Jackson Browne.

The colors keep changing, giving different shapes to the same features, creating a sense of peacefulness that Browne, 47, a singer-songwriter icon since the 1970s, seems to relish after a dozen-hour flight from Tokyo.

"We're a little worked over (after the Japan tour), but really, really happy to be here," Browne says by telephone.

Browne is doing his first full band concerts in Hawaii in two decades this weekend.

"I love this place. I've come here often enough now to begin to appreciate the deep beauty and soul of these islands. And I've just begun to understand the aloha spirit."

Browne, who has made his reputation writing insightful poetry about the Armageddon of the heart, is in a reflective, sharing mood. He's not in the midst of emotional or romantic catharsis; nor is he running on empty and throwing coins in a fountain of sorrow.

Perhaps because of fatigue or the idealism he reveals in his verses, the normally private Browne talks openly about his music, life, politics, the world.

Turning intense personal experiences into universal truths has always been Browne's artistic strength. In his songs from the 1970s, Browne grappled with fading idealism and found heroism in holding down a day job, poeticizing "the struggle for the legal tender." His ruminations were triggered by everyday details, like the expression in a photograph in "Fountain of Sorrow."

More recent songs reveal misgivings about the state of the world: poverty and desperation, violence and greed. But sincere good intentions, a lover's smile and cozy folk-rock guitars are there to ease both disillusionment and the pangs of conscience.

The facts:

Who: Jackson Browne
When/where: 7 p.m. tomorrow, Maui Arts & Cultural Center; 7 p.m. Saturday, Waikiki Shell
Cost: $25.50-$32.50 on Maui; $20.50-$32.50 Shell; tickets available at Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Waikiki Shell, Blaisdell box office, Connection outlets and by phone at 545-4000 or 800-333-3388

"As a writer I should be writing about things that are universal, not just about being famous."

The music still reflects his optimism in personal relationships and political struggles.

"Optimistic does suggest some sort of in-born hope; that has to be because it sure wouldn't come from the results of activism. Tangible successes are few."

One of the successes Browne enjoys is the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African prison.

"It's like the American dream ... part of the same process that we've celebrated for many years: In a democracy anything can happen."

Ironically, this sort of success is occurring more in other countries than here, he says.

"Most countries with revolutions ... and tremendous drives for freedom have always held the American revolution as an example," Browne said. "Unfortunately, our own government has not been as generous as they could have been in supporting these causes. We often side with ... the military dictatorship which we helped install."

Twenty years ago Browne had four critically acclaimed albums under his belt: his self-titled first album, then "For Everyman," "Late for the Sky" and "The Pretender." As the '70s ended, Browne released "Running on Empty." He entered the '80s with the tentative "Hold Out," followed by "Lawyers in Love," the first of a troika of political albums that included "Lives in the Balance" and "World in Motion." People didn't seem to like songs about political issues, especially obscure though important ones.

"It's easier to write a song when everyone knows the details like love, emotions, loneliness, and party, party, party. It's real dicey attracting people to music and still get a message across."

"Looking East" has Jackson on the cover in silhouette with his back to the Pacific Ocean. The album is not political "at all" compared to "Lives in the Balance" where he really wanted people to pay attention to what was really going on in Central America. "Looking East" refers "to a great many things we all know is ... going down personally and nationally," Browne insists.

"Standing at the ocean with your back to the sea says there is no more place left to go. We still have a bunch of people in Montana and Idaho - people in militias - who are holed up at the edge of the wilderness still trying to live a pioneer life, but the United States has run out of territory."

But the real unexplored territory is "within us," Browne says.

"To what degree will we reshape our vision of what being on this earth means so we can learn to live together?

"A long time ago I had a real hard time writing this simple song, 'Somebody's Baby,' because it was all fluff and light and I've always felt more invested in songs with substance. My therapist told me people liked 'Somebody's Baby' because it was about a universal need: the desire to be with somebody.

"When you write songs you hold yourself to a certain standard. I pride myself in the quality of my music but that may not always be the priority of my listeners."

Browne joyously recalls that T. Bone Burnett defied anyone to write something more meaningful than "You are My Sunshine."

These days Browne allows himself the option to write simply.

"I'm learning that I don't always have to be a writer."