Tracks

1. The Naked Ride Home

2. The Night Inside Me

3. Casino Nation

4. For Taking The Trouble

5. Never Stop

6. Walking Town

7. About My Imagination

8. Sergio Leone

9. Don't You Want To Be There

10. My Stunning Mystery Companion

Performer Notes

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Jackson Browne (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Greg Leisz (acoustic & electric guitars, pedal steel guitar); Val McCallum (acoustic & electric guitars); Kevin McCormick (electric guitar, bass); Mark Goldenberg (electric guitar); Keb'Mo (National guitar);
Fernando Pullum (trumpet); Jeff Young (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer, background vocals); Mauricio Lewak (drums, cajon); Luis Conte (percussion); Marc Cohn, Alethea Mills, Chavonne Morris, Jimmy Burney, Kipp Lennon, Jennifer Gross, Jeff Young (background vocals).
Recorded at Groove Masters Studios, Santa Monica, California.
Personnel: Jackson Browne (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Greg Leisz (guitar, acoustic guitar); Kevin McCormick , Mark Goldberg, Val McCallum (electric guitar); Kevin Mo (slide guitar); Jeff Scott Young (piano, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer); Mauricio-Fritz Lewak (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Bob Clearmountain.
Recording information: Groovemasters, Santa Monica, CA.
The title of Jackson Browne's 13th album refers to a state of emotional vulnerability. Still walking the tightrope between the personal and the political, (although Browne would probably argue they share fairly close quarters), this gifted singer-songwriter leans more towards the former on this particular outing. When Browne isn't quietly mooning over his companion (the '70s-ish "My Stunning Mystery Companion") or alluding to Judgement Day with the help of Marc Cohn (an atmospheric "Don't You Want To Be There"), he's casting a critical eye on past choices (the wistful "About My Imagination").
Although most of these songs are given a light touch, the one exception is "The Night Inside Me," a chugging rocker punctuated by former Cretone Mark Goldenberg's twangy riffs. Tapping into his activist core, Browne delivers "Casino Nation," a broad swipe at how tabloid-driven mentalities are soiling different facets or our societal fabric. Coupled with "Sergio Leone," a tribute to the father of the spaghetti western that incorporates part of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Forza Del Destino," THE NAKED RIDE HOME finds Jackson Browne returning to the fine form of albums like LATE FOR THE SKY and THE PRETENDER.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (10/02, p.70) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[The album] turns richer and more resonant upon re-listenings..."

Entertainment Weekly (10/4/02, p.154) - "...This CD succeeds when Browne sticks to [the] earlier style he excelled at..." - Rating: B

Q (12/02, p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Immediate, striking and personal....Tasteful and crafted..."

Uncut (1/03, p.96) - Ranked #49 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year"

Uncut (11/02, p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The voice sounds a little more world-weary and the musical accompaniment harsher - or at least more muscular...The sound of a maturer Jackson Browne...razor-sharp insight into the human condition."

Mojo (Publisher) (11/02, p.96) - "...For those who still think it's possible that love might be the answer to at least some of our problems...this could be the album of the year."