Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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67 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A welcome, if flawed, return., September 26, 2008
TIME THE CONQUEROR is a mixed-bag of delights; I won't sugarcoat it. The album is heavy on the political, a knack that I wish Browne had left back in the 80s. Granted, if anyone is going to do political music, let it be rock's poet laureate...but still...when he cries "Why is impeachment not on the table/We better stop them while we are able," we can't help but wince. I mean, Jackson, there are just four months left...it's almost over...
The political tunes (with one exception) aside, the rest of the album borders, occasionally, on brilliance. Take "Just Say Yeah," perhaps one of the best tunes to capture the innocence of young, unexpected love since...well...since Browne wrote about it a few decades ago. "You would think you would see love coming," he croons, "but of course you don't." Or the stellar "Live Nude Cabaret," a journey into one man's troubled desire that has an in-your-face opening that betrays the narrator's struggle: "I went to the Live Nude Cabaret/To see what I could see/And I saw the ladies dancing/And I guess that they saw me." "Giving That Heaven Away" is a tale of love and rock 'n roll, while "Going Down to Cuba" melds politics and the beach into a melodic, relaxing number, the ocasionally harsh political lyrics ("They might not know all the freedoms you and I know/But they do know what to do in a hurricane") sung with his tongue a little bit closer to his cheek.
Considering the beauty and brilliance to be found in these tunes, it's disappointing that so much of the album is political. It's all VERY well written--don't get me wrong. Jackson Browne has long been the songwriter's songwriter; I think everyone reading this review knows and appreciates that fact. But even the greatest songwriter can get lost within his lyric every now and then..."Off of Wonderland," for example, an otherwise stellar tune, idolizes the 60s just a bit too much ("If we could just believe in one another/As much as we believed in John"), and "Where Were You" gets lost within its groove, so much so that you forget the lyrics are about the devestation caused by Hurricane Katrina, and Browne is bemoaning "How strong will we ever really be? How long do we imagine we'll be free?"
TIME THE CONQUERER is a welcome return from Jackson Browne; it's nice to hear some new material again (though, personally, I hope he will continue with his SOLO ACOUSTIC series as well). There is a lot wrong with the world today, and it is natural for a songwriter as talented as Browne to write and sing about it. We just wish he wouldn't do it SO MUCH. When he's singing about the woes of our nation, he's good...but when he's singing about the woes of our hearts, he's brilliant. That's what makes TIME THE CONQUEROR so frustrating--there are moments of brilliance (and we know he's capable of whole albums of brilliance) obscured by something just this side of mediocrity. Jackson Browne is a true poet, and this is an album worth being added to your JB collection...but, if you are a beginner, then start elsewhere. Start, perhaps, at the beginning. It's as good a place as any, and better than some.
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63 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sometimes great, sometimes a bit dull, September 23, 2008
(3 & 1/2 stars) I was driving around today listening to the new JB CD and enjoying it - mostly. As other customers have said, it's always great to hear new music from Mr. Browne, and this one had its moments for sure. However, this was the first time I was a little tired of his political messages, and (worse) some of the songwriting felt flat to me. My top highlights included most of the poetic title track and the pensive "The Arms of Night" (classic Jackson). Some songs that never came to life for me were the Cuba song (a pretty weak JB tune), "Givin' That Heaven Away" (ho hum), and "Arms of Hunger." The latter number will either be received as a beautiful Browne ballad or a relatively boring trail-off. The musicianship IS excellent throughout, including the usual agelessly strong vocals from Jackson, but I don't think this will be one of his albums that I come back to very often. As for the political side... with songs about the war, Katrina, and even the Cuban embargo, at times listening to this CD felt a bit too much like reading The Nation. I fully understand that Browne the Activist is as much a part of the man as Browne the Troubadour, but I'm inclined to enjoy his music more "these days" when he stays closer to home with his subject matter.
P.S., What about that startling cover photo!?! I did a double-take on that one, did you?
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41 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SUNRISE NOT SUNSET FOR JB, September 25, 2008
When Bruce Springsteen inducted Jackson Browne into the ROCK & ROLL
HALL OF FAME a few years ago,he made an observation.His observation was that at a Jackson concert,there was ALWAYS a higher percentage of women
than men in the audience.The Boss then concluded that even though Browne tried to hide it,he was a rock-n-roll SEX symbol.He went on to say that
besides the obvious physical attraction,women were drawn to ol' JB because his songs gave the ladies a male perspective on the "game of love".Where is all this going you ask? I know I'll probably get trashed for this but...I feel TIME THE CONQUEROR is Jackson's first album that speaks directly to the male gender of the human species. Look at the cover of JB's 1972 debut with its soft image of Jackson on the cover with the "browne" background.A young coyote full of promise and ascension.Fast forward thirty-six years and look at the cover of his latest CD: a stark black and white image on a black background.Time the Conqueror!!! I read recently where someone(pcatt) wrote that at twenty years old,we have the face we're given but, at sixty years old,we have the face we've earned.What we have here is book-ends, ladies and gentlemen.TTC is a subdued album,there is no rock-n-roll, but I think that direction was on purpose.There are songs about the past,the future AND the present on this CD.Subdued is NOT the same as boring and besides,Jackson left the top 40 behind a long time ago.The title song
celebrates the fact that time heals all wounds BUT it also laments the fact that time will steal you blind.Two sides of the same coin,depends on how you toss it."Off Of Wonderland" and "Giving That Heaven Away"
are songs that have Jackson looking behind his shoulder,at a world where anything AND everything was possible. "The Drums Of War" IS a very powerful song,I just wish he would have sung it three or four years ago when
public opinion was still sitting on the fence."Where Were You"
comments on the inefficiency of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina .I live on the Texas Gulf Coast and we were hit by Hurricane
Ike a couple of months ago and the response by the local,state and federal governments was OUTSTANDING!!! So,in all fairness, the plight of New Orleans WAS a terrible lesson in emergency response,but,it has gotten better."Live Nude Cabaret" is not as cheesy as it sounds. Like most
men, Jackson remains enthralled by the natural wonderment of the female
gender of our species."Just Say Yeah" chronicles the joy of finding that
one special woman and enjoying the ride. Yeah,guys...this is Jackson's celebration of the male spirit.The good and the bad...but a celebration never the less. This TIME THE CONQUEROR may just become a classic.
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