You just don’t find too many debut albums that come out sounding as assured and sure-footed as what Jackson Browne was able to do with his self-titled first album in 1972. (The record is sometimes referred to as Saturate Before Using because of the message on the cover.) By that time, Browne’s songs had been recorded by many big names before he had the opportunity to release anything on his own, so that could account for the strength of this collection of songs.
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In any case, it’s hard to narrow down the best songs on this landmark singer/songwriter release. Here are our choices for the best of the bunch on the Jackson Browne album.
5. “Doctor, My Eyes”
Let’s not kid about this: The Jackson Browne album is not what you could call feel-good material. Even at a tender age (he was only 23 when the record was released), Browne was already thinking the deep thoughts and feeling the profound feelings. “Doctor, My Eyes” doesn’t exactly excuse itself from that rigorous self-examination. But it does so with an arrangement that’s jumpy enough to make it feel a bit happier and go down smooth to a wide audience, which it did to give Browne a hit. Great work by Jesse Ed Davis on guitar and Russ Kunkel on congas make for an invigorating recording.
4. “Song for Adam”
One of the common themes that shows up again and again in Browne’s work is the way real life has a way of shattering our dreams and ideals, forcing us to adjust on the fly. When we’re faced with the death of people from our peer group for the first time, it can be particularly disconcerting, and that’s what “Song for Adam” addresses. (Browne came back to this topic several times in later years on gems like “For a Dancer” and “Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate.”) His moving ruminations here are given even more depth of feeling by the viola work of David Campbell.
3. “Looking into You”
Browne didn’t go to the piano as often on the debut album as he would for subsequent releases. He gets behind the ivories here, and it’s just the right touch for this wistful track about needing to look all over the creation just to find that what’s really important is right there in front of you. In this case, the key instrumental touch comes from Pete Kleinow’s steel guitar, which moans and whines in all the right places around the somber chords. This is a love song that earns its sentiment by touching on the rudderless, confused feelings that go along with missing out on love.
2. “Jamaica Say You Will”
Even though this song was inspired by an actual romance of Browne’s, he shows the ability to step outside himself a bit and use his imagination for the setting and the character specifics. Jamaica here is the name of the girl Browne is addressing, but its associations with an exotic locale add something to the narrative. The guy is hoping she’ll run away with him and give him what’s been missing in his life. Browne comes out of left field in the final verse with the news that she’s about to skedaddle, leaving that final chorus a bitter wish unfulfilled.
1. “My Opening Farewell”
If you’re going to insist on giving us a flawless album right out of the gate, you better be prepared to send the whole thing out with a beauty of a closing track. Browne accomplishes that mission and then some with “My Opening Farewell.” The gorgeous interplay between the guitar and piano sets the tone. But there are also plenty of open spaces in the arrangement, mirroring the hollow feeling gnawing at the narrator. The song finds him summoning up the courage to leave his lover, knowing that’s the direction she’s headed anyway.
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