Break Your Mother's Heart
A thousand sad-eyed strummers studied the sacred texts of L.A.'s Class of '72: Neil Young'sHarvestand Gram Parsons'sGP. Writing and recording 30 years later in the same town, Tim Easton cribbed from that scene too, but his third solo disc echoes a much less commonly cited source:Jackson Browne. Though Easton's easy, affable vocal tone has always been a bit Browne-like, the similarity goes far beyond the superficial this time--not least because Easton enlisted the rich, relaxed backing of a cadre of SoCal session vets, each of whom played with Browne previously. Here, Jai Winding's Hammond organ animates the Eldridge Cleaver-inspired single "Poor, Poor LA," Greg Leisz's Dobro colors the dreamy "Amor Azul," Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell adds depth and jangle to "Black Hearted Ways," and drum giant Jim Keltner and bassist Hutch Hutchinson keep the beats. Of course, none of that would matter if Easton's songs weren't simply so good. Though it loses steam slightly in its second half, this smart, catchy, and carefully detailed disc proves that sometimes, theydomake them like they used to.--Anders Smith Lindall