Sometimes the public will back you even when the critics don’t. That’s what happened to Jackson Browne in 1980. While enduring some of the harshest reviews of his career, he ended up with his first ever No. 1 album, with the rocking hit single “Boulevard” a big part of that success.
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What is the song about? And why did the album which included it turn out to be such a divisive one in Browne’s catalog? Here’s all you need to know about “Boulevard.”
Browne is Back
No artist epitomized the singer/songwriter movement of the 1970s any more than Jackson Browne. It helped that he hailed from the West Coast, which was the epicenter for that movement. He also proved an uncanny knack for making deeply personal and confessional lyrics that resonated with a wide variety of listeners, a skill which helped his popularity grow with each successive album.
Browne’s biggest commercial success of the ‘70s came with the album Running on Empty, a 1977 LP of original songs that he recorded entirely on the road. And then there was nothing in terms of new music from him for a few years, as he turned his focus to playing live for causes in which he believed.
When he returned in 1980 with the album Hold Out, audiences were primed for him to return. Surprisingly, the album was met with less-than-sterling reviews, often from critics who had been on board with Browne in the past. Still, the songs from the album were all over rock radio, led by first single “Boulevard.”
A Rocking Return
Whatever you might think of Hold Out (our take is that while it’s not as great as Browne classics like Late for the Sky and Running on Empty, it’s not a clunker either), it’s hard to deny that it rocks harder than other Browne albums. “Boulevard” sets the tone with a stinging guitar riff and pulsating work from the rhythm section of bassist Bob Glaub and drummer Rick Marotta.
With that engaging music and a spirited vocal from Browne, it’s no surprise “Boulevard” scored him a Top-20 hit. But the subject matter was actually somewhat serious, as Browne explained in a radio interview:
“It’s about runaways, and, you know … as sort of a bystander, it’s about Hollywood Boulevard. I used to live right above Hollywood Boulevard, and there’s a place called The Gold Cup and there’s a lot of runaway kids and there’s a lot of teen prostitution around there. It was partly written from the point of view of a young person on that street, yet it’s not really immersed in that. You’re sort of, maybe, empathizing with them to some degree, and also trying to say, ‘it’s only time.’ It’s time on the boulevard, but this doesn’t mean this is who you are and where you’ll always be.”
What is the Meaning of “Boulevard”?
They look at life with such disregard, Browne sings in the opening verse of “Boulevard,” setting the tone for the difficult circumstances the youths hanging out there will face. Browne suggests that too many people turn the other way from the problem: The kids in shock up and down the block / The folks at home playing beat the clock.
The kids out on the street can’t depend on anyone for any kind of assistance: Nobody rides for free / Nobody gets it like they want it to be / Nobody hands you any guarantee. Browne stresses it’s crucial for the youngsters to show some vigilance, even though most don’t: Everybody walks right by like they’re safe or something / They don’t know.
After writing so many songs about romance and lost ideals from his own perspective, Browne dissected a different group of people on “Boulevard,” albeit with the same kind of insight and empathy as all his previous work. Critics be darned: The public lapped up the song, and the album containing it, just the same.
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