One of the reasons that Jackson Browne's first album is among the most auspicious debuts in pop music history is that it doesn't sound like a debut. Although only 23, Browne had kicked around the music business for several years, writing and performing as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and as Nico's backup guitarist, among other gigs, while many artists recorded his material. So, if this doesn't sound like someone's first batch of songs, it's not. Browne had developed an unusual use of language, studiedly casual yet full of striking imagery, and a post-apocalyptic viewpoint to go with it. He sang with a calm certainty over spare, discretely placed backup – piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, congas, violin, harmony vocals – that highlighted the songs and always seemed about to disappear. In song after song, Browne described the world as a desert in need of moisture, and this wet/dry dichotomy carried over into much of the imagery.

Amnesty International commemorates its 50th anniversary with the release of an album featuring the cream of the world’s music talent covering Bob Dylan songs, with contributions from a huge variety of artists including Adele, Patti Smith, Pete Townshend, Ke$ha, The Gaslight Anthem, Sting, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor, Kris Kristofferson, Bad Religion, Marianne Faithfull, My Chemical Romance, Bryan Ferry, Pete Seeger and many more. Entitled Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan the album features 73 tracks on four CDs.

Nearly five decades since his debut LP, the songs on Jackson Browne’s new album Downhill From Everywhere sustain the soulful intimacy of his first release, combined with a power and wisdom gained from a life pursuing positive change.

One of the reasons that Jackson Browne's first album is among the most auspicious debuts in pop music history is that it doesn't sound like a debut. Although only 23, Browne had kicked around the music business for several years, writing and performing as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and as Nico's backup guitarist, among other gigs, while many artists recorded his material. So, if this doesn't sound like someone's first batch of songs, it's not. Browne had developed an unusual use of language, studiedly casual yet full of striking imagery, and a post-apocalyptic viewpoint to go with it. He sang with a calm certainty over spare, discretely placed backup – piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, congas, violin, harmony vocals – that highlighted the songs and always seemed about to disappear.

In many ways, Jackson Browne is the quintessential sensitive California singer/songwriter of the early '70s. Only Joni Mitchell and James Taylor rank alongside him in terms of influence, but neither artist tapped into the post-'60s Zeitgeist quite like Browne. While the majority of his classic '70s work was unflinchingly personal, it nevertheless provided a touchstone for a generation of maturing baby boomers coming to terms with adulthood. Not only did his introspective, literate lyrics strike a nerve, but his laid-back folk-rock set the template for much of the music to come out of California during the 1970s.

Theoretically, assembling a Jackson Browne greatest-hits collection would be easy, but The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne proves that isn't necessarily the case. Boasting 13 tracks, plus two new songs, The Next Voice You Hear contains some of Browne's biggest hits – "Doctor My Eyes," "Running on Empty," "Somebody's Baby," "Tender Is the Night" – but it leaves just as many off, including "Rock Me on the Water," "Here Come Those Tears Again," "Stay," "Boulevard," "Lawyers in Love," and "For America." Of course, singles only told half the story with Browne, and many of his greatest songs were only available as album tracks. Therefore, it makes sense that album cuts like "These Days," "Late for Sky," and "The Pretender" are present, but there are still a number of equally good, if not better, cuts that are left off. As a result, The Next Voice You Hear is merely adequate for casual Browne fans, but it's nowhere near definitive.

Live at the Beacon Theatre, New York 1974: Featuring Linda Ronstadt & Jackson Browne.

John Lennon would have turned 67 in 2007. If alive, he could well be at the forefront of bringing peace to Darfur, where more than half a million have died from violence and disease during four years of rebel discord. So to create awareness of the ongoing conflict, Amnesty International (with permission from Yoko Ono) has mined Lennon's solo work and rounded up nearly two dozen current artists to reinterpret the music, which spans the ex-Beatle's entire post-band catalog (plus a pair from while the Fab Four were still in business). As with any attempt to cover Beatles-related music, results are hit and miss, with kudos going to Snow Patrol and the Postal Service for capturing the starkness of "Isolation" and "Grow Old with Me," respectively, Mexican rock band Jaguares for uncovering the fear and fury in "Gimme Some Truth," and (surprise!) Christina Aguilera for nailing the complex composition and mood of "Mother." Other highlights include Jackson Browne's piano-led "Oh My Love," Green Day's louder straight take on "Working Class Hero," and the Black Eyed Peas turning "Power to the People" into a gospelly protest. Will resurrecting 30-to-40-year-old messages of peace and love be enough to help end the brutalities in Darfur? That remains to be seen. But selecting John Lennon as the author of those messages will make people listen and, with this collection, may keep them listening.

Warren Zevon nait à Chicago le 24 janvier 1947. Issu d'une famille d'émigrés russes, ce prolifique chanteur, auteur-compositeur se fait connaître dans les années 1960 en écrivant pour The Turtles et en enregistrant un premier album produit par Kim Fowley.Son deuxième album, Warren Zevon (1976, produit par Jackson Browne), est salué par la critique, tandis que Linda Ronstadt lui reprend sa chanson « Hasten Down The Wind ». Deux ans plus tard, Excitable Boy met en avant son talent d'auteur plein d'humour et très critique envers le monde politique américain. L'album contient notamment la chanson « Werwolves of London », qui sera reprise dans le film de John Landis American Werewolf, en 1981.

The Secret Policeman's Third Ball took place at The London Palladium over four consecutive nights 26–29 March 1987. The show's format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of it being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to comedy and music. The show's four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music.

Jackson Browne has always been a seeker. Not that he's opposed to writing a catchy melody or having a hit single (both of which he's done repeatedly), but Browne's always wanted his music to make a difference, to say something important, to express through his eyes the human condition. On Downhill From Everywhere, his 15th album, and first in six years, Browne is who he has always been: the earnest, bittersweet, careful songcrafter who needs to find truth and meaning. It's a reality he acknowledges in the very SoCal opening track, "Still Looking for Something" where he admits he's "way out over my due date," and yet still searching for "something he can hold up to the light," concluding that if all he finds is "freedom" it's alright. Not quite strong enough to be the hooky hit he was probably hoping for, the first single "Cleveland Heart" is another typical Browne construct, about an organ he clearly thinks is at the center of human folly and triumph. While Browne visits Spain in the lively and Latin-flavored "A Song for Barcelona" and Haiti in "Love is Love," he returns to American shores and rocks hard in the title track where the fruited plain, K street, and acronyms including the NRA, GOP, and ICE, reflect "man's ambition and vanity."