Jackson Browne - Fan Letters & Reviews
April 1999
Hello!
Something really unbelievable happenned to me yesterday night. I had had a definitely JB week. I listened to his records over and over, tried to play on the keyboards "Sky Blue and Black" over and over, learnt to play "Take it easy" and memorized the lyrics, saw, listened to and recorded his acoustic show on TV etc... 2 weeks ago I sent him through Alberto Manzano a CD with our "For Everyman" cover.
Well, it was Saturday Night and I had been hanging out with my mates and girlfriend at some pubs and bars in Gracia (an area from Barcelona where JB lives). Well, to tell the truth it was 4:15 a.m. and I was feeling pretty... let's say "tipsy", because it had been a long night. We were trying to hail a cab back home and as we're approaching the taxi stop I'm like laughing really loud with my friends, making fun of everything and you know, things you do on Saturday Night at that time. So as I cross a street I look in front of me and THERE'S JACKSON BROWNE TRYING TO HAIL A CAB TOO!
I say "Hey Jackson!" and he's like freaked out about this guy which runs into him at 4:15 a.m. completely euphoric and amazed. He says "Hi there" and shakes my hand. I tell him that I'm the guy from Tipos de Interés and he says that he hadn't still had the chance to listen to our FE cover because Alberto hasn't given the CD to him yet. I reply that I'm happy to be able to talk to him BEFORE he listens to it just to let him know that it was recorded in 45 minutes so he doens't have to expect anything really professional. He says "is the cover in english or spanish?" so I tell him that it's a mix of the 2 languages.
Realizing of the time situation, I tell him that I wouldn't want to bother him and he says " no no, it's ok!" but he was tired and wanted to go home. So we try to stop a taxi and the taxis don't stop. I tell him "Hey, I'm off with my friends" or something like this just to let him know that he doesn't have to be there at 4:15 taling to me when what he was really looking forward was to go home. And as I'm waving goodbye he says something like "no no, it's ok to chat now but I'm going to take the first cab home. So Alberto has your CD, is this right?" and I tell him that that's it and then ask him "Are you going to do a tour with Bonnie Raitt?" (This was of no interest to me, but mind you everyman list folks, I thought of you and wanted to bring some fresh news!" And he said something like "Yes, it's nearly confirmed. I'm gonna do that"
Then I ask him if he's gonna do any shows in Spain and he says "no, just a few days off". Then I ask him "Hey, your guitar was tuned weirdly on the TV show from Thursday", and he said "yeah, you got it. It was "E tuning" so all the chords are different" and explained me which chords became which other chords with that tuning. Of course, i don't remember ANYTHING now, ha ha ha! Then he asks me the name of my band again and then a taxi appears and I hail it for him and I was so ENORMOUSLY EUPHORIC (some beer helped out, but the situation was really special...) I shake hands with him and he said something like "great to meet you again" and I freak out and start telling him "I love your music, man!" "You're great man!" and stuff like this and he's laughing his ass off like this guy is nuts and then I hug him and say hope to see you soon.
ISN'T THIS THE COOLEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENNED TO ME ?!?!
My folks were really surprised and happy for me. Now I know that sometimes dreams come true. If you remember, I met Jackson months ago at a radio station where he was interviewed and it was great. But this yesterday night thing was 10000000 times more special. It was just like a dream. Sometimes when I'm at work and JB plays on the stereo (I work at a shop) I always daydream and imagine that JB enters the shop. You know, this kind of kid's stuff dreaming that their rock star is gonna call them onstage to join the band for a song. I was walking in a cloud (and still am) and it wasn't due to alcohol in any way HA HA HA!!!
Ok, just wanted to share this great experience with you... let's say that... YOU DESERVE IT !
Goodbye from 7th heaven!
Jackson and Bonnie Š Perfection Does an Encore
I just read the recent notes on the upcoming Jackson Browne/Bonnie Raitt possible tour this summer. LetÕs hope it happens! LetÕs pray it happens!!! Last summerÕs tour was so unbelievable and he was absolutely at the top of his form and Bonnie was fantastic as well.
As for as the new CD coming out in the summer/fall; that is great. Anyone who saw the shows this summer has to admit that his updated classics with Bonnie are simply awesome and would introduce a new generation to some of the best music that has been made during the last 25 years by anyone. Would anyone else be interested in maybe Jackson doing an album of 50% updated chestnuts and 50% new material? His material sounds so fine when he is in concert now and his songs have matured to be even better now than they were when they were originally released. If I had 12 choices I would chose:
the new "Load Out/Stay"This format would have to be a double album of course and the a strong argument could be made for many other newer songs including World in Motion, the acoustical Lives in the Balance, How Long (even much more relevant today than when it was recorded), IÕm Alive, Sky Blue and Black, Too Many Angels, etc,etc,etc. WouldnÕt it be great to get everyone as turned on to his music and his message as those who know it well are? Maybe if enough people email this desire it will happen.
I have been a fan of Jackson for a very long time, I can remember listening to " Doctor my eye" back when I was a teen growing up in Oklahoma. My frist concert was a Jackson Browne show during the " Running on emtpy " tour, Janurary was the month date I can't remember. We had just had a snow storm so there was snow everywhere, and I had never been to Lloyd Noble arena before it is in Norman, Oklahoma. That whole day was filled with funny things happening, I had a dream the night before and I was talking to Jackson and I had ask him if he was going to be joining up with the Eagles, this was during the time the Joe Walsh had just joined up with them. He said not I'm not, but I won't rule out never working with them. I woke up and that was all that I could remember of the dream. As I had said about the snow storm I thought I would call to see if the show was still going on and they said yes. So I got a hold a buddy of mine back then, and I told him that if I got tickets and paid for the gas would he take me to the show he said sure. I'm not sure if it was his frist concert or not, but he had never been there either. So were driving from OKC to Norman without a clue to where we're going, so were driving around watching for signs to Lloyd's, my baddler is full and told him to find a place where I can get out to relieve myself. So we pulled in to some parking lot cover with snow as soon as I'm about ready to piss, cars start pulling in, I thought we were the only one lost too these people were following to the show. Back on the road we went, found the arena all cover with snow so were trying to find a place to park, out of nowhere a car appears and the door opens out get somebody looking a lot like JB. We were to far away to talk to him. So we get inside and looking for our seats, while Karla Bonoff is perfroming I was in love with that women. I didn't know she had wrote some of the songs that Linda had recorded. Where is Karla these days?
We found our seats way back in the back I see all these emtpy seats so we moved closer to the wall near the stage, just a the lights went down we saw people moving below us and there was JB and all the people there started calling his name, the woman sitting next to me took his picture. I'm sorry to say that I didn't talk to her thourgh out the show, I was a shy young man then.
The show was very good from my point of view, JB even did a thrid encore with " Rock me on the water" a song he said he hasn't done in a while, and hope he doesn't fuck it up too much. I left the show in state that I can't explain from that day forward I was a true JB fan.
Over the years I had seen JB in tour, I left Oklahoma many years ago and moved to California, trying to make life better for myself. I seen JB recently as Jan. 3rd show in Tahoe. I am going to Oklahoma this summer and I'm really hoping that JB will make that show there, and if this New Years show that their talking about comes true I'll be there for that, you can bet your bottom dollars on it.
I have been a loyal Jackson Browne fan for over 20 years. I still get all nervous and excited inside at the thought of seeing him perform again, and of course my biggest fantasy is to actually meet him. I'm always afraid of sounding like a teeny bopper groupie when I express my feelings about him and his music, but surely the folks reading this will understand my passion.
My loyalty to JB carries with it, more than just liking his songs, learning the words, memorizing facts, and the usual "fan" stuff. It's hard to put in to words. See, his music has been one of the threads that has woven a security blanket between my 2 sisters and I. We all live in different states now, but we have a very close relationship, and have since our very difficult childhood. Jackson, with his music, and his concerts, and his lyrics, has given us countless hours of deep soul searching conversation, and cause to reunite for the purpose of reviewing a new album or attending a concert together. Whenever we get homesick for one another, we will put on a Jackson album, and be sort of cosmically transformed back to a time when we were all together. Usually it's Late for the Sky. But of course each album has it's own memories. Running On Empty- of our first concert together in Rochester NY, and how we cried when he first came on stage.
Well I just got home from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and was fortunate enough to see Jackson among others at the original site of the Grand Ole Opry. WHAT A VENUE TO SEE JACKSON!!!!!! This was a benefit to support the Journey of Hope (a group opposing the death penalty).
The Show started with the Host of the evening Steve Earle who warmed up the crowd with several strong ballads. Most all the artists sang songs which related to the cause of the evening. The Indigo Girls came out next and played several songs including one in which Terri Clark and one of the Dixie Chicks joined them. This was a big hit with the audience as they harmonized beautifully.
Sister Helen Prejean then addressed the crowd with a great speech which really made you thing about the death penalty. And if that didn't convince you several family members of death row inmates, family of victims, etc. introduced themselves and some gave a brief description of their experiences. One gentlemen whose 23 year old daughter was killed in the Oklahoma bombing expressed his opposition to the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh. No matter what your views are on this subject one has to respect his courage. The entire audience was visibly moved by this experience.
Steve then introduced Jackson who played six songs:
Jackson did all the songs acoustically with the exception of Alive in the World which he did on piano.
Emmylou Harris came out with her band and did several songs and was then joined by everyone for two last songs which closed the show.
