The Very Best of Jackson Browne


The Very Best of Jackson Browne is a double-disc compilation album by Jackson Browne, released on March 16, 2004, by Rhino Entertainment and Elektra Records in celebration of Browne's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a day earlier. It reached number 46 on The Billboard 200.

History

The previous Browne collection, 1997's The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne was missing many songs considered essential by fans, such as "Rock Me On the Water" and "Lawyers in Love", as well as tracks from his 1989 album World in Motion. Thus, The Very Best of Jackson Browne is seen by many as the more complete of the two, although it lacks two of Browne's most successful singles, "For America" and "That Girl Could Sing".
Disc 1 encompasses the material from Browne's early career and Disc 2 contains the material from his later years.
The album was certified as a Gold record in 2006 by the RIAA.

Reception

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the release, writing "the collection does contain the great majority of Browne's best and best-known material in an attractive, engaging fashion... and for listeners who want a comprehensive overview without purchasing individual albums, this suits the bill nicely."
Nigel Williamson of Uncut wrote "Browne's default mode has always been delicious melancholy, as this double-CD collection proves once again... for a one-stop career retrospective, this is hard to beat."

Track listing

All songs by Jackson Browne unless otherwise noted

Disc one

  1. "Doctor, My Eyes" – 3:20
  2. "Jamaica Say You Will" – 3:24
  3. "Rock Me on the Water" – 4:13
  4. "Take It Easy" – 3:51
  5. "These Days" – 4:39
  6. "Redneck Friend" – 4:01
  7. "For Everyman" – 5:58
  8. "For a Dancer" – 4:45
  9. "Fountain of Sorrow" – 6:51
  10. "Late for the Sky" – 5:36
  11. "Before the Deluge" – 6:21
  12. "Your Bright Baby Blues" – 6:03
  13. "The Pretender" – 5:52
  14. "Here Come Those Tears Again" – 3:37
  15. "The Load-Out" – 5:35
  16. "Stay" – 3:24

Disc two

  1. "Running on Empty" – 4:59
  2. "You Love the Thunder" – 3:55
  3. "Boulevard" – 3:21
  4. "Somebody's Baby" – 4:24
  5. "Tender Is the Night" – 4:53
  6. "Lawyers in Love" – 4:20
  7. "In the Shape of a Heart" – 5:47
  8. "Lawless Avenues" – 5:39
  9. "Lives in the Balance" – 4:15
  10. "I Am a Patriot" – 4:05
  11. "Sky Blue and Black" – 6:05
  12. "I'm Alive" – 5:10
  13. "The Barricades of Heaven" – 5:40
  14. "Looking East" – 4:56
  15. "The Naked Ride Home" – 5:58
  16. "The Night Inside Me" – 4:39

Production

Compilation produced by Jackson Browne.
All original recordings produced by Jackson Browne except for those from Jackson Browne, The Pretender and Looking East. Some albums were co-produced: