Album of the Day

RUNNING ON EMPTY is a concept album about touring – and one of the best and most unusual live albums ever made. None of these ten songs had appeared on any of Jackson Browne's previous collections, and in addition to concert performances, the 1977 set includes impromptu recordings made backstage, on buses and in hotel rooms during one of the singer-songwriter's tours. With such old hands as guitarist David Lindley, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel in the band, the proceedings have a loose, easy feel to them, even when the material touches on the darker side of life on the road. A 7x Platinum hit, RUNNING ON EMPTY brought Browne a pair of Grammy nominations (including Album of the Year), and we’ll give it another spin now to wish him a happy birthday.