DISC ONE:

Shadow Dream Song (Dublin 1996)

Jamaica Say You Will (Syracuse NY 1971)

Song For Adam (Stonybrook NY 1972)

From Silver Lake (Syracuse NY 1971)

Something Fine (KPFK-FM, L.A. 1999)

Under The Falling Sky (Syracuse NY 1971)

Looking Into You (Barcelona 1996)

Rock Me On The Water (Syracuse NY 1971)

My Opening Farewell (Syracuse NY 1971)

Take It Easy (Richmond VA 2000)

Our Lady Of The Well (Richmond VA 2000)

Colors Of The Sun (Stonybrook NY 1972)

Doctor My Eyes (Shreveport LA 2000)

My Imagination (Shreveport LA 2000)

These Days (Shreveport LA 2000)

I Thought I Was A Child (Richmond VA 2000)

Red Neck Friend (Syracuse NY 1971)

The Times You’ve Come (Paris 1996)

Ready Or Not (Omaha NE 2000)

For Everyman (VH1 Storytellers 1996)

This is the first of two (so far) Brown Other Side volumes, essentially non-chronological collections of live rarities and/or choice nuggets. (Live Wire has done similarly with other artists such as Neil Young and Eric Clapton. There’s also a separate 3-CDR Browne collection of duets/collaborations titled When Friends Come To Play.) With the exception of a handful of tracks, the sound quality is excellent throughout; the compilers made the wise decision to stick with a key handful of gigs from 1971, 1996-99 and 2000-02 whose tapes turned out well rather than draw from too many sources, for while the latter strategy might have yielded more genuine insights into Browne as a performer, synching up material of varying sound quality sometimes results in a tough listening experience. The lack of anything from the mid ‘70s – arguably his creative peak – is somewhat worrisome but that’s only a minor complaint.

 And as a nicely-sequenced anthology, for fans of acoustic music and of Browne in general you could do far worse than pick this up. It’s got some terrific versions of classic songs as well as a wealth of lesser-known material, including a handful of tracks (at the end of Disc 3) hailing from Browne’s excellent but underrated 2002 album The Naked Ride Home.

Usual Live Wire nominal-but-tasteful packaging, just a pair of one-sided tray panels with photo on front and full tracklisting on back. -- OSWALD