Excellent!

Again you shine the light for all of us JB fans.

Thank you.

Dear Russ,

I like the "New Look"!

Hi Russ,

I just had some time to look at the wonderful collection of photos you've published on the webpage...

Thanks again for the site, the time you put into it, and the invaluable amount of reliable information you share. It's easy to navigate, and easy to look at.

WOW, isn't even close to adequate in describing the upgrade and additions to your already fan-tastic website. I have been a regular visitor for many years and want to thank you for all your hard work in creating, maintaining and now updating the most comprehensive site for fans!!!! I can't begin to express what Jackson means to me, except for the fact that he touches my soul with his talent.

The new design of the JB web site looks great. Thanks for your dedication and hard work!

I check the web site regularly for updates, and would like to offer the following suggestion. On the home page of the previous website, I could easily check to see if anything new was posted since my last visit. It's not possible with the new design. Just a suggestion ......

Keep up the good work, and know that the fans appreciate this site more than you'll know.

I love the new look. I visit your site everyday for the latest news on Jackson Browne. Thanks so much for all the work you put into this site. I especially love all of the photos you added. Keep up the good work!!

Russ,

Thanks for adding that little 'last updated' thing on the home page. That helps a lot! Like others who wrote, I check in frequently, just to see what news has been added, and, although I was fine with looking just a step further, you are wonderful to spoil us by adding that in again!

Finally, I'm still enjoying the new look. And still echoing so many thanks that others wrote in, for so much. THANK YOU AGAIN!

Hi Russ,

Wow, I just was stopping in to check to see if there were any new updates and found the new & improved site! I had to check twice to be sure my browser had gone to right place, or that I hadn't clicked on the wrong bookmark.

It looks great, all of the "stuff" is here. And I'm glad you're going to have the last updated information, because I use that too.

Take care,

Your new web page looks great! As a fan for 30 years (Oh boy, that does date one), I really appreciate all the time and effort that goes into keeping Jackson's loyal fans updated on his activities.

Thank you,

Hi Russ, can you post on your site that I'm looking for two (2) tickets to the Claremont Music Festival, May 22nd.

Thanks...

Warm regards,

It seems there is nothing much to add except it looks GREAT!!!!!! This site is my #1 source for JB info and I'm never disappointed. Your hard work is soooooo appreciated... what would we do without you? Thanks.

Russ - Your site is such a great resource for us Jackson fans. Your website emulates your dedication and passion for this site and the wonderful artist Jackson Browne! We thank you for your time and effort and appreciate all your information. I have been visiting your site for over 8 years and truly appreciate all the insight, information and comments! THANKS!!!!

What more can you ask for. As I near turning 44, I continue to try and instill creative, valuable, and inspiring music to my son, who at 15 knows just about everything there is to know in life--funny how the older he gets,though, the more he figures out I haven't misled him musically. I've seen Jackson easily over 30 times and will continue to make my way to his shows. There is such a void in music--being in the Philadelphia area we are blessed to have WXPN out of the University of Pa and the World Cafe, which I believe is snydicated on other Public Radio channels and offers a wonderful selection of quality music.

You can check them out for audiostream at wxpn.org--but while there are artists that are sound and intriguing, there are few who match the caliber that personifies Jackson's career--also been rediscovering Bruce Springsteen and have to admit the VHI special has truly make me realize just what a tremendous songwriter he is. Well, enough rambling. Thank you for the gift you provide to the fans by keeping this interesting, current and comforting site going strong. I am happy but....with the resignation that living brings, it is great to be able to connect with others...

Great job on the new website. Please know that all your time, effort and resources are greatly appreciated by JB fans like me all over the country. Will be attending the benefit concert in Sturgeon Bay on June 11. Will send you a review. Thanks.

Hi Russ:

I concur with the others - great new look!! And thanks for adding back the "last updated" feature. As someone else noted in appreciation, you do spoil us so. Thanks so much!

I too visit your site almost daily and as so many others have said, if it were not for your site I would have missed out on sooooooo many special Jackson Browne events that are now wonderful memories that live on in my heart and soul. The man and his music touches me so, I don't know what my life would be like without him.

