Personnel includes: Jackson Browne (vocals, guitar, piano, programming); Kevin McCormick (acoustic guitar, bass); David Lindley (electric & slide guitars, viola, tambour); Scott Thurston (guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, loops); Mike Campbell (electric 12-string guitar); T Bone Burnett (guitar, baritone guitar); Rick Vito (guitar, background vocals); Danny Kortchmar, Jorge Strunz (guitar); Jai Winding (harmonium, piano, organ, synthesizer); Craig Doerge (piano, keyboards); David Paich (piano); Doug Haywood (organ, bass, background vocals); Leland Sklar (bass); Russ Kunkel (drums, congas); Mauricio Lewak (drums, surdu); Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, Stan Lynch (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); David Crosby, Graham Nash (background vocals).

Producers include: Richard Sanford Orshoff, Jackson Browne, Al Schmitt, John Landau, Greg Ladanyi.

Engineers include: John Haeny, Fritz Richmond, Greg Ladanyi, Dennis Kirk, James Geddes.

Personnel: Jackson Browne (guitar, acoustic guitar, piano); Scott Thurston (guitar, keyboards); Danny Kortchmar, Jorge Strunz, Mark Goldenberg, Rick Vito, Fred Tackett (guitar); Jesse Ed Davis (electric guitar); Mike Campbell (12-string guitar); David Lindley (slide guitar); Hugo Pedroza (tiple, charango); Jon Hassell (trumpet); Kai Winding (piano, organ, synthesizer); Craig Doerge (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); David Paich (piano); Bill Payne (organ, synthesizer); Doug Haywood, Jeff Young (organ); Mauricio-Fritz Lewak (drums, snare drum, surdo); Sanford Kunkel (drums, congas); Jeff Porcaro, Jim Keltner, Larry Zack, Russ Kunkel, Stan Lynch (drums); Luis Conte (shaker, percussion).

Audio Mixers: Ed Cherney; Greg Ladanyi; John Hanlon; Richard Sanford Orshoff.

Photographer: Nels Israelson.

Unknown Contributor Role: Mindy Sterling.

Boasting 13 tracks, plus two new songs, The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne contains some of Browne's biggest hits -- "Doctor My Eyes," "Running on Empty," "Somebody's Baby," "Tender Is the Night" -- but it leaves a surprising number off, including "Rock Me on the Water," "Here Come Those Tears Again," "Stay," "Boulevard," "Lawyers in Love," and "For America." Of course, singles only told half the story with Browne, and many of his greatest songs were only available as album tracks. Therefore, it makes sense that album cuts like "These Days," "Late for Sky," and "The Pretender" are present, but there are still a number of equally good, if not better, cuts that are left off. Consequently, The Next Voice You Hear falls short of being definitive. Nevertheless, for the curious and casual fan, it's a good purchase. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Theoretically, assembling a Jackson Browne greatest-hits collection would be easy, but The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne proves that isn't necessarily the case. Boasting 13 tracks, plus two new songs, The Next Voice You Hear contains some of Browne's biggest hits -- "Doctor My Eyes," "Running on Empty," "Somebody's Baby," "Tender Is the Night" -- but it leaves just as many off, including "Rock Me on the Water," "Here Come Those Tears Again," "Stay," "Boulevard," "Lawyers in Love," and "For America." Of course, singles only told half the story with Browne, and many of his greatest songs were only available as album tracks. Therefore, it makes sense that album cuts like "These Days," "Late for Sky," and "The Pretender" are present, but there are still a number of equally good, if not better, cuts that are left off. As a result, The Next Voice You Hear is merely adequate for casual Browne fans, but it's nowhere near definitive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jackson Browne has had a long and varied career, from his days as a one-man song factory for people like The Byrds, Nico and unsung folk hero Steve Noonan to his groundbreaking 1970's folk-rock albums and his more politically-oriented later material. Throughout, his work has been marked by intelligent, often poetic lyrics and sophisticated-but-accessible arrangements. THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR provides a handy overview of the seminal singer-songwriter's work. It includes pop hits like "Doctor My Eyes" and "Running On Empty" as well as lesser known songs like "Sky Blue And Black." As an added incentive to Browne fans, there are two new tracks. On one of them, the collection's title track, Browne enters into new territory by exploring ambient textures and trip-hop rhythms.