Life according to Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne started off his musical career with a short stint in The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I bet you didn't know that, did you? But after that he became a solo artiste whose songs were often interpreted by artistes such as Joan Baez, Tom Rush, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds.

I have this album by Browne which was recorded at possibly the lowest ebb of his life. The songs had rather dark and sombre titles, and were about love, life and everything in between. According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, there was a sense of despair which was derived in part from the suicide of his first wife, Phyllis, in 1976, two and a half years after the birth of their son, Ethan. Was that his son on the back cover of the album?

Side One: The Fuse, Your Bright Baby Blues, Linda Paloma, Here Come Those Tears Again
Side Two: The Only Child, Daddy's Tune, Sleep's Dark And Silent Gate, The Pretender