Maps of Music

Lawyers in Love (1983)

Where the lyrics of Lawyers in Love take you, and where it was really made.

Browne recorded this album in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse that the team turned into a studio, not in a normal studio.

Key places

Downtown Los Angeles warehouse studio (1983)

Recording site Downtown Los Angeles warehouse studio — The album was recorded in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles that was turned into a studio for the sessions. The pin marks the downtown area; the exact building is not confirmed here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lawyers in Love: seventh album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne
• Released in 1983 by Asylum Records
• Fourth straight Top 10 album for Browne
• Eight tracks; four released as singles
• Title song reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Title song came with one of Browne's first music videos on MTV

Background

• Previous album Hold Out (1980); in the years between, the single Somebody's Baby became Browne's biggest commercial hit to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Hot 100
• First Browne album since his 1972 self-titled debut without guitarist David Lindley
• Rick Vito and Danny Kortchmar replaced Lindley on guitar

Recording

• Recorded in Downtown Los Angeles
• Browne wanted to work downtown, where the people were
• The team found a warehouse in downtown L.A. and turned it into a studio
• The setup let the band play without the distractions of a normal studio
• Browne shaped key and chord changes around what he heard the band play
• Very few overdubs

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ko.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 critic Christopher Connelly called it a more nervy, intelligent LP than its predecessor
• Connelly saw it as a welcome widening of perspective that let Browne escape the L.A. image
• Connelly singled out the anti-nuke track Say It Isn't True as showing the album's worst traits
• Critic Robert Christgau described the album as a satire on, celebration of, and lament for upper-middle classmates an Orange County liberal knows

Reappraisal

• AllMusic retrospective review by William Ruhlmann noted Browne's often overlooked songcrafting
• Ruhlmann wrote that the craft and tight band could not hide the essentially retread nature of much of the material

Records

• Fourth straight Top 10 album for Browne; 33 weeks on the chart
• Peak No. 8 on the Billboard 200
• Title song No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100
• RIAA gold in 1983, platinum in 2001

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

Trivia

• Browne ad-libs a line on the closing part of Downtown, echoing the melody of the Petula Clark song of the same name.
• This album was the first Browne record since his 1972 self-titled debut without David Lindley on guitar.
• Replacing Lindley were Rick Vito and Danny Kortchmar.
• Recording took place in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles that was turned into a studio.
• The title song's video was one of Browne's first music videos on MTV.

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

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact