If you had told me in 2014 that Bruce was contributing to a Jackson Browne tribute album and asked me to guess the track, I’d have gone pretty much through Jackson’s entire catalog before throwing up my hands in exasperation and guessing, “I don’t know, what’s left–Linda Paloma?”
Sure enough: Bruce and Patti (the track is a rare credit to both of them) turned in absolutely gorgeous cover of a standout (not necessarily in the good way) track from Jackson’s 1976 album, The Pretender.
“Linda Paloma” was a departure even for Jackson, an unabashed mariachi tune inspired by a mariachi singer in a favorite Mexican restaurant. It’s a beautiful song, but the arrangement is perhaps a bit overdone and harp-heavy.
Bruce and Patti’s version is more understated, relying on gentler, intricate guitar-work by Bruce and Nils, with subtle atmospheric highlighting courtesy of Soozie’s fiddle and Curt Ramm’s trumpet.
But the real star of this show is Bruce’s warm, soaring lead vocal–one of his very best studio performances in recent years. Give a listen below–this is an obscure track that deserves a lot more airplay in Bruce’s catalog.
Linda Paloma
Released: Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne (2014)
Never performed live
Wow that last fly away is absolutely beautiful with he and Patti. Such an exquisite listener of how music works his choice to get rid of the harp and go with more subtlety allows the story much more presence. Remarkable musician he is. Thanks Ken. Great