Lives in the Balance
| Lives in the Balance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Jackson Browne | ||||
| Released | February 18, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | Late Summer-Late Fall, 1985 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 39:15 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Producer | Jackson Browne | |||
| Jackson Browne chronology | ||||
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Lives in the Balance is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). It reached number 23 on The Billboard 200 chart. The title track as well as "For America" and "In the Shape of a Heart" were released as singles. The album was ranked number 88 on Rolling Stone's list of the best 100 albums of the 1980s.[1] The album reached number 2 in Sweden.[2] "Lives in the Balance"[3] is also the name of a non-profit organization founded by child psychologist Dr. Ross W. Greene, author of the influential books The Explosive Child and Lost at School.
History
Lives in the Balance was the first album by Browne where overtly political and socially critical songs dominated (three of which were about president Ronald Reagan), although it also included one of his best remembered songs about relationships, the tragic "In the Shape of a Heart", inspired by his relationship with his first wife. The radio play garnered by "For America" and "In the Shape of a Heart", and the use of "Lives in the Balance" in the show Miami Vice, gained him many new fans who later went back and discovered Browne's earlier works.
The lesser commercial success of the album, according to a Rolling Stone November 1989 article, hardly mattered to Browne: "I like this album as much as any I've ever done," Browne said. "And there's a certain comfort, a security that I have, talking about something that I feel this strongly about. And whether or not an album succeeds wildly or not, that's intact."[1]
The album was certified as a Gold record in 1986 by the RIAA.[4]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
| Robert Christgau | (B) [6] |
| Rolling Stone Record Guide | (2 stars) [7] |
Critical press focused on the political direction of Lives in the Balance. Music critic William Rulhmann wrote "...if Browne sounded more involved in his music than he had in some time, the specificity of its approach inevitably limited its appeal and its long-term significance."[5]
Critic Robert Christgau also commented in a similar vein: "The difference is that Browne shouldn't be doing this... he's a pop star who's stretching his audience and endangering his market share merely by making such a statement in 1986. And he's thought hard getting here—not only does his way with words render these lyrics somewhat deeper than Holly Near's, but his moralistic put-downs have that edge of righteous anger nobody's yet found the formula for."[6] The Rolling Stone Record Guide wrote that "the title track is a cutting slice of social observation, but the remainder of the album is muddled. For the first time, Browne seems unsure of himself."[7]
However, the original 1986 Rolling Stone review by Jimmy Guterman praised the album over-all in part because of Browne's "new-found ability to link the personal to the political," which "breathes life" into the songs and "prevents them from becoming too didactic. Browne's not just writing about the headlines; he's trying to tell the stories of the people they affect."[8]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Browne except where noted.[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For America" | 5:13 | |
| 2. | "Soldier of Plenty" | 4:37 | |
| 3. | "In the Shape of a Heart" | 5:41 | |
| 4. | "Candy" | Greg Copeland, Wally Stocker | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Lawless Avenues" | Browne, Jorge Calderón | 5:40 |
| 6. | "Lives in the Balance" | 4:18 | |
| 7. | "Till I Go Down" | 4:19 | |
| 8. | "Black and White" | 5:15 |
Personnel
The list of contributors is as follows.[10]
- Jackson Browne – acoustic guitar, guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar, vocoder
- Jorge Calderón – bass, vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar
- Phil Chen – bass
- Jennifer Condos – bass
- Quique Cruz – percussion, zampona
- Deborah Dobkin – vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar
- Craig Doerge – synthesizer, keyboards
- Kevin Dukes – guitar
- Bob Glaub – bass
- Doug Haywood – bass, vocals
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Phil Kenzie – alto saxophone
- Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – guitar, percussion
- Russ Kunkel – drums
- Bernie Larsen – organ, guitar, clavinet
- David Lindley – guitar, violin, steel guitar
- Steve Lukather – guitar
- Stan Lynch – drums
- Kevin McCormick – guitar, vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar
- Ian McLagan – organ, keyboards
- Gary Myrick – guitar
- Bill Payne – synthesizer, piano, keyboards
- Hugo Pedroza – charango, tiple
- Bonnie Raitt – vocals, harmony vocals, gut string guitar
- Walfredo Reyes, Jr. – conductor, conga, drum set
- Mindy Sterling – vocals, gut string guitar, harmony
- Jorge Strunz – acoustic guitar, guitar, nylon string guitar
- Rick Vito – guitar, vocals
- Waddy Wachtel – guitar
- Ian Wallace – drums
- Jai Winding – organ, synthesizer, piano, keyboards
Production notes:
- Jackson Browne – producer, sequencing
- James Geddes – engineer. mixing
- Tchad Blake – assistant engineer
- Murray Dvorkin – assistant engineer, mixing
- Bill Jackson – assistant engineer
- Coke Johnson – assistant engineer
- Sharon Rice – assistant engineer, mixing
- Greg Ladanyi – mixing
- Barry Diament – mastering
- Doug Sax – mastering
- Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – sequencing
- Ed Wong – technical engineer
- Dawn Patrol – art direction
- Jimmy Wachtel – art direction
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rolling Stone. 100 Best Albums of the Eighties: #88 Jackson Browne - Lives in the Balance. Nov. 16, 1989.
- ↑ Swedishcharts.com. Lives in the Balance
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum award. Retrieved July 20, 2010
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Guterman, Jimmy. Rolling Stone, Review of Lives in the Balance. April 10, 1986. Accessed July 13, 2012.
- ↑ Lives in the Balance, overview at AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
- ↑ Lives in the Balance, credits at AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Billboard 200 | 23 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "For America" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1986 | "For America" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 30 |
| 1986 | "In the Shape of a Heart" | Adult Contemporary | 10 |
| 1986 | "In the Shape of a Heart" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 15 |
| 1986 | "In the Shape of a Heart" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
| 1986 | "Lives in the Balance" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 33 |
