Ranking the 5 Best Album-Openers by Jackson Browne

Among singer/songwriters, you’d be hard to find too many artists with a catalog as impressive as Jackson Browne. He brings a clear-eyed eloquence to his work, free of any grandstanding or manipulative tactics that make his songs hit a little bit harder than the average confessional work.

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Throughout his career, he has also brought a knack for coming up with opening tracks that both set the tone brilliantly for their respective albums and stand out on their own. Here are five that deserve special mention.

5. “The Birds of St. Marks” from Standing in the Breach (2014)

There’s a fascinating tale about this song. Browne essentially forgot he wrote it back in the ‘60s, back before he was an artist and when he was still churning out material for Nico. He recalled it in the ‘90s, and then even included it on a live album when a fan shouted out a request for it. That solo piano version is lovely, but he decided to give it more of a churning rock take when he finally recorded it proper for Standing in the Breach. This almost-lost gem turned out to be a shimmering beauty.

4. “Jamaica Say You Will” from Jackson Browne (1972)

It almost feels like Jackson Browne’s self-titled debut album (sometimes mislabeled Saturate Before Using because of the message on the cover) is underrated. Maybe folks overlook it because he followed it up with so many classic LPs. But when you check this thing out all over again, be prepared to be blown away by just how sharp Browne was right from the start. And we mean right from the very first song, as “Jamaica Say You Will” captures that melancholic vibe he could always summon as well as anyone else.

3. “Lawyers in Love” from Lawyers in Love (1983)

Because his ‘70s albums were so revered, and because folks weren’t quite prepared for him to sing about anything but relationships and lost love, his work in the ‘80s will probably never get the fair shake it deserves. “Lawyers in Love,” for instance, always felt like it should have been a bigger hit. The recording is stellar, as it features a beat that snaps you to attention and a thrilling modulation in the middle section. Meanwhile, it’s one of the funniest songs in Browne’s catalog, a spot-on satire suggesting our collective attention as a country was poorly aimed at that point in time.

2. “Running on Empty” from Running on Empty (1977)

After releasing a couple of studio albums that were somewhat ornate, Browne decided to loosen things up a bit, perhaps loosening up his image as well, with the release of Running on Empty. It was a bit of a roll of the dice, relying on live performances of songs that hadn’t yet been heard to drive the record. But it ended up a triumph, as his songwriting glistened and the album ended up resonating with far more folks than just rock stars on the road. The title cut and opening track set the table, as Browne called out to those in his generation who felt like their road was never-ending, even if they were seemingly settled.

1. “Late for the Sky” from Late for the Sky (1974)

Browne hit the third-album sweet spot on Late for the Sky, which stands as one of the finest albums of the decade, regardless of how you want to classify it. And it starts with a doozy. The title track establishes his persona for the record as someone at a point in life where the questions far outpace the answers. One area for which Browne doesn’t get enough credit is his singing. Here, note how he holds those elongated vowel songs for a beat or two longer than you might expect so that you can hear the vulnerability and the angst so beautifully evoked by the lyrics.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns