Personnel: Jackson Browne (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano); David Lindley (acoustic & electric guitars, slide guitar, fiddle); Kevin McCormick (acoustic guitar, bass); Clarence White (acoustic guitar); Jesse Ed Davis (electric guitar); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (pedal steel guitar); Craig Doerge (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, Mini-Moog synthesizer); David Paich, Elton John (piano); Benmont Tench (Hammond B-3 organ); Jai Winding (organ, synthesizer); Doug Haywood (organ, background vocals); Michael Utley (organ); Leland Sklar, Chuck Rainey (bass); Russell Kunkel (drums, congas); Jeff Porcaro (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); Vonda Shepard, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Glenn Frey, Dan Fogelberg, Don Henley, J.D. Souther, Bonnie Raitt (background vocals).
Producers include: Jackson Browne, Al Schmitt, Jon Landau, Greg Ladanyi, Scott Thurston.
Compilation producer: Jackson Browne.
Recorded between 1972 & 2002. Includes liner notes by Dave Marsh.
Before this double-disc dose of Jackson Browne's best came along, the influential troubadour's most extensive career summary was the 15-song THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR. This truly definitive anthology contains just about everything on that disc and plenty more. Browne helped define the 1970s singer/songwriter idiom, and that process is carefully documented here, as on the precociously world-weary "These Days" and the soulful, Van Morrison-like "Doctor My Eyes." The collection follows Browne through the years, as he toughens up his sound with more of a rock edge ("Running on Empty," "Boulevard") and adds a sociopolitical edge to his lyrics ("Lives in the Balance," "I am a Patriot"). Through it all, Jackson's humanity and humility, not to mention his lyrical song-craft, shine with an enviable consistency.
What the critics say...
Spin (p.104) - "He started as Nico's boy toy, then joined the dashboard confessional set of '70s L.A. rock, playing the emo-folkie foil to the Eagles' faux cowboys and Linda Rondstadt's denim diva."
Uncut (p.171) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[F]or a one-stop career retrospective, this is hard to beat."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Reflective, honest, articulate."
