Running on Empty is a concept album themed around the loneliness and frustrations of the tiring life on the road offset by the joys of playing to an audience and making them happy. It is a sort of live album in that the songs were recorded live on stage, or at a variety of locations associated with touring such as rehersal rooms, hotel rooms, the tour bus etc. All songs were previously unreleased by Jackson Browne.
I'm not sure why I bought this album. I had never previously heard any of Jackson Browne's music although I knew he co-wrote "Take It Easy" with Glen Frey, and was aware of "The Pretender" being a big hit in the US, although I wasn't aware of actually having heard it. When Running on Empty was released it received a critical review in the music paper I was reading at the time ( can't remember which one ) although that may have been because the music wasn't new wave/punk rock ! It was also criticised for being Browne's blandest album to date, but maybe co-incidently it was also his most commercially successful.
I may have heard the title track on Nicky Horne's late night radio show on Capital Radio, and around this time I had acquired The Eagles' "Greatest Hits" and "Hotel California" albums so was maybe looking for something similar. I probably saw it in the record shop and took a chance.
I must admit I remember playing this album a lot in the late 1970s but it then fell out of vogue and I haven't heard any of this for a very long time. Before playing again, there are only 4 songs I could confidently say how they go..............
Side one starts with a live performance of "Running On Empty", a song in a similar tempo to "Take It Easy" although piano driven and there is a nice slide guitar break. It was Browne's second biggest hit in the US although it didn't make top 100 in the UK. It is one of the better songs on the album and the obvious choice to be a single.
The beginning of the "The Road" was recorded in a hotel room, with the end section recorded live on stage. It is a slow melancholic lament reminiscent of The Eagles "Despardo" and the fiddle playing gives the song a slight Irish feel.
"Rosie" is another slow lament recorded in a rehersal room, being mostly just voice and piano.
"You Love The Thunder" was recorded live on stage and was a single in the US although not in the UK. It's an inferior version of "Running on Empty".
"Cocaine" was recorded in a hotel room and was previously my least favourite song on the LP. It's not to be confused with the JJ Cale song of the same name made famous by Eric Clapton. This version is is another slow song on the album but here in a country and western style with a Blues feel and dominated by the fiddle. The acoustic guitar solo sounds like it was played by a 7 year old, and the there is some unnecessary chat at the end of the song which is probably intended to be deep and meaningful, but instead is just trite. That said, the song sounded better than I remembered !
Side two opens with a live recording of the slow/mid tempo "Shaky Town", one of nicest tunes on the LP and with more nice piano and slide guitar.
"Love Needs A Heart" is another song recorded live. It's a slow, tender piano ballard co written with Lowell George of Little Feet and Valerie Carter ( the inspriation for the Stevie Winwood song Valerie, which is not the song of the same name by The Zutons and made famous by Amy Winehouse ! )
"Nothing But Time" was recorded on the tour bus and the change of gear and accleration can be heard in the instrumental bridge in the middle of the song. It's not a great song though, something that Ry Cooder might have discarded, and for me its the low point of the album.
The last two songs were recorded live with one leading into the other. "The Load Out" is another nice slow piano song in the "Despardo" style with another slide guitar solo
"Stay"was originally famous for being the shortest ever chart single when released by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs in the US in the 1960s, and was covered by The Hollies in the UK. Here it has been changed from being a song about a guy trying to persuade his date to stay out later than the time she promised her father she would be home by to a song about playing an encore, "the promoter don't mind and the Unions don't mind...........the roadies don't mind, .". The song is played much slower than the earlier versions and reaches a respectable three minutes by having an extra verse and padded out by an extended instrumental outro. It is notable for the three verses being sung in ascending ranges, culminating with the falsetto of fiddle player David Lindley. It remains Browne's only UK Top 50 success, the irony being that such a renowed song writer's on UK hit was a cover of someone else's song.
I really enjoyed listening to this album for the first time in over 30 years, a collection of fine songs with only a couple of ordinary moments.
Track Listing :
1. Running On Empty
2. The Road
3. Rosie
4. You Love The Thunder
5. Cocaine
6. Shaky Town
7. Love Needs A Heart
8. Nothing But Time
9. The Load Out
10.Stay
Released 1977
UK Chart Position :-
Singles :
Running On Empty Rebel ( No - 1978 )
Stay ( No 12 - 1978 )
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