After the show I was fortunate enough to speak with all the artists which seemed to be enjoying the evening and stayed out talking to everyone for quite some time. Jackson was letting everyone get a photo of him and very open to conversation with the fans. Yes Jackson is just as nice in person as he appears to be in his music. I highly recommend Gold Circle Tickets to a Jackson show it is truly a great experience.
I wanted to write and express how fortunate I've been to have discovered the music of Jackson Browne lately. Although I listened to the "popular" music as a teen re:"The Pretender", "Somebody's Baby", etc., I never truly got to know the man behind the music. Recently a friend bought "The Next Voice You Hear" for me as a birthday present and I've not been able to put it down since. How could I not have known what great a talent I was missing out on!?
He has truly captured my heart as well as my soul and I've promised myself that I MUST own every album now. "Sky Black and Blue" has to be my favorite with some of the most amazing heart-felt lyrics I've ever listened to. I am a true fan now and always will be :)
In Response To Mike
The most amazing aspect of Jackson's music is his ability to touch something different in each one of us. His lyrics touch something in me today completely different from when I first experienced them. Who can listen to early recordings and not feel moved-yet many years afterward be affected in some other way? This is his genius Mike. The music hasn't changed-we have changed and so have our interpretations of it.This does not and will not change what Jackson Browne has meant to those of us who believe in him and his music. His music has seen me thru dark days and reawakening and personal growth. He is the one and only. Take good care of each other.
i really enjoyed reading the fan letters of jackson browne . there doesn't seem to be a time in my life when the melodies and words of jackson weren't with me. he has an amazing ability to put words to an emotion you feel but were unable to express. just the other day i was listening to sky blue/black and realized that he created a masterpiece in the 90's as he did with such songs as 'something fine' and 'late for the sky'. i own all the albums and most have been replaced with cd's so i hesitated to buy a greatest hit album but when that first cord comes on in 'doctor my eyes' there i am at the ampitheather reliving all the jackson browne concerts i ever saw right down to the last cut on the cd and of course there is a pang of sadness as he didn't play that one song i didn't realize i wanted to hear until i didn't hear it ,it's then time to pull out the vinyl dust it off ah the sound of snap ,crackle and,pop yes i can be a teenager again thank you jackson for the beauty of your words ,the lovely sound as your fingers caress the piano keys and in the world for which we live in today you remind us of what we may bring tommorow if we don't correct our mistakes today
I wanted to thank you for posting the information on Cántame Mis Canciones, the Spanish tribute CD that was issued in honour of Jackson’s 50th birthday. It was of particular interest to me because I’m studying Spanish (and am also a fan of Jackson’s music). I’ve had the opportunity to listen to it frequently over the past few months and have to admit that I consider it a real treasure.
Initially, for some strange reason, I was expecting that all the male singers on this tribute CD would sound like Jackson singing in Spanish. This is not the case. But even though the songs are promoted (on the website http://www.ictnet.es/+tinfocal/browne.htm.) as novel recreations, some, such as Cielo Negro y Azul (Sky Blue and Black) and Como un Corazón (In the Shape of a Heart), are (musically) immediately recognizable. I’d have to agree, though, that there are a few ‘dramatic’ departures, as well.
My favourite song of all on the record has to be Guardabarranco’s Aún Sin Llegar (Late for the Sky). Katia Cardenal’s vocals are BEAUTIFUL on this one. (Do you know if Guardabarranco’s albums Si Buscabas and Dias de Amar are still available?)
Another highlight is Lídia Pujol and Sílvia Comes’ version of The Pretender (El Aspirante). Very fun, and especially ‘creative’ in the latter part of the song.
The most ‘creative’ or ‘alternative’ cover, though, has to be Emilio Cao’s Barricadas do Ceo (Barricades of Heaven). It includes references to Otis Redding and Paco Franco and contains lines (in English) such as "Start me up" and "Let’s spend the night together." It’s just ‘slightly’ different from Jackson’s version. (This may or may not be the reason that all of these songs appear in their original form (in English) in the back of the accompanying booklet, followed by a very ‘direct’ Spanish translation.)
A few of the songs are sung in languages I’m not familiar with (Catalan, Basque and Galician). Nonetheless, I think that Maria del Mar Bonet does a beautiful job on Cançó Per a Adam. (My Spanish teacher (who speaks Catalan) was quite taken with this one, as well). And Jabier Muguruza’s Niño is lovely. It almost seems as if it was meant to be sung in Spanish. (Actually it’s sung in Spanish and, I believe the other language is Basque.)
But truth be told, some songs survive the transition from English to Spanish better than others. Even those that don’t have their moments, though. But....about Tú Tranquilo (Take It Easy).....is Kiko Veneno REALLY saying what I think he’s saying about "a lobster in salsa rosa" (an unusual metaphor at best), or is it time to get a new Spanish dictionary?
