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Running on Empty was released in 1977. Jackson Browne enlisted talented musicians to bring the album to life, including David Lindley, Russell Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Craig Doerge, Danny Kortchmar, Doug Haywood, and Rosemary Butler.
The album holds a very special significance. It is a sunny album, brimming with joie de vivre, yet it does not shy away from reflective lyrics or poetic imagery. It was recorded during a summer tour but is not a true 'live album.' Some tracks were gathered during concert performances or soundchecks, and some were even recorded in hotel rooms. All the tracks are previously unreleased, which is unusual for a live album, and they all revolve around the central theme of life 'on the road'. The album features a couple of tracks co-written by Browne with one of his dearest friends, the road manager 'Buddha' Miller, and the unforgettable Lowell Gorge. It also includes some beautiful covers. The album is superbly played by a stellar band, a dream team of the Californian sound.
Browne himself stated that Running on Empty represented a period of tranquility and positive awareness of his life. He had recently stopped using drugs, having lost many friends and realizing that such a lifestyle had no future. In this work, music is approached more instinctively.
The title track, ''Running on Empty'', simply sensational, is dedicated by the author to the French painter Paul Gauguin, who moved to Polynesia in search of new sources of inspiration and a different lifestyle from European cities. Like Gaugin, Browne wants to move to Tahiti. The striking solo by David Lindley is noteworthy, leaving you breathless. Very atmospheric is ''The Road'', a guitar and violin duet, a warm ballad. Very romantic is ''Rosie'', a semi-acoustic piece that tells the story of a rock band's technician infatuated with a girl, Rosie, who, however, runs off with the group's drummer. The song is very sweet, and its bare musical structure, consisting of just piano and vocals, makes it even more intense and moving. ''You Love The Thunder'' is a typical piece in Jackson Browne's style. A classic ballad filled with introspective questions about the relationship between man and woman, as well as the usual attempts to envision a better future without regretting the past.
Extraordinary is ''Cocaine'', a cover of Gary Davis's blues. The track is played with two acoustic guitars and a violin. The final verse features original lyrics written by Jackson alongside Glenn Frey. ''Shaky Town'' was recorded in a hotel room and is signed by Danny Kortchmar. Danny himself provides the backing vocal on the track, which is a smooth semi-acoustic ballad with a country flavor. ''Love Needs A Heart'', penned by two other rockstar friends of Jackson, was recorded at the Universal Theater in Hollywood. The track is a pleasant love ballad dominated by the piano-vocal pairing. Very much on the road is ''Nothing But Time'', which was even recorded on the bus transporting the band to an unspecified location in New Jersey. During the piece, you can even hear the sound of the bus engine, which almost seems to be an integral part of the track. ''The Load-Out'' is a track to be listened to attentively. It was composed by Browne in his signature style. The album concludes with ''Stay'', a famous song with Lindley's classic, hilarious violin intervention.
The Californian lad is at the peak of his creativity and personal success. Only in his thirties, he is already at the top of the world, loved like a true legend. His generosity and sensitivity towards the less fortunate will see him increasingly at the forefront of defending social rights, humanitarian, political, and environmental causes. Magnificent album with a unique sound!
