Jackson Browne - Rockpalast, Grugahalle, Essen, Germany, 3-15-1986

I've posted three Jackson Browne BBC albums, all from the 1970s. As far as I know, he didn't perform for the BBC in the 1980s. But I have this concert done for the German TV show "Rockpalast" that nicely fills that gap. 

The 1980s weren't a great decade for Jackson Browne albums, especially compared to the 1970s. He fell victim to the same problem that hit many musical artists from his earlier era, namely, succumbing to the production trends of the time, such as over use of synthesizers and overly loud drumming. But it often happens that those choices were pushed by the producer and/or record company, so they didn't show up nearly as much in concert. That's the case here. Browne obviously was trying for a more lively, rocking sound, and one can definitely hear that. But there's a more organic sound that has weathered the test of time then some of his album versions.

The concert is unreleased, but the sound quality is excellent. And unlike his BBC performances I've posted, this is a full concert. His 1986 album "Lives in the Balance" had been released the month before, and he naturally played seven out of the eight songs from that. But he mixed in a good number of songs from the earlier parts of his career.

Normally, I have a particular fondness for songs done in an acoustic format. But with Browne, that gets to be a bit samey after a while. I think I actually prefer it when he rocks out like this. He's never released a normal live album (although he has released two live albums of acoustic versions). If he ever does release one, I think it would be hard to top this.

This album is an hour and 30 minutes long.

01 talk (Jackson Browne)
02 Boulevard (Jackson Browne)
03 Tender Is the Night (Jackson Browne)
04 In the Shape of a Heart (Jackson Browne)
05 Candy (Jackson Browne)
06 talk (Jackson Browne)
07 Downtown (Jackson Browne)
08 For Everyman (Jackson Browne)
09 talk (Jackson Browne)
10 Lawyers in Love (Jackson Browne)
11 talk (Jackson Browne)
12 Soldiers of Plenty (Jackson Browne)
13 talk (Jackson Browne)
14 Black and White (Jackson Browne)
15 Late for the Sky (Jackson Browne)
16 Lives in the Balance (Jackson Browne)
17 talk (Jackson Browne)
18 Lawless Avenues (Jackson Browne)
19 talk (Jackson Browne)
20 For America (Jackson Browne)
21 The Pretender (Jackson Browne)
22 talk (Jackson Browne)
23 Running on Empty (Jackson Browne)
24 Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Browne)
25 For a Rocker (Jackson Browne)

https://www.imagenetz.de/ic7o7

The cover photo comes from this exact concert. For his name at the top, I used the lettering from his "Late for the Sky" album.