Another surprise (and a pleasant one at that), was the inclusion of some very ‘familiar’ musicians on a couple of the songs:
Bonnie Raitt (slide guitar on Cielo Negro y Azul)
David Lindley (guitar on Linda Paloma)
Mark Goldenberg (electric guitar on Como un Corazón)
Kevin McCormack (bass on Como un Corazón)
Jennifer Warnes (backing vocals on Como un Corazón and El Juego que me Perdió (Call it a Loan)
A definite added plus. Also, I love Piti’s guitarwork in Estos Días (These Days), especially near the end of the song.
There’s a nice booklet which accompanies the CD in which each musician has written his own personal tribute to Jackson. Some are amusing, some are touching, all express an admiration for Jackson as a musician, singer, writer, social activist ...and, also, as a human being.
Perhaps producer Alberto Manzano says it best, though, in the closing line of his written tribute: "Su música siempre ha sido un bálsamo para la herida de la vida" ---(roughly translated)--- "His music has always been a balm for the wounds of life." How true.
or if you prefer, IN SPANISH. (Please excuse the mistakes). Que perdone los errores.
Gracias por mencionar en la pagina extraoficiel de Jackson Browne, el disco, Cántame Mis Canciones, un homenaje grabado en español por su cumpleaños de cincuenta años. Fue interesante para mi porque estoy estudiando español (y también porque me gusta mucho la música de Jackson Browne). Durante los meses pasados, escuchaba a menudo este disco y ahora lo considero un tesoro.
Inicialmente, (no sé por qué), esperé que todos los cantantes (los hombres, es decir) canten como Jackson (cuando él canta en español). No es como así. Pero, aunque las canciones son descritas (en la "website" http:
//www.ictnet.es /+tinfocol/browne.htm.) como recreaciones muy originales, unas, como Cielo Negro y Azul (Sky Blue and Black) y Como un Corazón (In the Shape of a Heart) son (musicalmente) faciles a reconocer. Pero, estoy de acuerdo, hay algunas interpretaciones que son muy diferentes de las versiones de Jackson.
Mi canción favorita en este disco es Aún Sin Llegar (Late for the Sky) grabado por Guardabarranco. La voz de Katia Cardenal es muy bella en esta canción. (Sabes que sus discos Si Buscabas y Días de Amar están todavía disponibles?)
Otro punto culminante es la canción El Aspirante (The Pretender) grabado por Lídia Pujol y Sílvia Comes. Es muy divertida y especialmente ‘creativa’ en la última parte.
Pero, tal vez la recreacion más ‘creativa’ o ‘alternativa’ es aquella de Emilio Cao, Barricadas do Ceo (Barricades of Heaven). Tiene las referencias a Otis Redding y Paco Franco y las frases (en inglés) como "Start me up" y "Let’s spend the night together." Es un ‘poco’ diferente de la versión de Jackson. (Quizá es la razón por qué la letra de todas estas canciones es impresa en su forma original (en inglés) en el libro que acompaña el disco y después es traducida (directamente) al español).
Unas de las canciones son cantadas en lenguas que no conozco (catalán, gallego y euskera). Sin embargo, pienso que Maria del Mar Bonet canta bellamente en Cançó Per a Adam. (A mi profesora de español (que habla catalán) le gusta mucho esta canción. Y la interpretación de Niño por Jabier Muguruza es también muy linda. Parece que es muy natural de cantar esta canción en español. (En realidad es cantada en español y, pienso que otra lengua es euskera).
Pero la verdad es que algunas canciones hacen la transición del inglés al español mejor que las otras. Las otras tienen unos momentos ‘interesantes’ también. Pero, quisiera saber....en Tú Tranquilo (Take It Easy)....dice Kiko Veneno lo que pienso de "un bogavante en salsa rosa" (una metáfora un poco extraña) o es el tiempo de comprarme un nuevo diccionario español?)
Otra sorpresa (y una sorpresa muy agradable) fue la inclusión de los músicos muy ‘familiares’ en unas canciones:
Bonnie Raitt (guitarra slide – Cielo Negro y Azul)
David Lindley (guitarra – Linda Paloma)
Mark Goldenberg (guitarra eléctrica – Como un Corazón)
Kevin McCormack (bajo – Como un Corazón)
Jennifer Warnes (coros – Como un Corazón y El Juego que me Perdio)
Una ventaja. También, me gusta mucho las guitarras de Piti en Estos Días, especialmente la guitarra fuerte cerca del fin de la canción.
Hay un libro que acompaña el disco, en que cada músico escribió su propio homenaje a Jackson. Unos están graciosos, otros están conmovedores, todos expresan una admiración por Jackson como un músico, cantante, escritor, activista social y.....también, como una persona.
Tal vez la mejor frase es aquella del productor Alberto Manzano en su homenaje a Jackson: "Su música siempre ha sido un balsámo para la herida de la vida." Es la verdad.