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The first time I saw Jackson Browne live was at Great Woods on 8/26/99. Great show, but near the end JB's stage monitor started going in and out and he stopped a song mid-tune to publicly berate a roadie and then re-started the song (it may even have been "Rosie" on piano, Ceej). Total diva. Shortly thereafter he played "The Load Out/Stay" and somehow his loving tribute to the road crew fell a little flat...

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Hey, you don't want to interrupt "Rosie" mid...uh...song

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OBJECTION Your Honor. Relevance? The Court has already established that all human beings are deeply flawed, this statement doesn't give exception to famous musicians.

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Feb 4, 2021Liked by CJ Kaplan

After my comment a week ago, I feel compelled to weigh in here. Wow, you guys are critical. JB can't put anything upbeat on an otherwise introspective album? That's like saying "Sweet Virgina" and "Happy" and "Stop Breaking Down" don't belong on the same album (the album for which this blog is named, btw). Life has its ups and downs and so, then, do albums. IMHO. Your criticism should be directed at Ken for wanting to purchase "Somebody's Baby".

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Happy or sad had nothing to do with it for me, Paul. I just thought the song was ridiculous. Fair point about "Somebody's Baby", though. At least he wasn't trying to get "Lawyers in Love"

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Actually, my comment was mostly about Mitch's critique of "Doctor, My Eyes", which I think is a really good song.

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"Doctor My Eyes" is a stone-cold classic. Perhaps the best conga song in rock. But once you score a top 10 hit I think it creates an expectation at the label for hit singles on every record. Or maybe JB fell asleep while watching a Steve McQueen movie and came up with the riff in his sleep like Keef.

I also like 'Lawyers in Love" for the "aaaahhhh-oooooo" and am the proud owner of the Fast Times soundtrack on vinyl. I like all JB except for when he starts yapping about Nicaragua.

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Sorry, I misread what you had written. And I agree about the yapping.

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Paul, the songs happened to be upbeat, but the criticism was more about them being bad songs. They sounded even more ridiculous because they felt out of place.

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I'll defend "Somebody's Baby" with great vigor! It's not your typical JB song, but it works and it was perfectly utilized for the movie soundtrack. As far as my colleague's opinions about "The Road and The Sky", do you see what I'm dealing with here at EONS Global HQ everyday? They're such children.

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