The Pretender
Songs written before Phyllis Major's death, finished after it, with Jon Landau producing.
Jackson Browne, 1976
- Released
- November 1976
- Recorded
- 1976
- Studio
- Sunset Sound, Hollywood
- Label
- Asylum
- Producer
- Jon Landau
- Length
- 35:07
Browne said every song but Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate was written before Major died, and Here Come Those Tears Again was co-written with her mother. Jon Landau produced at Sunset Sound with a large cast: Lowell George on slide for Your Bright Baby Blues, Don Henley and J.D. Souther singing on The Only Child, David Crosby and Graham Nash on the title song, and three Mexican players on Linda Paloma. The back cover reprints Neruda's Brown and Agile Child in Kenneth Rexroth's translation. It reached number five in the US, and Rolling Stone placed it at 391 on its 2012 list of the 500 greatest albums.
Track listing
- The Fuse5:50
- Your Bright Baby Blues6:05
- Linda Paloma4:06
- Here Come Those Tears Again3:37
- The Only Child3:43
- Daddy's Tune3:35
- Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate2:37
- The Pretender5:53
Personnel
- Jackson Browne vocals, songwriter
- David Lindley slide guitar, violin
- Leland Sklar bass
- Russ Kunkel drums
- Craig Doerge keyboards
- Lowell George slide guitar, background vocals
- Bill Payne organ
- Roy Bittan piano
- Jeff Porcaro drums
- Arthur Gerst harp, background vocals, arrangement
- Bonnie Raitt background vocals
- David Campbell string arrangements
- Jon Landau producer
- Greg Ladanyi mixing
More from Jackson Browne
Running on Empty (1977)
Sources
- The Pretender (album), Wikipedia
- Jackson Browne: The Pretender, Sessiondays
- Jackson Browne on his classic album The Pretender and its tragic backstory, MusicRadar (2026-07-26)