and Larry Zack on bass and drums. Finally, the album\u2019s vibe is peak early \u201970s LA singer-songwriter soft rock: gentle, burnished, melancholy and earnest.<\/p>\n On my first listen I only lasted four tracks.<\/p>\n Despite a handful of notable songs, there are no hits here, no familiar foundations upon which to construct an assessment. There are also\u2014at least in those first four songs\u2014no melodies that catch you off guard and burrow into your subconscious, no choruses that you find yourself humming in the shower a week later. <\/p>\n Not that this is a universal opinion. The opening title track was used in Martin Scorsese\u2019s 1976 breakthrough film Taxi Driver<\/i>. Cool. Second track \u201cFountain Of Sorrow\u201d was covered by Joan Baez on her 1975 album Diamonds & Rust<\/i>. Nice. But the two singles released from this album\u2014\u201cFountain Of Sorrow\u201d and \u201cWalking Slow\u201d\u2014both failed to chart. Hmm.<\/p>\n Opener \u201cLate For The Sky\u201d\u2014which Springsteen specifically raved about\u2014features a characteristic JB arrangement of piano, organ and gently noodly guitar as he declares: \u201cHow long have I been dreaming I could make it right \/ If I closed my eyes and tried with all my might to be the one you need.\u201d Um, ouch. And truthfully, \u201cLate\u201d is a hell of a lyric, incisive, perceptive and beautifully crafted. It just never really goes anywhere musically; it might actually have worked better solo acoustic, with all the focus on Browne\u2019s words.<\/p>\n In contrast with its name, \u201cFountain Of Sorrow\u201d is a more upbeat number, though there is a shadow of gloom falling across almost every song on this album; that was Browne\u2019s vibe at the time. Lines like \u201cAnd your perfect lover looks just like a perfect fool\u201d and \u201cThere\u2019s this loneliness springing up from your life\u201d capture the fatalistic attitude that pervades.<\/p>\n By track three I was ready for something different, but no. \u201cFarther On\u201d is evocative, again deploying piano, harmony vocals, and woozy slide guitar (thanks David) to craft a distinct mood, but by the end all I could think was \u201cJackson, dude: cheer up.\u201d \u201cThe Late Show\u201d does nothing to alter that trajectory, another song about self-sabotaging (\u201cI\u2019ve been dreaming of the perfect love, holding it so far above\u201d) that just makes you want to curl up on the sofa with a drink and stare into space. (It was about this time I remembered that one critic had called this album<\/a> \u201ca bit mopey\u201d; nice use of understatement there.)<\/p>\n Thankfully, I came back around after a suitable interval to catch the second half of this eight-track album. Side two of the original vinyl opens with \u201cThe Road And The Sky,\u201d a pumping rocker lit up by Lindley\u2019s expressive slide playing. That\u2019s just the music, of course; the song is of the \u201cLet\u2019s hit the road before Armageddon happens\u201d variety (\u201cNow can you see those dark clouds gathering up ahead? \/ They’re gonna wash this planet clean like the Bible said\u201d). Still, JB and band somehow manage to make it sound like a good time.<\/p>\n Browne gets existential once again on the midtempo \u201cFor A Dancer,\u201d speculating that \u201cPerhaps a better world is drawing near \/ Just as easily it could all disappear \/ Along with whatever meaning you might have found.\u201d It\u2019s pretty enough\u2014especially when Lindley embellishes its melody with fiddle\u2014but once again dour in outlook. \u201cWalking Slow\u201d is the one genuinely playful number here, an upbeat street-party narrative that\u2019s nonetheless shaded with angst (\u201cI’m feeling good today \/ But if I die a little farther along \/ I’m trusting everyone to carry on\u201d).<\/p>\n The album closes on a somber, philosophical note with \u201cBefore The Deluge,\u201d a midtempo exploration of human hubris and the relentless power of nature. Its expansive, rather haunted lyric still feels like it boils down to a pair of couplets: <\/p>\n And in the end they traded their tired wings So, yeah: uplifting stuff.<\/p>\n Late For The Sky<\/i> has a lot going for it\u2014well-crafted lyrics, a talented supporting cast, warm production and a compelling voice at its center. It\u2019s just so distinct and relentless in its mood\u2014equal doses of longing and alienation\u2014that it\u2019s probably either going to knock you out (by matching and illuminating your own mood) or irritate you no end (by dragging you down when that\u2019s not where you wanted to go). It doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a lot of middle ground with this album, until we get to the part where I\u2019m required to give it a rating. I certainly didn\u2019t love this, but I can also appreciate how and why a different listener might. So:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6757],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-46739","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-jackson-browne","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46739"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2. I was a fan of Browne\u2019s pals the Eagles up until the band turned into an ego-driven greed machine<\/a>.
3. I\u2019m a born-and-raised Californian who invariably roots for the home team (Santana, the San Francisco Giants, etc., etc.).
4. I\u2019ve seen Jackson Browne live and had a great time (solo acoustic around six years ago; he was terrific).
5. My guy Bruce Springsteen called this album \u201ca masterpiece.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge<\/i><\/p>\n