Review: “Time The Conqueror,” Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne is an old hand who’s been around the music business for more than three decades.  On Time The Conqueror, his first album of new material in six years, Browne comes to terms with his advancing age (59 years old) with a set of songs that reflect a mature view of affairs both personal and political.  The title track (along with the grizzled portrait on the cover) is this album’s mission statement: “Time may heal all, but time will steal you blind,” sings Browne, but even as he is swept along in time’s slipstream Browne implores everyone to “decide what kind of world I believe in.”  He certainly shows what he believes in, with the socially conscious “The Drums Of War” and ”Where Were You,” an angry post-Katrina lament.  Browne does a good job balancing his political statements with his lighter material; ”Going Down To Cuba” and “Just Say Yeah” are really among the best songs on the album.  Over his long career Jackson Browne’s had his moments - The Pretender and Running On Empty each made a huge impact in the late 1970s - and it looks like the circle has come around again with Time The Conqueror.  This is music for its time, and of its time. 

MP3: “Just Say Yeah”

Jackson Browne official website