1977 Folk-Rock Song, Recorded On A Moving Tour Bus, Is Still A Road-Worn Classic 49 Years Later

Folks who've recorded music know how precise everything has to be. The perfect equipment, settings, software, soundproof room, the crispest guitar strings, and the most well-rested voice: The goal is to make a gold-standard version of a song. Even live albums have to contain the best versions of songs. That is, unless you were Jackson Browne in 1977, who recorded "Nothing But Time" on his band's Continental Silver Eagle tour bus. While it was moving, no less.

We really don't know how Browne, his band, producers, techs, etc., pulled off "Nothing But Time" on a moving bus, which by all accounts should have made the recording sound like trash; but they did, cardboard-box bass drum and all. At the time of recording, he and his band were dazed and exhausted, wrecked from touring, and apparently somewhere on the highway headed out of New Jersey (as opposed to the song's lyrics about heading to New Jersey). Browne himself had been recently widowed and become a single father. We don't know about any of the song's bottles of wine and white lines, but even without those additives, "Nothing But Time's" lyrics paint a grim picture of life on the road, far grimmer than its upbeat sound indicates. 

This road-worn classic was released on 1977's aptly named "Running on Empty," a live album with a risky and unique premise, even riskier and more unique than recording one of its tracks on a moving tour bus: it featured songs not featured elsewhere. The album was Browne's biggest hit and sold over 7.7 million copies.

By the time 1977 rolled around, Jackson Browne was really just starting to cement his status in the music industry. Early on in the mid-60s, at just 16 years old, he wrote "These Days," a song that other artists jumped to cover. Then, in 1972, he penned the iconic Eagles song, "Take It Easy," with the Eagles' Glenn Frey. That same year he released his breakthrough hit, "Doctor My Eyes," which featured two rock legends hiding in plain sight and reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. But releasing a full-on live album only five years later containing never-before-heard tracks? It was a gamble, one induced in part by the insanity of the road.

"Nothing But Time" might be the most extreme gamble on "Running on Empty." It would have been one take, all musicians playing together in sync on a moving vehicle with imperfect acoustics and an ersatz recording setup. Other songs were recorded at various intervals along the road in the summer of 1977, too, like "Shaky Town" and "Cocaine" recorded at an Illinois Holiday Inn at 2 a.m. The resulting album acts like a documentary of life on the road, as though the songs are a cameraman following Browne and his crew around. This topic could have been addressed through meticulously composed and hygienically recorded studio material, but instead best resembles the life it describes.

We're sure if you dig into "Nothing But Time's" audio files a bit, you can find some auditory artifacts that attest to its less-than-ideal recording conditions. But all things considered, it remains a classic that acts as a unique take on a topic experienced by every musician who's ever hit the road.