Lawyers in Love

History

In the intervening years since 1980's Hold Out and the release of Lawyers in Love, Browne released the single "Somebody's Baby" which became his biggest commercial hit to date. In the track "Downtown", he ad-libs a line to the melody of the Petula Clark song of the same name at the end of the song.

Lawyers in Love was the first album without David Lindley appearing since his first release, Jackson Browne. Replacing Lindley with guitarists Rick Vito and Danny Kortchmar gave this album a different sound.

The album was certified as a Gold record in 1983 and Platinum in 2001 by the RIAA.

Recording

Co-producer/engineer Greg Ladanyi explained the album's unusual recording sessions: "For this record, Jackson wanted to be downtown, where the people were. So we found a warehouse in downtown L.A., and just turned it into a studio. We set it up so that the band could play without the distractions of a normal studio because, for the most part, Jackson was writing the songs - in terms of the key changes and chord changes - based on what he was hearing when the band was playing. There was no 'Okay, it's take one or take two.' We kept the tape rolling just about all the time. And there are very few overdubs."

Reception

Although "Lawyers in Love" and "For a Rocker" were successful singles, the album received a lukewarm reaction by critics. In his review for Allmusic, William Ruhlmann referred to Browne's often overlooked songcrafting, but wrote "...the craft, and the familiar tightness of Browne's veteran studio/live band, couldn't hide the essentially retread nature of much of this material."

Critic Robert Christgau called the album "A satire on, celebration of, and lament for the upper-middle classmates an Orange County liberal knows like he knows his neighbor's backyard..."

Rolling Stone critic Christopher Connelly had a more positive response. In reviewing the album at the time of its release, Connelly felt that the record was "a more nervy, intelligent LP than its predecessor" and "a welcome widening of perspective that allows Browne to escape, once and for all, the L.A. albatross that has hung around his neck." But he despised the "wretched" 5:20 of "antinuke agitprop" that is "Say It Isn't True'" for displaying the worst traits of the album: "No quarrel here with the sentiments he's expressing, but to gravely intone, 'There always has been and always will be war,' over a 'Kum BaYa'-like coo of 'Say it isn't true' — surely, you say to yourself, he can't be that stupid."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Browne except where noted:

1. "Lawyers in Love" – 4:18
2. "On the Day" – 3:56
3. "Cut It Away" – 4:45
4. "Downtown" – 4:37
5. "Tender Is the Night" (Browne, Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel) – 4:50
6. "Knock on Any Door" (Browne, Craig Doerge, Kortchmar) – 3:39
7. "Say It Isn't True" – 5:20
8. "For a Rocker" – 4:05

Personnel

Production notes:

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)