Jackson Browne Allows Continuity to Be His Guide

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 25 years since Jackson Browne first showed up on the pop scene, a boyish balladeer with self-probing songs that shaped--or at least tapped into--the post-Woodstock sorting-out process of the ‘70s.

It was even harder to believe it’s been that long when Browne came on stage at the Greek Theatre on Saturday as boyish-looking as ever. Perhaps that had something to do with why it seemed that there’s much less distance between his songs of then and now than is the case for most of his contemporaries.

Browne, backed by his versatile five-man band, acknowledged that fact by presenting songs from his recent “Looking East” album in a show dominated by songs from his early albums. In fact, he almost entirely avoided material written during the Reagan-Bush years, a time when he was preoccupied with external social-political matters--topics that clearly did not resonate with his audience as much as his more personal songs do.

But rather than the desperate glory-days nostalgia indulged in out of necessity by many other performers of his generation, Browne’s choices seemed guided by a sense of appropriate continuity--as well as a sense of perspective manifested in his droll, self-mocking humor. “The Pretender” applied just as well on Saturday to the midlife grind of baby boomers approaching 50 as it did to the same people’s growing pains when they were approaching 30. And such new songs as the recent album’s rocking title track--a solid metaphor for the ongoing unfolding of life--also clearly resonated with the longtime fans.

Shawn Colvin’s opening set also resonated with the audience, which embraced both her lovely, understated vocals and her songs, which follow in Browne’s personal tradition. Performing solo, she focused on material from her upcoming album “A Few Small Repairs,” a solid song-cycle drawn from her recent divorce--which, judging by some listener reactions, has a familiar ring to many others.