The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 12, 1978 Page: 4 of 8
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records
Jackson Browne
Running on Empty
Running on Empty is a remarkable
album, not only in terms of its musical
content, but in terms of its thematic
concept, a live album devoted
exclusively to new Browne songs
which were recorded during his 1977
tour. This approach is novel enough, as
there are no other live albums that I
know of which have been devoted to
showcasing only new, heretofore
unreleased songs. But the concept
behind Running on Empty goes
further than this, as the songs were
recorded, quite literally, on the road—
in dressing rooms, hotel rooms, on
buses, and on the concert stage — all to
give the total feel to the subject of
Running on Empty—life on the road.
The album opens with two accounts
of life on the road, in general. The title
cut, the most powerful Browne rocker
to date, provides a background to the
relationship Browne and the road have
for one another, while "The Road"
gives tribute to the lifestyle which
constant touring has caused Browne to
adopt. "Rosie" is a nice, short piano
ballad dedicated to the girls who hang
around the music halls whenever a
band comes to town. "You Love the
Thunder" rocks quite well, but it also
features some of the most beautiful and
personal lyrics ever penned by Browne.
Side one closes with a modified version
of Rev. Gary Davis' "Cocaine."
Although it is not one of the better cuts,
it does depict still one more aspect of
life on the road.
"Shaky Town," a tale of the road as
seen by Browne's guitarist, Danny
Kortchmar, opens side two. It, too, is
not one of the album's more
outstanding cuts, and it is quickly
followed by a beautiful ballad co-
written by Lowell George, Valerie
Carter, and Jackson Browne. "Love
Needs a Heart" is the name of this
joint composition, a story of the road to
love. "Nothing but Time" is a tune
about travelling between gigs, and if
the folk flavor and lyrical subject make
you think of riding cross-country on a
bus, it is not too surprising, for that is
where the song was recorded. "The
Load" and "Stay" close the album most
appropriately as they salute the
indefatigable roadcrew and the ones
who make the show happen, the
audience.
In spite of the fact that many of the
songs are not Browne compositions,
they all fit the theme upon which
Running on Empty is based. But the
best songs are still the ones in which
Browne had a hand in writing.
Running on Empty is an ironic title,
for never before in his career has
Jackson Browne been more teeming
with beautiful music, poignant lyrics,
and artistic excellence.
Rate: 1
—bruce kessler
Aerosmith
Draw the Line
One of the things I find annoying
about the rock scene is the way certain
groups take a fixed approach to
music and milk it for all it's worth,
album after album. With the release of
Draw the Line, Aerosmith has
succeeded in highlighting marketed
sameness, insistent at that. It's
another one from Aerosmith, and it
sounds like it. You would think Steve
Tyler et al would get a little tired of the
wham and bang approach to rock, but
variety must not be their cup of tea.
Rock music should be exciting and
electric, not predictable and cluttered.
A cut like "Critical Mass" may be an
indication where this album has gone
wrong. Basically, it plays like
something that is so live it was barely
rehearsed before recording. Aerosmith
as a group cannot seem to decide what
to put in and what to leave out, with the
result that the cuts sound like sonic
sports events, competition between
Tyler's screechy vocals, the distorted
guitar section, and the flailing drum
work.
The music is better than its execution
(sic). Aerosmith is capable of better, as
they demonstrated on parts of Toys in
the Attic and Rocks. For about five
minutes, during "Kings and Queens,"
the group stops pounding away long
enough to distinguish the cut as a piece
of music rather than as a pre-conceived
piece of formulaic rock. It isn't a flaw to
shut the guitars up long enough to
actually hear some individual work.
It's disappointing to hear tunes
drowned out by their own volume.
It sounds like some engineer decided to
turn all the levels up full blast rather
than spend time mixing. This
approach most noticably mars the title
cut and "Milk Cow Blues," whose only
claim to the blues is its title.
I realize that Aerosmith is one of
those bands a lot of self-styled high
class listeners find it enjoyable to scoff
at, but on this release the group
deserves some flak. It's the type of
album made to be played at a blaring
din, seeing as how that is the approach
Aerosmith takes throughout Draw
the Line.
Rate: 3
—jim fowler
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the rice thresher, january 12, 1978—page 4
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Parker, Philip. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 12, 1978, newspaper, January 12, 1978; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245356/m1/4/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.