I'm Alive (Jackson Browne album)

I'm Alive
Studio album by Jackson Browne
Released October 11, 1993
Recorded 1992
Genre Rock
Length 47:03
Label Elektra
Producer Jackson Browne, Scott Thurston, Don Was
Jackson Browne chronology
World in Motion
(1989)
I'm Alive
(1993)
Looking East
(1996)

I'm Alive is the tenth album by American singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music). The title track, "I'm Alive", reached #18 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and #28 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Other singles released from the album were "Everywhere I Go" (UK #67[1]) and "Sky Blue and Black".

History

After veering heavily towards songs of a political nature on his two previous albums, longtime fans of Browne welcomed the return on I'm Alive to his previous style of songwriting.[2]

The song "Too Many Angels" includes backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes, Valerie Carter, Doug Haywood, Katia Cardinal and Ryan Browne while the song "All Good Things" includes backing vocals by David Crosby and Don Henley. The song "Sky Blue and Black" was also featured in the pilot episode of American situation comedy Friends.

The album was certified as a Gold record in 1995 by the RIAA.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The New York Times(no rating) [4]
Q [5]
Rolling Stone Record Guide [6]
Rolling Stone [7]

I'm Alive was considered somewhat of a comeback for Browne. Stephen Holden writing for The New York Times wrote "I'm Alive is a striking return to the kind of romantic subject matter that the Los Angeles singer and songwriter seemed to have abandoned after 1980 in favor of political songwriting. His finest album in nearly two decades, it has much in common with his 1974 masterpiece, Late For The Sky, whose songs also described the disintegration of a relationship."[4]

Critic William Ruhlman agreed though did not consider the album as strong. "Longtime fans welcomed the album as a return in style... Browne eschewed the greater philosophical implications of romance and, falling back on stock imagery (angels, rain), failed to achieve an originality of expression. While it was good news that he wasn't tilting at windmills anymore, Browne did not make a full comeback with the album, despite a couple of well-constructed songs."[2] The Rolling Stone Record Guide wrote Browne "returned to his forte: the personal joy and agony of day-to-day human interaction."[6]

In the original Rolling Stone review for the album from 1993, Kara Manning expressed the belief that "Browne has successfully managed to resurrect his persona of 20 years ago. I'm Alive shudders with the pain of someone who's been soundly dumped. And Browne has even gained a sense of gallows humor. Between despondent cries for reconciliation, the singer indulges in refreshingly silly self-deprecation." However, she wondered, "what does a younger, angrier generation — raging to Dr. Dre and Nirvana — make of all this? But '70s nostalgia is on a roll..."[7]

The album was in Q's list of "The 50 Best Albums Of 1993".[8]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jackson Browne.

  1. "I'm Alive" – 5:01
  2. "My Problem Is You" – 4:40
  3. "Everywhere I Go" – 4:36
  4. "I'll Do Anything" – 4:31
  5. "Miles Away" – 3:52
  6. "Too Many Angels" – 6:04
  7. "Take This Rain" – 4:49
  8. "Two of Me, Two of You" – 2:56
  9. "Sky Blue and Black" – 6:06
  10. "All Good Things" – 4:28

Personnel

Production notes:

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1993 The Billboard 200 40

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1993 "I'm Alive" Adult Contemporary 29
1993 "I'm Alive" Mainstream Rock Tracks 18
1993 "I'm Alive" Mainstream Rock Tracks 18
1994 "I'm Alive" Adult Contemporary 28
1994 "Everywhere I Go" UK Singles Chart 67

References

  1. UK Chart info
  2. 1 2 3 Ruhlmann, William. "I'm Alive > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  3. RIAA Gold and Platinum award. Retrieved July 20, 2010
  4. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (November 1993). "I'm Alive > Review". The New York Times.
  5. "I'm Alive > Review". Q: 74. December 1993.
  6. 1 2 Coleman, Mark. "I'm Alive > Review". Rolling Stone.
  7. 1 2 Manning, Kara (November 11, 1993). "I'm Alive > Review". Rolling Stone.
  8. "The 50 Best Albums Of 1993". Q: 84. January 1994.
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