Jackson Browne - World In Motion (1989/2013) [Hi-Res]

Throughout the ‘80s, Jackson Browne’s political conscience began dominating his songwriting. With 1989’s World in Motion, it hit its peak. The title track condemns the ever-widening gap between rich and poor and the way that advertising creates want and need. Browne matches his lyrics with a nightclub blues lick and arrangement heavy on the ‘80s synths. “How Long” is another swampy blues; it asks how society will take care of humanity while defense spending skyrockets beyond anyone’s dreams. “When the Stone Begins to Turn” adds reggae to a song for freedom, while Little Steven’s “I Am a Patriot” stands as the album’s finest anthem. Yet Browne hasn’t lost his knack for compassionate love songs. “Enough of the Night” offers hope to those seduced by the barroom lights, while “Chasing You into the Light” proves his heart still yearns and reaches for what he can barely grasp.

'Browne's call to action on World in Motion is also the toughest kind to deny. Even more explicitly issue driven than its politically charged predecessor Lives In The Balance, World in Motion is an album of universal truths bound together by a highly personal focus. Browne's stance is also free of gratuitous pop-star rage, rooted instead in calm, unassailable reason. The beauty of a song like 'Anything Can Happen' - which contends that if love can thrive in a climate of violence and dread, so can the promise of change - is that its calm adamancy is actually heightened by its tender elegance. There are a million ways for music to say that people deserve better - better government, better life, better love. On World in Motion, Browne gets your attention by getting under your skin.' (David Fricke, Rolling Stone)

Jackson Browne, guitar, vocals, keyboard
Craig Doerge, keyboard
Kevin Dukes, guitar
Scott Thurston, bass
Michael Jochum, drums
Bonnie Ryatt, vocals
Doug Haywood, vocals

Mixed by David Tickle
Producer by Jackson Browne and Scott Thurston

Digitally remastered.