

Jackson Browne’s seventh studio album surfaced following “Somebody’s Baby,” the hit he wrote for the soundtrack to Fast Times At Ridgemont High, so it’s not too strange that the title-track from 1983’s Lawyers In Love plays with the same style of power-pop perfection mixed to suit early-‘80s radio rock. But unlike the boy-wants-girl of “Somebody’s Baby,” this tune was riddled with stinging social commentary about how the advent of young urban professionals brought about a popular desire for material wealth and status symbols, which overshadowed concern for more imperative topics. Doug Vito and Rick Vito helped sharpen the hooks here, the former with a Phantom of the Opera-inspired organ riff and the latter with some stellar skinny-necktie guitar pop that was indicative of the time. “Tender Is the Night” proved to be another success while “For a Rocker” is another standout building on the power-pop blueprint.