Parents' Pick #3: Running on Empty by Jackson Browne

        

    Last week I reviewed an album from 2014 but this week we are gonna throw it back to 1977. In this post I will be discussing Jackson Browne’s album Running on Empty. I know this album is one of my parents’ personal favorites both of them feature it on their playlists. I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve listened to songs on this album in the kitchen during dinner, and don’t even get me started on how mad my parents would get if I accidentally put the playlist on shuffle and “Stay” didn’t play directly after “The Load Out.” If you don’t understand that you will before the end of this post I promise.

            Jackson Browne is an American singer-song writer who was born in Germany but grew up in Los Angeles, California. I could go on and on about how much I personally love him as an artist but I’ll just let the facts speak for themselves. Browne has sold over 18 million albums in the United States and was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

            Running on Empty was Browne’s fifth album released, and to me his most interesting and best due to his documentary like approach to it. This album was recorded entirely on tour, combining live performances complete with crowd interaction with recordings made on buses, in hotel rooms, and even backstage. This aspect brings a whole new appreciation for the album because you get more of the concert experience without even having to go to one. The way it was recorded also adds significant meaning to the album’s overall concept because all of the songs are about life as a touring musician always on the road.

            The album opens up with the title song “Running on Empty” which while being a fast paced upbeat song has pretty depressing lyrics to go along with it. The song starts out with a big drum pattern and a guitar in full swing which is quickly accompanied by a harmonious piano melody. But the lyrics are about how hard it is to be on the road all the time for example Browne sings “You know I don’t even know what I’m hoping to find. Running into the sun but I’m running behind.” From these lyrics you would assume Browne hates what he does and resents the life he’s living but that’s where the upbeat instruments come into play. The instrumental of the song gives a different meaning to the song, while the life Browne is living is really tiring and hard as shown in the lyrics, it’s also very rewarding to him and it’s what he loves to do which is what the music shows us. This song is followed by a much slower song called “The Road” which features a surprisingly mesmerizing fiddle, I could talk about what this song is about but it’s pretty clear from the title that it’s about life on the road as are every song on the album so I won’t get into too much detail about that.
       My two personal favorites on this album are the last two songs, in which Browne explains why he continues to live this exhausting life. He spends the whole album talking about the hardships of touring and then in “The Load Out” and “Stay” it’s like this moment of clarity where he realizes the meaning behind everything he does. In “The Load Out” Browne sings about the crew loading everything onto the bus to go to the next show and him just wanting to stay there and continue playing. My favorite lyric is when he says “We just pass the time in our hotel rooms and wander round backstage till those lights come up and we hear that crowd and we remember why we came.” It just shows Browne’s passion and love for music which is something everyone loves to hear in an artist’s performances and songs. “The Load Out” builds directly up to “Stay” which also enforces Browne’s want to continue playing music rather than leaving for another town again.

            Another intriguing aspect about this album is how much it says about the music culture and the culture of touring musicians especially. Lyrically this album shows audiences a lot about the behind the scenes of touring that we usually don’t get to see or hear about. It displays both the downsides and upsides of life on the road, it’s not just all glamour and money and fame, it takes a huge emotional toll on these performers. As Browne sang in “The Load Out” they usually don’t even know what day it is or what city they’re playing in next cause they “do so many shows in a row.” But it isn’t all bad, Browne sings about how much they love the time they get to play which is what drives their passion for music and performing. Honestly I never used to think about how exhausted artists are at all of the concerts I’ve been too. Many artists now play multiple shows in a row in one city and instead of sleeping go out and explore the town at night, you have to really love performing to do it on absolutely no sleep and make it look like you’re perfectly fine. I definitely have a new appreciation for musicians after this album opened my eyes to a whole different side of this culture.

            While I realize it may seem a little boring and overdone to do a whole album with songs that are all about the same thing, but Browne pulled it off. They may all be very similar in content but they all show different aspects of that concept, different reasons why life on the road is hard and different reasons why it’s worth it. Over all I really appreciate Browne’s ability to turn an album into a documentary and also make some timeless catchy tunes at the same time. I do wish there were a few more upbeat songs on the album but hey we can’t have everything besides there is always a time when you just need to listen to slow sad songs. While this album may not be relatable to the average audience, it’s understandable and eye opening which is where it’s success comes from.