I'm Alive (Jackson Browne album)

History

After veering heavily towards songs of a political nature on his two previous albums, longtime fans of Browne welcomed the return on I'm Alive to his previous style of songwriting.

The song "Too Many Angels" includes backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes, Valerie Carter, Doug Haywood, Katia Cardinal and Ryan Browne while the song "All Good Things" includes backing vocals by David Crosby and Don Henley. The song "Sky Blue and Black" was also featured in the pilot episode of American situation comedy Friends.

The album was certified as a Gold record in 1995 by the RIAA.

Reception

I'm Alive was considered somewhat of a comeback for Browne. Stephen Holden writing for The New York Times wrote "I'm Alive is a striking return to the kind of romantic subject matter that the Los Angeles singer and songwriter seemed to have abandoned after 1980 in favor of political songwriting. His finest album in nearly two decades, it has much in common with his 1974 masterpiece, Late For The Sky, whose songs also described the disintegration of a relationship."

Critic William Ruhlman agreed though did not consider the album as strong. "Longtime fans welcomed the album as a return in style... Browne eschewed the greater philosophical implications of romance and, falling back on stock imagery (angels, rain), failed to achieve an originality of expression. While it was good news that he wasn't tilting at windmills anymore, Browne did not make a full comeback with the album, despite a couple of well-constructed songs." The Rolling Stone Record Guide wrote Browne "returned to his forte: the personal joy and agony of day-to-day human interaction."

In the original Rolling Stone review for the album from 1993, Kara Manning expressed the belief that "Browne has successfully managed to resurrect his persona of 20 years ago. I'm Alive shudders with the pain of someone who's been soundly dumped. And Browne has even gained a sense of gallows humor. Between despondent cries for reconciliation, the singer indulges in refreshingly silly self-deprecation." However, she wondered, "what does a younger, angrier generation — raging to Dr. Dre and Nirvana — make of all this? But '70s nostalgia is on a roll..."

The album was in Q's list of "The 50 Best Albums Of 1993".

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jackson Browne.

1. "I'm Alive" – 5:01
2. "My Problem Is You" – 4:40
3. "Everywhere I Go" – 4:36
4. "I'll Do Anything" – 4:31
5. "Miles Away" – 3:52
6. "Too Many Angels" – 6:04
7. "Take This Rain" – 4:49
8. "Two of Me, Two of You" – 2:56
9. "Sky Blue and Black" – 6:06
10. "All Good Things" – 4:28

Personnel

Production notes:

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)