 "Retrospective" Released only as a Promotional CD Released in 1993 on Elektra Records (PRCD 8853-2) Tracks:
Jackson Browne's record label released this strictly as a promotional item. It was never on sale to the public, but was issued only to radio stations and other music industry people for purposes of promoting Jackson's music. Retrospective was released by Elektra Records in 1993 to help promote Jackson's I'm Alive release. Retrospective was released in two different versions, one being a 2-CD set with a 3-track sampler from I'm Alive with the songs "I'm Alive," "My Problem Is You" and "Sky Blue And Black."
DOCTOR MY EYES (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Jackson Browne) Doctor, my eyes have seen the years And the slow parade of fears without crying Now I want to understand I have done all that I could To see the evil and the good without hiding You must help me if you can Doctor, my eyes Tell me what is wrong Was I unwise to leave them open for so long 'Cause I have wandered through this world And as each moment has unfurled I've been waiting to awaken from these dreams People go just where there will I never noticed them until I got this feeling That it's later than it seems Doctor, my eyes Tell me what you see I hear their cries Just say if it's too late for me Doctor, my eyes Cannot see the sky Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry TAKE IT EASY (written by Jackson Browne & Glenn Frey (Originally from the album For Everyman) Well I'm a-running down the road trying to loosen my load I've got seven women on my mind Four that want own me, two that want to stone me One says she's a friend of mine Take it easy, take it easy Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy Lighten up while you still can Don't even try to understand Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy Well I'm a-standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona With such a fine sight to see It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford Slowin' down to take a look at me Come on baby, don't say maybe I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me We may lose and we may win But we will never be here again Open up I'm climbin' in to take it easy Well I'm a-running down the road trying to loosen my load Got a world of trouble on my mind Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover She's just a little hard to find Take it easy, take it easy Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy Come on baby, don't say maybe I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me You know we got it easy We oughta take it easy (c) 1972 WB MUSIC CORP & RED CLOUD MUSIC THESE DAYS (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album For Everyman) Well I've been out walking I don't do that much talking these days These days-- These days I seem to think a lot About the things that I forgot to do For you And all the times I had the chance to And I had a lover It's so hard to risk another these days These days-- Now if I seem to be afraid To live the life I have made in song Well it's just that I've been losing so long I'll keep on moving Things are bound to be improving these days These days-- These days I sit on corner stones And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend Don't confront me with my failures I had not forgotten them (c) 1967 WARNER-TAMERLANE PUBLISHING CORP & OPEN WINDOW MUSIC FOR A DANCER (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Late For The Sky) Keep a fire burning in your eye Pay attention to the open sky You never know what will be coming down I don't remember losing track of you You were always dancing in and out of view I must've always thought you'd be around Always keeping things real by playing the clown Now you're nowhere to be found I don't know what happens when people die Can't seem to grasp it as hard as I try It's like a song playing right in my ear That I can't sing I can't help listening I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round Crying as they ease you down 'Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing Dancing our sorrow away (Right on dancing) No matter what fate chooses to play (There's nothing you can do about it anyway) Just do the steps that you've been shown By everyone you've ever known Until the dance becomes your very own No matter how close to yours another's steps have grown In the end there is one dance you'll do alone Keep a fire for the human race And let your prayers go drifting into space You never know will be coming down Perhaps a better world is drawing near And just as easily, it could all disappear Along with whatever meaning you might have found Don't let the uncertainty turn you around (The world keeps turning around and around) Go on and make a joyful sound Into a dancer you have grown From a seed somebody else has thrown Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own And somewhere between the time you arrive and the time you go May lie a reason you were alive but you'll never know (c) 1974 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC THE PRETENDER (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album The Pretender) I'm going to rent myself a house In the shade of the freeway I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning And go to work each day And when the evening rolls around I'll go on home and lay my body down And when the morning light comes streaming in I'll get up and do it again Amen Say it again Amen I want to know what became of the changes We waited for love to bring Were they only the fitful dreams Of some greater awakening I've been aware of the time going by They say in the end it's the wink of an eye And when the morning light comes streaming in You'll get up and do it again Amen Caught between the longing for love And the struggle for the legal tender Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring And the junk man pounds his fender Where the veterans dream of the fight Fast asleep at the traffic light And the children solemnly wait For the ice cream vendor Out into the cool of the evening Strolls the Pretender He knows that all his hopes and dreams Begin and end there Ah the laughter of the lovers As they run through the night Leaving nothing for the others But to choose off and fight And tear at the world with all their might While the ships bearing their dreams Sail out of sight I'm going to find myself a girl Who can show me what laughter means And we'll fill in the missing colors In each other's paint-by-number dreams And then we'll put out dark glasses on And we'll make love until our strength is gone And when the morning light comes streaming in We'll get up and do it again Get it up again I'm going to be a happy idiot And struggle for the legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and the soul of the spender And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can buy Thought true love could have been a contender Are you there? Say a prayer for the Pretender Who started out so young and strong Only to surrender (c) 1976 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC RUNNING ON EMPTY (by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Running On Empty) Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-o-one I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on Running on - running on empty Running on - running blind Running on - running into the sun But I'm running behind Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on Running on - running on empty Running on - running blind Running on - running into the sun But I'm running behind Everyone I know, everywhere I go People need some reason to believe I don't know about anyone but me If it takes all night, that'll be all right If I can get you to smile before I leave Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through Looking into their eyes I see them running too Running on - running on empty Running on - running blind Running on - running into the sun But I'm running behind Honey you really tempt me You know the way you look so kind I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find Running into the sun but I'm running behind (c) 1977 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC THAT GIRL COULD SING (written by Jackson Browne (Originally from the album Hold Out) She was a friend to me when I needed one Wasn't for her I don't know what I'd done She gave me back something that was missing in me She could of turned out to be almost anyone Almost anyone-- With the possible exception Of who I wanted her to be Running into the midnight With her clothes whipping in the wind Reaching into the heart of the darkness For the tenderness within Stumblin' into the lights of the city And then back in the shadows again Hanging onto the laughter That each of us hid our unhappiness in Talk about celestial bodies And your angels on the wing She wasn't much good at stickin' around--but She could sing... In the dead of night She could shine a light On some places that you've never been In that kind of light You could lose your sight And believe there was something to win You could hold her tight With all your might But she'd slip through your arms like the wind And be back in flight Back into the night Where you might never see her again The longer I thought I could find her The shorter my vision became Running in circles behind her And thinking in terms of the blame But she couldn't have been any kinder If she'd come back and tried to explain She wasn't much good a saying goodbye--but That girl was sane (c) 1980 Swallow Turn Music / ASCAP SOMEBODY'S BABY (written by Jackson Browne & Danny Kortchmar) (Originally from the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack) Well, just - a look at that girl with the lights comin' up in her eyes. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. She's got to be somebody's baby. She's so fine. She's probably somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's probably somebody's baby, all right. I heard her talkin' with her friend when she thought nobody else was around. She said she's got to be somebody's baby; she must be somebody's baby. 'Cause when the cars and the signs and the street lights light up the town, She's got to be somebody's baby; She must be somebody's baby; She's got to be somebody's baby. She's so.... She's gonna be somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight. I try to shut eyes, but I can't get here outta my sight. I know I'm gonna know her, but I gotta get over my fright. We'll, I'm just gonna walk up to her. I'm gonna talk to her tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's only light. Gonna shine tonight. Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight. Gonna shine tonight, make her mine tonight. (c) 1982 NIK KITCHEN MUSIC / WB MUSIC CORP., ASCAP TENDER IS THE NIGHT (written by Russell Kunkel, Danny Kortchmar & Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Lawyers In Love) Between the darkness on the street And the houses filling up with light Between the stillness in my heart And the roar of the approaching night Somebody's calling after somebody Somebody turns the corner out of sight Looking for somebody Somewhere in the night Tender is the night When you hold your baby tight Tender are the motions, tender is the night Between a life that we expected And the way it's always been I can't walk back in again After the way we fight When just outside there are people laughing Living lives we used to lead Chasing down the love they need Somewhere in the night Tender is the night And the benediction of the neon light Tender are the hunters, tender is the night You're gonna want me tonight When you're ready to surrender Forget about who's right When you're ready to remember It's another world at night When you're ready to be tender Tender, tender tender... And in the hard light of an angry sun No one remembers what was said or done Tender are the words they choose You win, I win, we lose Tender Tender is the night Tender The benediction of the neon light Tender Tender are the hunters Tender is the night When they hold each other tight Tender Tender are the undercover Tender The stranger and the secret lover Tender Tender are the motions Tender is the night When you hold your baby tight Tender, tender tender... (c) 1983 Olas Music/Kortchmar Music & Night Kitchen Music ASCAP IN THE SHAPE OF A HEART (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Lives In The Balance) It was a ruby that she wore On a chain around her neck In the shape of a heart In the shape of a heart It was a time I won't forget For the sorrow and regret And the shape of a heart And the shape of a heart I guess I never knew What she was talking about I guess I never knew What she was living without People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove Speak in terms of belief and belonging Try to fit some name to their longing People speak of love There was a hole left in the wall From some ancient fight About the size of a fist Or something thrown that had missed And there were other holes as well In the house where our nights fell Far too many to repair In the time that we were there People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of Reach out to each other though the push and shove Speak in terms of a life and the learning Try to think of a word for the burning You keep it up You try so hard To keep a life from coming apart And never know What breaches and faults are concealed In the shape of a heart It was the ruby that she wore On a stand beside the bed In the hour before dawn When I knew she was gone And I held it in my hand For a little while And dropped it into the wall Let it go, heard it fall I guess I never knew What she was talking about I guess I never knew What she was living without People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove Speak in terms of a life and the living Try to find the word for forgiving You keep it up You try so hard To keep a life from coming apart And never know The shallows and the unseen reefs That are there from the start In the shape of a heart (c) 1986 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC, ASCAP I AM A PATRIOT (written by Little Steven) (Originally from the album World In Motion) And the river opens for the righteous (5 times) Someday I was walking with my brother And he wondered what's on my mind I said what I believe in my soul Ain't what I see with my eyes And we can't turn our backs this time I am a patriot And I love my county Because my country is all I know I want to be with my family The people who understand me I've got nowhere else to go And the river opens for the righteous And the river opens for the righteous And the river opens for the righteous Someday And I was talking with my sister She looked so fine I said, "Baby, what's on your mind?" She said, "I want to run like the lion Released from the cages Released from the rages Burning in my heart tonight" And I ain't no communist And I ain't no capitalist And I ain't no socialist And I ain't no imperialist And I ain't no democrat And I ain't no republican I only know one party And it is freedom I am, I am, I am I am a patriot And I love my country Because my county is all I know And the river opens for the righteous And the river opens for the righteous And the river opens for the righteous Someday And the river opens for the righteous... (c)1984 BLUE MIDNIGHT MUSIC (ASCAP) LATE FOR THE SKY (written by Jackson Browne) (Originally from the album Late For The Sky) Now the words had all been spoken And somehow the feeling still wasn't right And still we continued on through the night Tracing our steps from the beginning Until they vanished into the air Trying to understand How our lives has lead us there Looking hard into your eyes There was nobody I'd ever known Such an empty surprise To feel so alone Now for me some words come easy But I know that they don't mean that much Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch You never knew what I loved in you I don't know what you loved in me Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be Awake again I can't pretend And I know I'm alone And close to the end Of the feeling we've known How long have I been sleeping How long have I been drifting alone through the night How long have I've dreaming I could make it right If I closed my eyes and tried with all my might To be the one you need Awake again I can't pretend And I know I'm alone And close to the end Of the feeling we've known How long I've been sleeping How long have I been drifting alone through the night How long have I been running for that morning flight Through the whispered promises and the changing light In the bed where we both lie Late for the sky (c) 1974 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC |