Jackson Browne - The Birds Of St. Marks (1970)

In late 1969 Jackson Browne signed a contact with Hollywood music pubishers Criteriom Music, and was employed to write songs to be hawked around the circuit in the hope of being picked up by record companies for their artists. On 6th April 1970 he recorded nearly two dozen solo demos of songs that he'd written, some of which were later reworked for his first album on Asylum Records. It was in fact the demo of 'Jamaica Say You Will' which secured his record deal after he sent a copy of it to label owner David Geffen, who was so taken with the song that he signed Browne to his label in late 1970, and his debut album was released in 1971. The original bootleg of this album included demo versions of many songs that would later appear on the 1971 record, but to make it a more manageable 40-minute album I've just picked the songs which didn't make it, with the addition of demos of just a couple of his most famous songs from the album, with 'Jamaica Say You Will' as it was the track that first attracted Geffen, and 'Doctor My Eyes', because The Jackson Five did pick up on it and had a UK top 10 hit with it, but as that was in 1972 it's more likely that they heard the song from Browne's album rather than the demo. These recordings are superb quality for their age, and Browne sounds relaxed and confident in his delivery, making this is a real treat for all his fans.

     

Track listing

01 Last Time I Was Home
02 Low Road
03 Door Into The Morning
04 Another Place
05 Doctor My Eyes
06 The Birds Of St. Marks
07 Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood
08 Gone To Sorrow
09 Hot Like Today
10 Jamaica Say You Will
11 The Top
12 The Times You've Come
13 There Came A Question