In 1977 Singer/Songwriter Jackson Browne released a live album entitled Running on Empty. What was so unique about this collection and why is it among Browne's best selling LPs of all time?
To better understand why Running on Empty was a surprise to Jackson Browne's fans we must take a look at Browne's previous albums. Beginning with the LP "Jackson Browne" (also referred to as "Saturate Before Using") released in 1972, Browne set the tone for his two subsequent collections "For Everyman" (1973) and "Late For the Sky" (1974.) The formula was simple: Introspective lyrics, accessible melodies, mostly-acoustic instruments (save for the electric guitar and slide guitar wizardry of fret-master David Lindley) and simple, almost bare-boned production recorded in pristine studios.
Browne's 1976 release "The Pretender" deviated a bit from this formula. Producer Jon Landau was called in to bring a more pop approach to the music. Landau's production preserved the inherent intimacy of Browne's music while making it even more accessible to the mainstream. His efforts resulted in Rolling Stone magazine listing "The Pretender" among its Top 500 albums of all time and garnered the album a Grammy nomination.
"Running on Empty" is unlike any of it's predecessors as it was a collection of songs recorded live on the road. And unlike most previously-recorded "live" albums the selected takes were not just performances in front of a live audience with the benefit of a set stage, complex sound board, sound engineer, sound-checks and other necessary recording "controls". For example, "The Road" was recorded in room 301 of the Cross Keys Inn, Baltimore, MD. "Rosie" was recorded backstage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, NY. "Cocaine" and "Shaky Town" were recorded in a hotel room in Edwardsville, IL. However the most impressive recording was "Nothing But Time" which was tracked on a (moving) tour bus (a close-listening will reveal the actual sounds of the bus itself.)
In addition to abandoning comfortable studios in favor of seemingly impractical make-shift ones including hotel rooms, backstage rehearsal spots or (loud and moving) tour buses Browne also deviated from his previous approach to album-production with the songs themselves. Browne wrote virtually every song on his proceeding four releases except "Take it Easy" and "Here Come Those Tears Again" (which were co-written with Glenn Frey and Nancy Farnsworth respectively.) On the album "Running on Empty" Jackson only wrote two of the ten songs while co-writing six. The rest were covers. The subject matter of the tunes relate directly to the rigors of the road which gives the songs and their performances even more credibility.
What makes Running on Empty TRULY unusual is none of the songs appear on a prior Jackson Browne album. So this is not just a live album. It is a live album of "new" material. Given the fact it was nominated for a Grammy award for best album of the year and reached number three on the Billboard charts it is safe to say Browne's "different" approach to making this timeless-sounding record was a success.
Kenn Morr http://www.kennmorr.com/ is an internationally acclaimed Singer/Songwriter, Performer, Producer and Author with six albums to his credit. Originally from Long Island, NY Kenn lives in the foothills of New England's Berkshire Mountains with his wife and two young sons.
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