Jackson Browne & David Lindley - Love Is Strange

30 June 2010 by Richard Wilson

Collaborating extensively over the past five decades, Jackson Browne and David Lindley have had storied careers together and separately. The former is one of rock's greatest songwriters, the latter perhaps the most acclaimed multi-instrumentalist out there. Together they have toured and recorded together countless times, producing a truly prolific body of work.

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Anyone familiar with their work knows what draws the two together time and time again. The impeccable manner in which these two are able to draw from and build on each other's playing is unparalleled, weaving in and out of each other's playing. Their last tour together in Australia was 2006; just a few weeks after "Love Is Strange: Live With Tino", a double live album was recorded on the road in Spain. So in addition to being an outstanding live release, it also exists as an approximate snapshot of a rare Lindley/Browne tour Downunder.

While Browne sticks largely to the acoustic guitar, Lindley floats between guitar, bouzouki, oud, fiddle and Hawaiian guitar, the two weave seamlessly into and out of each other's sounds in their trademark minimalist style. Joined by renowned Spanish drummer Tino di Geraldo who lays down an unimposing drumbeat, switching to tabla now and again for a more distant, exotic sound, the three mesh simply perfectly. Browne suggests in the liner notes to "Love Is Strange" that Tino only rehearsed for a few days before hitting the road, yet the fusion heard on the album comes off like a lifetime of collaboration.

Stemming from an appearance at The Barcelona Guitar Festival, the trio is also joined by a slew guests that includes Javier Mas (now a key member of Leonard Cohen's touring band). Each brings a new flavour without disturbing the intimate balance of the core three-piece. The acoustic journey pools material largely from Browne's impressive catalogue. An amazing rendition of 1977's Running On Empty offers everything the original live version did in a stripped-back acoustic setting. Lindley takes lead vocal duties on his 1981 hit El Rayo X and also lends his iconic soaring falsetto to the Love Is Strange/Stay medley.

A number of covers round out the collection, including Lindley's slide guitar leading its way through The Staple Singers' Sit Down Servant, and revisiting his 1981 cover of Mercury Blues. Then of course the title track Mickey & Sylvia's Love Is Strange and its 1950s rock and roll partner Stay perfectly complement each other.

Produced by Browne and Paul Dieter, you'll be hard-pressed finding a better sounding live acoustic album. It's hard to get away from the tinny sound of live acoustic instruments on record, but Browne and Dieter have produced an album that sounds balanced, perfectly recreating the intimate acoustic sound Jackson Browne and David Lindley are renowned for.

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