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Running on Empty (05:30)
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields
In '65 I was seventeen and running up one-oh-one
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on
(Running on) Running on empty
(Running on) Running blind
(Running on) Running into the sun but I'm running behind
Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In '69 I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on
(Running on) Running on empty
(Running on) Running blind
(Running on) Running into the sun but I'm running behind
Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don't know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, that'll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes, I see them running too
(Running on) Running on empty
(Running on) Running blind
(Running on) Running into the sun but I'm running behind
Honey, you really tempt me, you know the way you look so kind
I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind
(Running on) You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find
(Running blind) Running into the sun but I'm running behind
02 The Road (04:46)
Highways and dancehalls
A good song takes you far
Your write about the moon
And you dream about the stars
Blues in old motel rooms
Girls in daddy's car
You sing about the nights
And you laugh about the scars
Coffee in the morning cocaine afternoons
You talk about the weather
And you grin about the rooms
Phone calls long distance
To tell how you've been
Forget about the losses, you exaggerate the wins
And when you stop to let 'em know
You've got it down
It's just another town along the road
The ladies come to see you
If your name still rings a bell
They give you damn near nothin'
And they'll say they knew you well
So you tell 'em you remember
But they know it's just a game
And along the way their faces
All begin to look the same
And when you stop to let 'em know
You got it down
It's just another town along the road
Well it isn't for the money
And it's only for a while
You stalk about the rooms
And you roll away the miles
Gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars
You're right about the moon
But you're wrong about the stars
And when you stop to let 'em know
You got it down
It's just another town along the road
03 Rosie (03:41)
She was standing at the load-in
When the trucks rolled up
She was sniffing all around
Like a half grown female pup
She wasn't hard to talk to
Looked like she had nowhere to go
So I gave her my pass
So she could get in and see the show
Well I sat her down right next to me
And I got her a beer
While I mixed that sound on stage
So the band could hear
The more I watched her watch them play
The less I could think of to say
And when they walked off stage
The drummer swept that girl away
But Rosie you're all right -- you wear my ring
When you hold me tight -- Rosie that's my thing
When you turn out the light -- I've got to hand it to me
Looks like it's me and you again tonight Rosie
Well I guess I might have known from the start
She'd come for a star
Might have told my imagination not to run too far
Of all the times that I've been burned
By now you'd think I'd have learned
That it's who you look like
Not who you are
But Rosie you're all right -- you wear my ring
When you hold me tight -- Rosie that's my thing
When you turn out the light -- I've got to hand it to me
Looks like it's me and you again tonight Rosie
05 Cocaine (04:54)
You take Sally, and I'll take Sue
There ain't no difference between the two
Cocaine...Runnin all 'round my brain
Headin down Scott, turn up Main
Lookin for that girl that sells cocaine
Cocaine...Runnin all 'round my brain
Mmmm, Momma, come here quick
That old cocaine 'bout to make me sick
Cocaine...Runnin all 'round my brain
Late last night, 'bout quarter past 4,
Donnie came knockin down the hotel room door
"Where's the cocaine?", I said,
"It's runnin all 'round my brain"
I was talkin to my doctor down at the hospital
He said "it says here your 27, but that's impossible"
Cocaine..."You look like you could be 45"
Now I'm loosin touch with reality,
And I'm almost out of blow
Such a fine line, I hate to see it go
Cocaine...Runnin all 'round my brain
(chatter)
09 The Load-Out (05:35)
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
Tonight the people were so fine
They waited there in line
And when they got up on their feet they made the show
And that was sweet -
But I can hear the sound
Of slamming doors and folding chairs
And that's a sound they'll never know
Now roll them cases out and lift them amps
Haul them trusses down and get 'em up them ramps
'Cause when it comes to moving me
You guys are the champs
But when that last guitar's been packed away
You know that I still want to play
So just make sure you got it all set to go
Before you come for my piano
But the band's on the bus
And they're waiting to go
We've got to drive all night and do a show in Chicago
Or Detroit, I don't know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same
We just pass the time in the hotel rooms
And wander 'round backstage
Till those lights come up and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came
Now we got country and western on the bus
R and B, we got disco in eight track and cassettes in stereo
We got rural scenes and magazines
We got truckers on the C.B.
We got Richard Pryor on the video
We got time to think of the ones we love
As the miles roll away
But the only time that seem too short
Is the time that we get to play
People you got the power over what we do
You can sit there and wait
Or you can pull us through
Come along, sing the song
You know you can't go wrong
'Cause when that morning sun comes beating down
You're going to wake up in your town
But we'll be scheduled to appear
A thousand miles away from here
10 Stay (03:22)
People stay just a little bit longer
We want to play -- just a little bit longer
Now the promoter don't mind
And the union don't mind
If we take a little time
And we leave it all behind and sing
One more song
Oh won't you stay just a little bit longer
Please, please, please say you will
Say you will
Oh won't you stay just a little bit longer
Oh please, please stay just a little bit more
Now the promoter don't mind
And the roadies don't mind
If we take a little time
And we leave it all behind and sing
One more song
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