By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Jerry Gutierrez couldn't believe Jackson Browne was coming to Salina.

But there it was: the announcement on Browne's Web site, www.jacksonbrowne.com. The legendary singer/songwriter was booked to play an acoustic concert in December at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts.

This was several days before the Stiefel staff officially announced Browne's performance.

"I was going to see him in California, then I looked on the Web site and found he was coming to Salina," said Gutierrez, owner of Gutierrez Mexican Restaurant, 640 Westport. "I was in disbelief."

Browne's songs are familiar to anyone who regularly listens to classic rock radio. His hits include "Doctor My Eyes," "Take it Easy," "Fountain of Sorrow," "The Pretender," "Running on Empty" and "Boulevard."

Among his many accolades, Browne was a 2004 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and a 2007 inductee into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

Browne will perform a solo acoustic concert Dec. 6 at the Stiefel Theatre, 151 S. Santa Fe.

Surrounding Browne on stage will be keyboards and 20 guitars, as well as his own personal guitar technician, said Stiefel Theatre executive director Jane Gates.

"It's supposed to be a very personal concert, with a lot of interaction with the audience," she said. "He talks and tells stories between songs."

About 175 tickets remain for Browne's concert as of Tuesday, Gates said.

Appreciate his genius

Seeing a performer, even one of Browne's caliber, on stage without a band might not appeal to every audience, but Gutierrez said it's really the best way to appreciate Browne's songwriting genius.

"It's pure, stripped-down music," he said. "He's someone who has experienced heartbreak and lost love. Anyone who can put those feelings into song has a real gift."

Browne began his career performing in Los Angeles folk music clubs during the 1960s. His debut album, "Jackson Browne," was released in 1972 and spawned three hits: "Rock Me on the Water," "Jamaica Say You Will" and "Doctor My Eyes."

His 1973 follow-up album, "For Everyman," included the rock classic "Take It Easy, " co-written with Glenn Frey. It also was the breakthrough single for Frey's band, The Eagles.

The next year, Browne released "Late For the Sky," a lyrically introspective album that Rolling Stone named in 2003 as one of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."

Also named on the Rolling Stone list was Browne's 1976 release, "The Pretender." It also was his first album to enter Billboard's Top 10.

The next year, his song cycle of life on the road, "Running on Empty," became his top selling release with hit songs like the title track, "You Love the Thunder" and "The Load-Out/Stay."

A haunting performance

Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Fla., said Browne's nearly three-hour solo concert at the center Nov. 18 included haunting stripped-down versions of his biggest hits like "Running on Empty."

"He went through most of his song catalog," she said. "He was wonderful with the audience, and the review I had from patrons was he sounded great."

Throughout his career, Browne has been active in political and social causes, most famously participating in the No Nukes concerts in 1979 to benefit MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), where he shared the stage with other politically active musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Carly Simon and The Doobie Brothers.

Browne's latest album was 2008's "Time the Conqueror." The same year he also released "Jackson Browne -- Solo Acoustic Vol. 2," a collection of his live solo acoustic concerts.

Music that inspires

Of the latter album, Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis wrote, "This is Browne at his best, engaging his audience, his own experiences and the world around him, all in songs that will not lose their resonance any time soon."

Gutierrez said Browne has been a big contributor to his lifelong love of music.

"(Browne's) long been one of my favorite songwriters, and he helped move me into listening to more singer/songwriters," Gutierrez said.

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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