Maps of Music

Late for the Sky (1974)

Where the lyrics of Late for the Sky take you, and where it was really made.

The cover was inspired by a Belgian surrealist painting, yet its photo was shot on a Los Angeles street about 10 miles from Browne's childhood home.

Key places

Elektra Sound Recorders (1974)

Recording site Elektra Sound Recorders — Discogs lists Elektra Sound Recorders as a place where the album was recorded. Fritz Richmond is credited as recording engineer there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sunset Sound (1974)

Recording site Sunset Sound — Discogs lists Sunset Sound as a place where the album was recorded. Kent Nebergall is credited as recording engineer there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Hollywood Sound Recorders (1974)

Recording site Hollywood Sound — Discogs lists Hollywood Sound Recorders as a recording location, and also as the place where the album was mixed. Tom Perry and Bob Hughes are credited there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo location, South Lucerne Avenue (1974)

Album cover Motown Recording Studios — The original cover photograph was shot on South Lucerne Avenue in Windsor Square, Los Angeles. The point is placed at city-centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Late for the Sky: third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne
• Released 13 September 1974 by Asylum Records
• Peaked at number 14 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart
• Eight tracks in total, five of them longer than five minutes
• In 2020 the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry

Background

• Browne was still living in his childhood home, Abbey San Encino, when he wrote the songs
• Because the previous album was costly, Asylum founder David Geffen asked for a quicker and cheaper follow-up
• Browne used his touring band of David Lindley, Doug Haywood, Jai Winding and Larry Zack
• Al Schmitt, an engineer on For Everyman, co-produced to help finish on time

Recording

• The album was completed in six weeks
• Its cost was half that of For Everyman, $50,000
• Friends including Dan Fogelberg, Don Henley and JD Souther sang harmony vocals

Cover

• Browne publicly acknowledged that the cover was inspired by René Magritte's 1954 painting L'Empire des Lumieres
• The album credit reads cover concept Jackson Browne if it's all reet with Magritte
• The original photo was shot on South Lucerne Avenue in Windsor Square, about 10 miles southwest of the Abbey San Encino
• Designer Bob Seidemann said Browne considered it his favorite cover

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Clyde Jackson Browne, born October 9, 1948 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter and political activist.
• He began as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles and became a staff writer for Elektra's publishing company, Nina Music, before he was eighteen.
• His songs were recorded early by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Joan Baez, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, the Byrds and others.
• He signed with David Geffen's Asylum Records in 1971 and released his self-titled debut album in 1972, which included "Doctor My Eyes" and "Rock Me on the Water".
• Running on Empty (1977), recorded on tour, is his signature work and his biggest commercial success, peaking at number 3 on the album chart.
• Hold Out (1980) was his only number 1 album on the US pop albums chart.
• "Somebody's Baby" from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack became his biggest hit, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, inducted by Bruce Springsteen.
• Rolling Stone ranked him 37th on its 2015 list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Activism

• Browne co-founded the antinuclear organization Musicians United for Safe Energy in March 1979.
• He performed frequently at benefits in the 1980s and campaigned for causes including Farm Aid and Amnesty International.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's 1974 review by Stephen Holden praised the album highly
• Holden called it Browne's most mature and conceptually unified work to date
• Holden highlighted the sparest and hardest production found on any Browne album up to then
• Holden also noted the impassioned, oracular singing style

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's William Ruhlmann described the themes as love, loss, identity and apocalypse, similar to Browne's debut
• Ruhlmann felt Browne delved even deeper into these themes on this album
• The Rolling Stone Album Guide called it the quintessential Browne album that strengthens and solidifies his approach
• MusicHound Rock called it a bit mopey but Browne's strongest and most melodious album
• Robert Christgau was more critical, saying Browne's linguistic gentility was inappropriate and his millenarianism self-indulgent
• A 1999 Rolling Stone review of For Everyman called this album Browne's masterpiece

Records

• Peaked at number 14 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart
• Ranked number 594 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums in 2000
• Ranked number 372 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums list in 2003, Browne's highest ranking
• Ranked number 377 in the 2012 update of that list
• RIAA certified it Gold in 1974 and Platinum in 1989

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track was used in Martin Scorsese's 1976 film Taxi Driver
• For a Dancer was played at memorial services for both John Belushi and Phil Hartman, and Browne performed it at the Hartman service
• The first UK edition carried catalogue number SYL9018

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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