Your site blessed me yet again when you posted the info on the benefit concert upcoming in three weeks at Santa Monica High School. Without your site I surely would not have heard about it until after the fact, but thanks to you I got on the internet yesterday at noon sharp and snagged second row pool side seats! Man - I'm so excited!! And it's all thanks to you and your dedication to us.

I still haven't seen any reviews post to your site for the concert in Hawaii and it's been awhile for any concert reviews as Jackson is not on tour, but I'll be sure to post a review some time after the June 5th show. I'm also really excited to finally get to see Venice so I'll be sure to mention them as well.

Jackson Browne, second row seats, by the pool side on a sunny Southern California day. Pinch me - I'm dreaming!

Thanks again!

Peace

Russ,

What a nice surprise when I clicked on your site - it looks great - no buts ! )

I really appreciate the time you take to put this site together and keeping it going.

I was in the record business for a big chunk of time and Jackson was my unsung hero. I loved his music and played it in the stores I ran - since most of it never made it on the radio. There was a time when I was a Billboard reporter - before Sound Scan and also reported to Album Network and my support for him drew the attention of his manager at the time - Ty Braswell. I got the star treatment to his show from 1989 - 1990 and I have to tell you that it is a little hard to go to a concert and just sit in the audience as a regular fan.

His music and presence really make you want to sit down and talk to him and you website helps us all stay connected - so long story short

THANKS,

Russ,

The upgraded JB site is just gorgeous. I've been on the old one awhile and liked it a lot, but now it just glows. Thanks.

thanks so much for the website. i have been a Jackson fan since 1976. i live in Pittsburgh, pa and got to meet him twice. the first i think on the pretender tour or the running on empty tour. the second one on solo tour 03. the first time i went back stage (i wasn't allowed to be back there) but as i was hanging out i saw Jackson and motioned him over. we talked for about ten minutes. now he didn't know me from Adam but we had a great talk. he is a great guy and keep up the good work. thanks

Hey Russ,

Wow, what a surprise! I had to double check my bookmark to make sure this was the Jackson Browne website. I felt cheated at first, but it appears that you've just streamlined a bit; looks real nice and you've kept the News and Concert info.

Thank you for taking time out of your life and keeping this website up and running for the many Jackson fans like myself.

"Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder....."

Take it Easy,

Russ,

I know you are busy, just wanted to say WOW on the new design for the Jackson Browne website. Did he provide those graphics? He should, you have certainly boosted his career! Most excellent my friend.

Hi Russ,

I heard about the May 22 Jackson Browne, Ben Harper concert in Claremont, CA through your website - called the number immediately and got the gold circle tickets. I heard the general admission tickets sold out in 30 minutes and people were in line since 6 am at the Claremont Folk Music Center. The concert was great. The venue - Bridges Hall of Music on the Pomona College Campus was fabulous - like a small church, really and the acoustics were great. Jackson came out first and sang for about 45 minutes - I thought he might do some new stuff since I know he's working on an album right now - but he did the beloved standards which everyone was happy with.

Ben Harper played with his band for about an hour - and that was great, and everyone was sort of waiting for Jackson to come out and sing a few with Ben - but it didn't happen. After about 5 minutes of encore applause and stomping - Ben came out alone and sang off-mike and then his band came out and played 4 more songs. But Jackson never came back. Many disappointed fans over this as we had been told that he and Ben would sing together.

Anyway, the crowd was great a real mixture of ages - many in their teens and twenties just as interested in hearing Jackson as Ben and many in their forties and fifties just as interested (well maybe not quite - we all have many years of love for Jackson) in hearing Ben. Well worth the donation made to the Claremont Folk Music Center. Hearing such exceptional musicians in such an intimate setting was an invaluable experience.

Concert at the Civic Center in Madison Wisconsin around the mid '90s. Does anyone remember being there after the concert waiting for an autograph? I was the girl that Jackson was hesitant to give an autograph to because he didn't like the caption the media had written under his picture. Everyone was snapping pictures while he was deciding whether he would sign it or not. I sure would like a copy of one of those pictures. I had on a black buckskin jacket. I've been going to Jackson's concerts since 1976.

In fact my son was just six years old at that first concert (it was at the Ravinia just outside of Chicago). My son will be 35 in October and he loves Jackson's music still, as does my mother at 84 years old. She's also been to several concerts with us. So if anyone is out there with a photo of us it would be so appriciated if you could send it to me. post you're response or e-mail me. Thanks.

Hi Russ. I like the new layout of the site. I was surprised how much easier it is to access the audio clips and the photos- and it looks like you added some stuff. Great Job!!

I wanted to post a short question/request to anyone who may know. I'm looking for piano music to "Jamaica Say You Will". I have a couple of JB songbooks- including the one with his father and Django Reinhardt (sp.?) pictured on the front. "Jamaica Say You Will" was not included in either of the books. I'd be curious to know why (i.e.) a publishing issue or something. And of course if anyone could tell me how to get the music or is willing to forward me a copy I'd really appreciate it and I'd cover the cost of course.

Thanks Russ for this site and the work you do to keep it running so well.

Hi Russ,

I attended the Claremont Music Festival Benefit concert with Jackson and Ben Harper. The venue was outstanding and Jackson sounded so strong. He played for about an hour and I'm sorry I don't have a set list but I do remember:

Barricades of Heaven
These Days
Naked Ride Home
My Stunning Mystery Companion
Lives in the Balance
Looking East
Running on Empty
Late for the Sky
And a fantastic encore of Looking into You!

There may be a couple of others as well. I had the good fortune to get a seat in the middle of the third row! I didn't see him at the reception afterward but I didn't stay for a long time. Jackson was so relaxed and friendly with the audience that the concert felt very intimate. As a side note, Ben Harper rocked! Thanks again for all of your work on the site Russ!

Russ, Great Site. Well, Jackson Browne (finally) came to our little tree-lined town of Claremont, home of his long-time music partner David Lindley and our new star Ben Harper. The concert was great, not a bad seat anywhere. The other reviewer captured most of the songs. In addition, I recall an impromptu For A Dancer done on request (even when you trying to have a good time, someone wants to talk about death... or something like that, he quipped). He also noted that the hall, Little Bridges, reminded him of the house he grew up in (he said as a lead in to Looking into You). I didn't attend the reception, but did see and met a relaxed Jackson talking to a few fans while standing next to his Prius!

Please don't waste your time with this unauthorized biography. Having finally and rather painfully made my way through this book, my opinion is that it's a piece of trash that isn't worth much more than some of the tabloid articles in some of the trashy magazines I've seen in the grocery checkout lines.

The author appears to have gleaned most of his information from the old 1982 Wiseman unauthorized bio Story of a Holdout, the Going Home video, as well as numerous Rolling Stone articles and interviews. He obviously didn't do any interviews on his own. I couldn't go more than a few pages in the book at a time without finding some kind of factual error or totally insipid comment that I found aggravating. I found the writing style to be very amateurish, uninspiring and simplistic.

I lost count of the number of factual errors in just the first few chapters... but it was the way he used adjectives to change the feel and weight of events which I found to be deliberately misleading, apparently in an effort to make the points he wanted to make, without regard for the facts or the circumstances of truth and history.

Just a few random examples...

In the early chapters he mentions Jackson's childhood home, The Abbey, and refers to it (a number of times) as a "mansion". The home isn't even remotely close to being a mansion. It's something like a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath home in a rundown part of Los Angeles. Even when it was brand new, it would hardly have been called a mansion. The home is unique, it's unusual, it's quaint... and it's very picturesque... but in no reasonable stretch of the imagination could it ever be called a "mansion". This total distortion of the truth makes it look like Jackson was raised in wealth and privilege, when he really grew up in a small home of modest means. Why does Mr. Bego want to rewrite history?

Another example: In a later part of the book he talks about one of Jackson's benefit concerts and the difficulties involved in getting the permits for the concert. It seems like the city officials did want to give permits for such a liberal cause as a "peace" rally. But Mr. Bego fails to talk about the underlying cause, the money that was raised, the awareness that was generated by the event... or anything else of substance. He doesn't really even talk about the performance... which was great (I know, because I was there). It often seems like Mr. Bego is ignoring the music to get to his story... when the whole meat of the story is the music!

He constantly glosses over the facts, which he doesn't seem to have much grasp on, in place of some kind of formula writing to move things along. Has anyone else here read anything else this guy has written? Does he have some sort of general outline that all of his unauthorized biographies follow? That's how this book makes it appear.

