Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLI--Jackson Browne: Jamaica Say You Will

 'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to...be late again....

Back in the day, when I discovered an artist it wasn't enough to just enjoy the record at hand, I had to go out and get their entire catalog (it came to a quick end after marriage and two kids--neither the time nor the funds for that kind of amusement).  This led to a number of great discoveries, and as you might expect, a few not so great albums in my collection.  One of those great discoveries was this week's album, which led me to this week's tune--which is arguably one of the best first songs on a debut album in rock and roll history....

I wrote about Jackson Browne in Jukebox, Vol. CV back in 2016.  Since that time, Browne has released one album, two singles, and toured with James Taylor. He was also in two episodes of emaycee fave Roadies.  As it was a few years before I began leaving a link to each artist's body of work, I'll leave Browne's here--it's important to me to recognize the entire body of work if only because it's a reminder of the talent it takes to have a long career in music.  

"Jamaica Say You Will" was the first song on Browne's debut album, the ever so cleverly entitled Jackson Browne.  The song was not released as a single, while the album reached #53 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Though I could be wrong, I believe this week's tune is the first time I've written about a second song from one studio album (obviously not including my yearly album review).  Well done, Mr. Browne (as if he cares)!

As I was doing my half-assed research for this week's tune, I was struck by the amount of people who wrote about the song even though a) it wasn't released as a single, and b) didn't really get a lot of radio play (a la, say, "Stairway to Heaven")--it's an album track that struck a chord (so to speak).  Browne has called the song a fable based on reality (there was a "Jamaica" in his life, but most of the events in the song are from his imagination), and the story of a woman sailing the seas with her father while the man who loves her is happy to follow makes for a compelling single.  The music is sparse--Browne's piano echoes throughout, his vocals convey an easy earnestness, and as I played it in preparation for this week's post I was taken with the smoothness of the rhythm of the drums (once again--amazing how often I discover the drums when I'm writing about a song).  In the end, Browne (I read this somewhere so it's not an emaycee original) excels at writing catchy melodies, and when you add in a romantic story and heartfelt vocals it's sailing the rock and roll seas--which is a lovely place to be.

Lyric Sheet:  "Jamaica say you will/Help me find a way to fill these empty hours/Say you will come again tomorrow..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

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