Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1

Culled from the best takes of three years' worth of concerts, Solo Acoustic Vol. 1 finds Jackson Browne delivering tender takes from his deep catalog — completely stripped of their Seventies-era excess production. Browne is in fine voice as he digs out tunes like "These Days" (first done by Velvet Underground singer Nico in 1968) and "Lives in the Balance" (a mid-Eighties anti-Reagan diatribe that sounds especially appropriate today). He wraps things up with a threadbare rendition of "The Pretender" that cannot mask the story of a youthful idealist being beaten down by the passing years. Needless to say, Browne's strength has always been songwriting, and Solo Acoustic delivers those songs with no extra baggage.