Running On Empty – Live Album

By: Brad Gallagher

Yeah, we’ve all been there haven’t we? We are driving along and out of nowhere we hear that dinging sound informing us that we are almost out of gas. And, back in the 1970’s our cars didn’t even make that dinging sound. We had to actually keep an eye on the fuel gauge and fill up before we were completely out of gas. But we didn’t always pay close attention and we would sometimes suddenly notice that the little needle was pointing directly at the capital “E” on the gauge. Panic would set in and we would begin to desperately search for a gas station, hoping the engine would continue to run until we found one.

Or worse yet, this would happen on one of those limited access highways just as we were passing a sign that read “NEXT EXIT 30 MILES”. At that point we would go into survival mode and start feathering the gas peddle, hoping that there was enough gas left in the tank to make it that far. And, of course, praying that there would be a gas station at the next exit once we got there.

Jackson Browne was no different than any of us who have had this wonderful experience. And, it was his personal experience with being low on fuel that inspired his song, “Running On Empty”. You see, he wrote the song while making the album “The Pretender”. During that time he was driving back and forth to the studio on a daily basis in a car that was perpetually on empty. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine he said, “I was always driving around with no gas in the car, I just never bothered to fill up the tank because — how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks.”¹ Of course it is not just the name of a song, but also the name of of his fifth album, and that album is what I want to tell you about today.

As The Story Goes:

In the 1970’s rock artists worked so tirelessly to release album after album, that many would take a breather from the studio by recording one of their concerts and releasing the recording as a live album. This would give them the break they needed while still providing the fans with a new album to buy. Jackson Browne had released four albums in five years during the early 70’s while keeping up a busy concert schedule. So, he decided to make a live album, however, he gave it a twist.

All ten of the songs on the album were recorded while on tour, but only a few were recorded on stage in concert. The first song, “Running On Empty”, and the last song “The Load-Out/Stay” were recorded in concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland on August 27, 1977. “You Love The Thunder” was recorded on stage at The Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey on September 6, 1977, and “Love Needs A Heart” was recorded on stage at The Universal Amphitheatre in California on September 17, 1977.

“The Road” which is the second song on the album, was recorded partially in room 301 of the Cross Keys Inn in Maryland on August 27, 1977, and partially in concert at The Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey on September 7, 1977. The third song on the album, “Rosie”, was recorded back stage in a rehearsal room at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New Jersey on September 1, 1977. And “Cocaine”, the last song on the first side, was recorded in room 124 at the Holiday Inn in Edwardsville, Illinois on August 17, 1977.

“Shaky Town”, which is the first song on the second side of the album, was also recorded in room 124 of that Holiday Inn in Illinois on August 18, 1977. But the most intriguing recording on the album, in my opinion, is the song “Nothing But Time”. This song was recorded on their tour bus while driving through New Jersey on September 8, 1977. The drummer, Russell Kunkel, played the snare and the hi-hat, and used a cardboard box with a foot pedal as the bass drum. And, if you listen carefully to the song you can hear the bus driver shifting gears and accelerating part way through it.

Running On Empty was Jackson Browne’s first live album, but unlike other live albums of that era, every song was a brand new song that had never been recorded before. This was the first ever live rock album that featured all new songs. And it was a hit. It reached #3 on the Billboard pop album chart in 1978 and remained on the charts for 65 weeks. The song “Running On Empty” reached #11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, and “The Load-Out”/”Stay” reached #20. Also, as a side note, a framed copy of the album cover was hanging on the wall in Mindy’s apartment on the 1970’s sit-com “Mork & Mindy”.

And you didn’t think you would learn something new today, did you? That’s all for today. Come back and see me real soon on As The Story Goes.

Click here to watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdHg4QEmBvk