Tag Archives: Jackson Browne

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New Jackson Browne: My Cleveland Heart

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Video: Jackson Browne – “My Cleveland Heart”

Directed by Alissa Torvinen Kouame. From Downhill From Everywhere, due July 23.

Be honest. How excited would you be for a new Jackson Browne video if you hadn’t heard it features a cameo from Phoebe Bridgers playing a naughty nurse?

That’s alright. Whatever gets the eyeballs in the attention economy.

And it turns out the song is pretty good. Sounds just like a classic Jackson Browne song. Val McCallum plays guitar and there’s some nice lap steel by Greg Leisz, and Browne’s voice is still strong. He told Rolling Stone the lyrics were inspired by stumbling across Cleveland Heart, the place where they make artificial hearts: “I said, ‘Oh, I could use one of those!’”

As for Bridgers’ appearance in the video, Browne said, “I thought it was really appropriate to take out my worn-out, useless heart and hand it to Phoebe. Who better to hand [it] to than somebody young, strong, and possibly as cynical as me?”

Can’t argue with that!

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Dawes covers Jackson Browne

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Stream: Dawes – “Something Fine”

Dawes has an obvious affection for Jackson Browne. Singer Taylor Goldsmith’s voice sounds so similar to Browne’s, it took me a long time to realize that Browne contributed vocals to “Fire Away” on last year’s Nothing Is Wrong. They even played a couple of songs together for Occupy Wall Street in December. And now Dawes faithfully covers Browne’s song from his 1972 self-titled debut.

Video: Jackson Browne – “Something Fine” (Old Grey Whistle Test, 1976)

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Five From the Archive: Warren Zevon in 1976

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Well, it’s that time again. Time for another Five From the Archive post featuring the legendary Warren Zevon. We’ve looked at his work before, first a batch of songs from 1978, then a batch from his 2000 solo acoustic tour. This time around, we are looking at selections from 1976, the year his first record, Warren Zevon, was released. And the first year of live recordings documented in the Live Music Archive.

1. Warren Zevon – “Sleep When I’m Dead”. The first song from the show at The Main Point. A bit of crowd noise and an introduction before the band kicks in. Someone is playing a harmonica, too. Must be Warren? Full show: June 20, 1976 – The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA

2. Warren Zevon – “Werewolves of London”. Full band for this show. It’s the earliest live version of this song I’ve heard. Full show: June 20, 1976 – The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA

3. Warren Zevon – “Desperados Under The Eaves”. “This is an important song to me – it’s one of my favorites,” he says, at the beginning of the song. Lyrically, it’s glorious. “All the salty margaritas in Los Angeles, I’m going to drink them up.” Every line rings like that. Sound quality is outstanding. Full show: October 13, 1976 – WMMS Studio, Cleveland, OH

4. Warren Zevon – “Frank and Jesse James”. In a studio in Holland. Jackson Browne does back up vocals on this one. Full show: December 8, 1976 – VPRO Studio, Hilversum, Holland

5. Warren Zevon – “Carmelita”. Jackson Browne lends a hand on this one, too, playing guitar and adding back up vocals on the choruses. Full show: December 8, 1976 – VPRO Studio, Hilversum, Holland

Image of Warren Zevon in 1976 courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.