One last example: When referring to the title track of Jackson's newest album, Mr. Bego says that the song is about a girl getting naked in the car. At no time does he talk about anything of depth in the song. He fails to mention that the song is about a strained relationship, and the internal doubts of the singer as the relationship disintegrates. Once again, Mr. Bego fails to find the substance of the song, and merely glosses over the top. He misses the point. And his book misses the mark.

There are numerous other instances where the author mistakes the message in a song, or mistakes who or what the song is about... though since Jackson Browne himself says we should all find our own meanings in his songs, I guess I can't fault Mr. Bego for doing so... but did he have to put it in a book? Mr. Bego simply doesn't get it. He also continually finds ways to relate events and lyrics to Darryl Hannah that had no relation to her at all... while at the same time making no mention at all of Dianna, Jackson's long-term girlfriend of the past 15 years. There isn't even any discussion of Jackson's relationships with his sons. This book is a waste of time to all but the most casual of fans.

The photos... by the way... all seem to be purchased through standard agencies, like the ones that are used by the tabloids. You can find them in places like Wire Image (http://www.wireimage.com), Corbis stock photography (http://pro.corbis.com), and Star File (http://www.starfileonline.com). I'm not so sure about his credits for the cover photo. It seems to me that he purchased it through Corbis stock photography... to whom he gives credit. But the actual photo was taken by Henry Diltz, and I don't see him being given credit for it anywhere in the book.

To me, this book is extremely disappointing... though not surprisingly so since it was unauthorized. I can only hope that the lack of depth and misdirection in this book will encourage Jackson to set the story straight by publishing his own autobiography at some point in the future.

Just my opinion...

Russ,

Another quick thought about the book. You know how people always joke that they buy Playboy for the articles, well I can honestly say I bought the Bego book for the photos. Too bad I bought it before your new and improved web-site. I wouldn't have needed a photo fix had I seen yours first. Thanks again for all the good stuff!

I loved that letter from Sandi regarding Jackson's hesitation at signing the picture she had and also regarding her request for a photo. Except now I'm curious as to what the caption said. And really curious as to whether or not he signed it! I hope she gets the photo she's looking for.

FYI, I think that Running On Empty CD/DVD-A, which Jackson has mentioned he was working on, has now been released, at least according to Amazon.com. I don't have it yet, but I look forward to getting it.

Hi Russ-

I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat to the Jackson Browne/ Ben Harper show in Claremont last weekend. It was excellent all the way around. Jackson's voice was in fine form and he looked wonderful--healthy and well rested. The set was too short, though, and all of us Jackson fans were all disappointed that he didn't come back out later to sing with Ben. I think a set list has already been posted on your site. Jackson did not show up for the reception, but he was talking with a few fans outside the side door about a half hour after the show.

Ben Harper and his band were also excellent. I had never heard him live and I was very impressed, but my good feelings about him were a bit marred by his failure to bring Jackson on stage with him!!

All in all a fun time.

Hey,

Just a quick note. Love the new look!!!! Fabulous job.

I have just been watching Jackson Browne Going Home

What a wonderful writer! I have been a fan for many years. I grew up in Massachusetts and joined the Air Force at 18 and now live in California. I have been out here for many years but am always homesick for my home. The only time I can feel truly transformed to my true self is when I am listening to Jackson Browne in my headset the walkman bringing me home! - Going home for me. There is something so deep and true in those lyrics for me. I felt exactly like Bonnie Raite did (I am a huge fan of hers also).

I am so grateful for his beautiful songs. Thank you for the wonderful beautiful moments on my walks with the sun on my face and Jackson Browne in my ears taking me back to my wooded home of many years ago.

If I had more time to think of beautiful words but my words are quickly written and I just wanted to say thanks.

I wonder though how he feels about women in the military - I know lives in the balance - but I do appreciate you and I feel that way about the world but felt I wanted to serve my country.

Wanted you to know how you have filled my hear - Sleep Stark can bring tears to my eyes. The Pretender has always been a favorite of mine - everything you write is like a piece of my heart. When I feel I need to go back to myself I just know listening to your writings - thank you!

One of your biggest fans.