''Hold Out'' is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

, released in 1980 (see

1980 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980. __TOC__ Specific locations *1980 in British music *1980 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1980 in country music * 1980 in heavy metal music *1980 in hip hop music ...

). Although critically the album has not been as well received as other Browne recordings, it remains his only album to date to reach number 1 on the ''Billboard'' chart.

History

The song "Of Missing Persons" was written for

Inara George Inara Maryland George (born July 4, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and ...

, the daughter of Lowell George (formerly of the band

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

), a songwriting collaborator and longtime friend of Jackson Browne's who died a year prior to the release of ''Hold Out''. The phrase "of missing persons" was derived from a line in a Little Feat song, "Long Distance Love". The album was certified as a Gold and Platinum record in 1980 by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It reached Multi-platinum in 2001.RIAA Gold and Platinum award.
Retrieved July 20, 2010

Reception

Despite being Browne's only album to date to reach number 1 in the Billboard charts, it received poor critical reviews. Writing retrospectively for Allmusic, music critic William Rulhmann called some of the tracks awkward or foolish. He compared the album with earlier releases: "If Browne was still trying to write himself out of the cul-de-sac he had created for himself early on, ''Hold Out'' represented an earnest attempt that nevertheless fell short." Similarly, critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote "Never hep to his jive, I'm less than shocked by the generalized sentimentality disillusioned admirers descry within these hallowed tracks, though the one about the late great Lowell George... is unusually rank."

Track listing

All tracks are written by

except where noted. # "Disco Apocalypse" – 5:08 # "Hold Out" – 5:37 # " That Girl Could Sing" – 4:34 # " Boulevard" – 3:15 # "Of Missing Persons" – 6:31 # "Call It a Loan" (Browne, David Lindley) – 4:35 # "

Hold On Hold Out "Hold On Hold Out" is a song written by Jackson Browne and Craig Doerge and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. It is from his 1980 album ''Hold Out''. It was released as the third single from the album, but due to its slightl ...

" (Browne, Craig Doerge) – 8:08

Personnel

* Jackson Browne – lead vocals, acoustic piano, electric guitar * Craig Doerge –

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

string synthesizer A string synthesizer or string machine is a specialized synthesizer designed specifically to make sounds similar to that of a string orchestra. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs ...

, Wurlitzer electric piano (3), acoustic piano (7) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...

– Hammond organ (1, 2, 5, 6, 7), string synthesizer (7) * David Lindley – electric guitar,

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

* Bob Glaub – bass guitar * Russ Kunkel – drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7) * Rick Marotta –

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

(3), tom toms (3), drums (4) * Joe Lala – percussion (1) * Danny Kortchmar – maracas (4) * Rosemary Butler – backing vocals * Doug Haywood – backing vocals

Production

* Producers – Jackson Browne and Greg Ladanyi * Production Assistance – Rusty Conway and Donald Miller * Engineer – Greg Ladanyi * Assistant Engineers – Brent Averill, Niko Bolas, James Ledner, Jim Nipar, Sergio Reyes, Karen Siegal and George Ybarra. * Mixed by Buford Jones * Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA). * Album Cover – Dawn Patrol * Design and Photography –

Jimmy Wachtel Jimmy Wachtel is an American photographer, art director and designer based in Los Angeles. He has designed album covers for big artists such as Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Stanley, Jo Jo Gunne, John Cougar, and Buckingha ...

* Management – Peter Golden & Associates

Charts

Album –

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

(United States) Singles – Billboard (United States)

References

{{Authority control Jackson Browne albums 1980 albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by Greg Ladanyi Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel