1986 Jackson Browne – Lives In The Balance
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
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.”
Tracks
1 For America (Jackson Browne) 5:13
2 Soldier Of Plenty (Jackson Browne) 4:37
3 In The Shape Of A Heart (Jackson Browne) 5:41
4 Candy (Greg Copeland, Wally Stocker) 4:12
5 Lawless Avenues (Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderón) 5:41
6 Lives In The Balance (Jackson Browne) 4:18
7 Till I Go Down (Jackson Browne) 4:19
8 Black And White (Jackson Browne) 5:11
Biography
Musicians
1 For America
Bass | Jennifer Condos |
Drums | Ian Wallace |
Guitar | Gary Myrick |
Piano | Jai Winding |
Synthesizer | Jai Winding |
Sax | Phil Kenzie |
2 Soldier of Plenty
Bass | Bob Glaub |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Acoustic Guitar | Jackson Browne |
Synthesizer | Bill Payne |
3 In The Shape Of A Heart
Bass | Bob Glaub |
Drums | Stan Lynch |
Guitar | Rick Vito |
Acoustic Guitar | Jackson Browne |
Synthesizer | Bill Payne |
Synthesizer | Craig Doerge |
Background Vocals | Doug Haywood |
4 Candy
Bass | Bob Glaub |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Piano | Jackson Browne |
Synthesizer | Bill Payne |
Synthesizer | Jai Winding |
Background Vocals | Bonnie Raitt |
Background Vocals | Doug Haywood |
5 Lawless Avenues
Bass | Jorge Calderon |
Drums | Jim Keltner |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Guitar | David Lindley |
Guitar | Waddy Wachtel |
Piano | Jai Winding |
Synthesizer | Jai Winding |
Percussion | Walfredo Reyes |
6 Lives in the Balance
Bass | Bob Glaub |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar | Jorge Strunz |
Acoustic Guitar | Jackson Browne |
Synthesizer | Bill Payne |
Synthesizer | Jai Winding |
Background Vocals | Debra Dobkin |
Background Vocals | Mindy Sterling |
7 Till I Go Down
Bass | Phil Chen |
Drums | Ian Wallace |
Guitar | Bernie Larsen |
Guitar | David Lindley |
Guitar | Kevin McCormick |
Clavinet | Bernie Larsen |
Organ | Ian McClagan |
Background Vocals | Doug Haywood |
Background Vocals | Kevin McCormick |
8 Black and White
Bass | Bob Glaub |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Guitar | Kevin Dukes |
Piano | Bill Payne |
Synthesizer | Jai Winding |
Background Vocals | Doug Haywood |
Liner Notes
Production Manager – Steven Landsberg
Engineer – James Geddes
Engineer (Assistant) – Bill Jackson, Coke Johnson, Tchad Blake
Engineer (Technical) – Ed Wong
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By – Greg Ladanyi, James Geddes
Mixed By (Assistant) – Murray Dvorkin, Sharon Rice
Art Direction – Jimmy Wachtel
Artwork – Richard Duardo
Photography – Basia Kenton
Designed At Dawn Patrol
Mixed At The Complex
Mastered At The Mastering Lab
Recorded At Sunset Sound Factory
Recorded At The Outpost
Phonographic Copyright Elektra/Asylum Records
Phonographic Copyright WEA International Inc
Copyright Elektra/Asylum Records