Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CV--Jackson Browne: Doctor My Eyes

In a somewhat fitting end to 2016 here on FNJ, we're featuring a tune about a world weary man who's questioning just what the fuck it is that he's witnessed so far in this goofy old world--and much like most of us heading into 2017, the song ends with much uncertainty and no easy resolution.

Happy fucking New Year!

Jackson Browne was part of the vaunted L.A. music scene of the 70's, joining with the likes of Joni Mitchell, The Eagles, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Linda Ronstadt, and Warren Zevon to form a veritable Who's Who of 70's pop.  Browne went on to somewhat quietly put together a hell of a career--selling 18 million albums, having a couple of top ten singles, a number one album, and being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.  Along the way, Browne also released one of the most novel albums ever--1977's Running on Empty  is a collection of all new material that was recorded while on tour:  in hotel rooms, on the tour bus, and in concert (it's really a hell of a record, too).  Sadly, Browne's life has not been without tragedy--his first wife committed suicide less than a year after their marriage, leaving Browne to raise their two-year-old son alone.  But Browne, in his own understated way, has persevered.

Browne is also known as a political activist (especially when it comes to the environment and nuclear power) and is a long time supporter of the Democratic Party and its causes.  Bravo, Mr. Browne!

Released on his aptly titled debut LP, Jackson Browne, in 1972 , "Doctor My Eyes" would become the first hit single of Browne's career, reaching #8 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  Only twenty-four when he wrote it, the song shows both a subtlety and  a worldly wise weariness beyond his years.  Oddly, though the song is pessimistic by nature, it is somewhat musically upbeat, featuring a jaunty piano and some dandy guitar work that compliments the piano well.  Browne's vocals are subdued (as, truthfully, they are in much of his work) but earnest, and while such a style wouldn't work for say, Bruce Springsteen, it suits Browne and "Doctor My Eyes" well.  In the end, it's another song that sounds just as good every time I hear it today as it did every time I heard it when I was still a teenager--though its context, like me, has changed greatly over the years.

Liner notes:  "People go just where they will/I never noticed them until I got this feeling/That it's later than it seems...."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee