Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne performs at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Tuesday, May 15 , 2018, in Boston. (Photo by Robert E. Klein/Invision/AP)

Every now and then, I fall prey to those dreamy interludes when my mind is suddenly aglow in crystal images of those golden days when life seemed infinitely easier and the world was a simpler place. Often times, simply hearing a an old time-worn song that had slipped off my radar eons ago is the key that unlocks the door; the key that grants me access to that simpler life that I had thought had vanished forever. Jackson Browne has always been an artist who can take me to that faraway place. For he is one of those pure California singer-songwriters whose artistic cup has always been brimming over with talent.

He was, in many ways, the prototype for all of the sensitive Southern California singer-songwriters of the early 70’s when the world was looking for a viable alternative to the ear-shattering head-banging cacophony of Led Zepplin, the band that, in 1971, replaced the mighty Beatles as the most popular band in the UK. He has written songs for the Eagles, sang with Joni Mitchell and started off his career with the fabled Nitty Gritty Dirt band. His introspective lyrics that were set against a musical underpinning of the Laurel Canyon sound became a touchstone for generations of fans from Maine to California. Monster hits that started with “Doctor my Eyes” and were followed by million sellers such as “Rock Me on the Water,” “The Pretender.” “Running on Empty,” and “Fountain of Sorrow” to name just a few in a very long list.

The 72 year old music legend who was diagnosed with Coronavirus in 2020 and recovered completely from it last year, recently issued a press release announcing that his new album, “Down Hill from Everywhere,” will be released on July 23rd through his label Inside Recordings. From his public statements promoting the new collection he reportedly has taken-on several topical themes that include the plight of illegal immigrants, climate change, systematic racism, prejudice against same-sex marriage, and even his own mortality. Of the new album Browne said, “On the surface it’s about life in L.A., I adore this city, but I’ve been trying to leave it since around the time I finished my first album. There’s a deep current of inclusion running through this record. I think that idea of inclusion, of opening yourself up to people who are different from you, that’s a fundamental basis for any kind of understanding in this world.”

He has always been a political activist, and his songs have always amplified his deep passion for social causes that have drawn the ire of the political right across the decades. Riding on the crest of fame and fortune across five decades, when one listens to the songs that comprise his rich musical portfolio it seems clear that he has consistently found himself wrestling with a deep and gnawing sense of adult disillusionment. In “The Pretender” he echoed that disillusionment seeing a generation cast aside their dreams in favor of the quest for financial gain and professional success with the biting lyric, “Caught between the longing for love and the struggle for the legal tender.”

Today, so many years after he burst upon the national music scene, it seems readily apparent that Jackson Browne still offers-up songs that come from deep within his heart and his soul. His are uniquely personal romantic songs that are wrapped in a cloak of melodic sensitivity that is often tempered with a sense of jaded realism. For me, his song stylings have always been as welcomed as the first flowers of the springtime, and they still are today.

Beginning this month, just days after the July 23rd release of “Downhill from Everywhere,” Browne will hit the road with old friend James Taylor for a North American tour. For New England fans, the very good news is that the tour makes a stop in Connecticut on August 8th at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.