Hold Out is the sixth album by American singer-songwriterJackson Browne, released in 1980. Although critically the album has not been as well-received as other Browne recordings, it remains his only album to date to reach number 1 on theBillboard chart.
The song "Of Missing Persons" was written forInara George, the daughter ofLowell George (formerly of the bandLittle Feat), a songwriting collaborator and longtime friend of Jackson Browne's who died a year prior to the release ofHold Out. The phrase "of missing persons" was derived from a line in a Little Feat song, "Long Distance Love".
The album was certified as a Gold and Platinum record in 1980 by theRIAA. It reached Multi-platinum in 2001.[1]
Despite being Browne's only album to date to reach number 1 in the Billboard charts, it received mixed critical reviews. Writing retrospectively forAllMusic, music critic William Rulhmann called some of the tracks awkward or foolish. He compared the album with earlier releases: "If Browne was still trying to write himself out of the cul-de-sac he had created for himself early on,Hold Out represented an earnest attempt that nevertheless fell short."[2] Similarly, criticRobert Christgau wrote: "Never hep to his jive, I'm less than shocked by the generalized sentimentality disillusioned admirers descry within these hallowed tracks, though the one about the late great Lowell George... is unusually rank."[3]The New York Times deemedHold Out "a fine record; perhaps his finest, overall... It confirms his growth as an artist."[5]
