May 6, 2022 —– Chart #142
Have you seen us on Facebook? CLICK HERE to like our page. Today is #143 for Chart of the week and I have a personal fav for you today. “These Days” is a song written by Jackson Browne and recorded by numerous artists. Browne wrote the song at age 16; its lyrics deal with loss and regret. It was first recorded by Nico in 1967 for her album Chelsea Girl, and Nico’s arrangement was recorded by several other artists. Tom Rush recorded the tune with a string arrangement for his album Tom Rush in 1970. Gregg Allman recorded a new arrangement of the song for his 1973 LP Laid Back, and Browne released his own version, based on Allman’s arrangement, on For Everyman, also in 1973. “These Days” has since been recorded by many other artists, and remains one of Browne’s most enduring compositions.
According to Randall Roberts at the Los Angeles Times, the song has “quietly become a classic” over the years. Pitchfork Media’s 2006 ranking of “The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s” placed the Nico version of “These Days” at number 31.
In the mid- to late 1960s, Browne, a prolific songwriter, was pitching his material to artists and publishing houses. On January 7, 1967, he made some demo recordings for Nina Music Publishing at Jaycino Studio in New York City. Nina collected these songs on a double album which was given to various artists and managers in the hope that other artists would choose to record one. Included in these demos, and the third song on this collection, was “I’ve Been Out Walking”, an early version of “These Days”. Yet the song was even older than that. Browne later said he wrote it when he was 16 years old, meaning in 1964 or 1965.
German model and singer Nico was the first to record “These Days” for release on her October 1967 album Chelsea Girl. The elaborate production featured a fairly fast fingerpicking electric guitar part by Browne, played in a descending pattern ending in a major 7th chord. The use of the instrument was suggested by artist and impresario Andy Warhol, Nico’s manager at the time, who was looking for something more “modern” than the acoustic guitar on the songwriter’s demo recording. This was combined with overdubbed strings and flutes, added after the fact by producer Tom Wilson without Nico’s knowledge. Nico disliked the strings and called the album “unlistenable” as a result. But nevertheless, the “ineffable sadness” and “grandeur of her melancholy” came through, according to Pitchfork.
“These Days” was recorded in 1968 by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Rare Junk, by Tom Rush on his 1970 self-titled album, by Jennifer Warnes (as “Jennifer”) in 1972 (this version was produced by John Cale, who also played on Nico’s Chelsea Girl album), by Kenny Loggins’ first band, Gator Creek, around the same time, and by Iain Matthews on his 1973 album Valley Hi.
Nico version: https://youtu.be/-nGLqXZ-f70
Jackson Browne: The Story Behind “These Days”: https://youtu.be/v2Pjtssx6n4
Amazing that Jackson wrote this song when he was only 16 years old.
Keep rockin my friends,
Stan