Browne’s Had Enough of His Critics : He’s Disillusioned With the Media, Says They Miss the Point

You’ve had enough of the night to fill the street with tears.

You’ve had enough of those empty hours to last a thousand years.

Enough of the night. Enough of the tears. --Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne says that in writing “Enough of the Night,” he had pictured “this imaginary woman” before he realized that “the person I was writing to was me.”

Backstage before a recent concert, Browne, who turned 40 last year, said he wrote the song about a way of life that included drugs, especially cocaine--a way of life he has left behind.

The song wasn’t intended to be about the music business, he said, even though commercial and critical acceptance of his most recent work has been spotty at best.

And, he added, the song definitely wasn’t supposed to reflect a sagging in political commitment. On the contrary, that’s the theme of his most recent album, “World in Motion,” on which “Enough of the Night” appears.

Browne, who’ll perform at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre tonight (the next to last stop on a three-month national tour), used the album to discuss nuclear disarmament, hunger, racism and the “secret” government that gave rise to Oliver North and the Iran-Contra scandal.

Many critics didn’t bite, and they wrote that Browne is a better composer of beautiful ballads than a political theoretician.

“I’m amazed that some of the things I talk about on the album are controversial,” Browne said.

“People don’t have to feel personally attacked when someone raises these questions, when someone suggests that things have got to change.”

Beyond that, he continued, “this album is not limited to social issues, even though some critics think it is. I’m writing about peace, not only in the context of international relations but in relationships, in love.

“I think there’s a stunning parallel between peace in our own lives and peace outside our doors. I wanted to make a record that explored the connection between these things.”

Browne also said he’s been “disillusioned” with media that seem more concerned with trivia--such as his relationship with actress Daryl Hannah or whether he’s listed in “The Andy Warhol Diaries” (he is, on page 23)--than with the workings of a shadow government.

He said his expectations for the album, which took him three years to complete, had been “out there” and that he’s been less than thrilled with its reception.

He sounded ruffled at Elektra Records for having “no desire” to release “The Word Justice,” the album’s most blatantly political song, as a single. The title song was released instead and did not do well, and the album itself reached a peak of 45 on the Billboard chart a month ago before dropping to 73, 80 and lower.

“He didn’t get off the mark with the right single, and the single is what drives the album in a promotional sense,” said Thomas Noonan, album chart manager for Billboard magazine.

Meanwhile, some stops on his current tour have been marked by poor ticket sales. A problem facing Browne is that a mob of performers roughly his age, and aiming at the same 30-to-40something crowd, are on the road right now. Ticket buyers are being asked to choose among Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers, the Who, Carole King, Chicago, the Beach Boys, Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones.

Browne should have an advantage in Orange County, though: He’s something of a homeboy here, having grown up in Fullerton, graduated from Sunny Hills High School and cut his musical teeth at the Orange County folk club, the Paradox. He remembers nights at the Paradox, he said, “as if they were yesterday.”

Jackson Browne and David Lindley & El Rayo-X play tonight at 8 at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $20.50 to $24.50. Parking: $5. Information: (714) 855-6111.