Up until I met Nancy about ten years ago, I didn't know any Die-Hard Jackson Browne fans. I thought they were kind of a myth, like Bigfoot or a free lunch. But Nancy shattered the questionability of it, and I have to say, he's grown on me in the past decade as well.
I knew the hits, but I didn't know everything else. Then I started to research him. Through his career, his reviews have been lukewarm, and he's never garnered whole sale respect. That surprised me. I thought for sure this guy was one of the top dogs, but it's a bit more modest than that. I personally don't like a lot of what he puts out, but there are these gems (both albums and songs) that have a unique pull to them. They're nicely crafted blends of folk, soft rock, and country, that don't ask too much of you.
Now just because the critics didn't give him all A+'s doesn't mean he's without fans. He's got millions. I've never met them, but they're out there. He's got 7 platinum albums (3x of which are multiplatinum), that have sold over 17 million copies in the U.S. alone. The Pretender is my favorite, and this title track is might be my pick of the lot. Sometimes I want to hate it, but it has a depressing allure that keeps me coming back for more. It's almost masochistic. The album opens with a tune called "The Fuse" which Johnny introduced me to one day when he played and sang it, off the cuff(yea, he's that good). That song is a masterpiece in it's own right. But overall, it's an album that I think a lot can be taken from, and it certainly winds up getting a lot of face time on my ipod.
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