The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne by Jackson Browne

Album cover for The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne - Jackson Browne
1. Doctor My Eyes
3:20
2. These Days
4:40
3. Fountain of Sorrow
6:53
4. Late for the Sky
5:38
5. The Pretender
5:53
6. Running on Empty
4:56
7. Call It a Loan
4:49
8. Somebody's Baby
4:23
9. Tender Is the Night
4:55
10. In the Shape of a Heart
5:42
11. Lives in the Balance
4:16
12. Sky Blue and Black
6:08
13. The Barricades of Heaven
5:44
14. The Rebel Jesus
4:40
15. The Next Voice You Hear
4:49

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.