Lives in the Balance

1986 studio album by Jackson Browne

Lives in the Balance

Studio album by

Jackson Browne

Released| February 18, 1986
Recorded| Late summer to late fall 1985
Studio|

* Sunset Sound Factory (Hollywood, California)
* The Outpost and The Complex (Los Angeles, California)

Genre| Rock
Length| 39:15
Label| Asylum
Producer| Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne chronology
| Lawyers in Love
(1983)  | Lives in the Balance
(1986)  | World in Motion
(1989)

|
|

Lives in the Balance is the eighth album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1986. 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]

## History

[edit]

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.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [4]
Robert Christgau| B[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [7]
Rolling Stone Record Guide| [6]

Critical press focused on the political direction of Lives in the Balance. Music critic William Rulhmann wrote retrospectively "...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."[4]

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."[5] 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."[6]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

The list of contributors is as follows.[10]

* Jackson Browne – lead vocals, vocoder (1), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 6), sequencing (2, 6), acoustic piano (4), harmony vocals (6)
* Jai Winding – acoustic piano (1), synthesizers (1, 4-6, 8), organ (5)
* Bill Payne – synthesizers (2-4, 6), acoustic piano (8)
* Danny Kortchmar – sequencing (2), guitars (5)
* Craig Doerge – synthesizers (3)
* Bernie Larsen – clavinet (7), guitars (7)
* Ian McLagan – organ (7)
* Gary Myrick – guitars (1)
* Steve Lukather – guitars (2, 4, 8)
* Rick Vito – guitars (3)
* David Lindley – guitars (5, 7)
* Waddy Wachtel – guitars (5)
* Jorge Strunz – nylon-string acoustic guitar (6)
* Hugo Pedroza – charango (6), tiple (6)
* Kevin McCormick – guitars (7), harmony vocals (7)
* Kevin Dukes – guitars (8)
* Jennifer Condos – bass (1)
* Bob Glaub – bass (2-4, 6, 8)
* Jorge Calderón – bass (5), harmony vocals (5)
* Phil Chen – bass (7)
* Ian Wallace – drums (1, 7)
* Russ Kunkel – drums (2, 4, 6, 8)
* Stan Lynch – drums (3)
* Jim Keltner – drums (5)
* Walfredo Reyes Jr. – congas (5)
* Phil Kenzie – alto saxophone (1)
* Enrique "Quique" Cruz – zampona (6)
* Doug Haywood – harmony vocals (3, 4, 7, 8)
* Bonnie Raitt – harmony vocals (4)
* Debra Dobkin – harmony vocals (6)
* Mindy Sterling – harmony vocals (6)

## Production

[edit]

* Jackson Browne – producer
* James Geddes – engineer, mixing
* Greg Ladanyi – mixing
* Tchad Blake – assistant engineer
* Bill Jackson – assistant engineer
* Coke Johnson – assistant engineer
* Ed Wong – technical engineer
* Murray Dvorkin – mix assistant
* Sharon Rice – mix assistant
* Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California)
* Steven Landsberg – production assistant
* Dawn Patrol – art direction
* Jimmy Wachtel – art direction
* Richard Duardo – cover artwork
* Basia Kenton – back cover photography

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1986)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] | 37
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] | 46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] | 33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] | 25
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] | 13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 20
UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 36
US Billboard 200[19] | 23

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (1986)  | Position

|

US Billboard 200[20] | 68

Singles – Billboard (United States)

| 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

## See also

[edit]

* Ronald Reagan in music

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Rolling Stone. 100 Best Albums of the Eighties: #88 Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance. November 16, 1989.
2. ^ Swedishcharts.com. Lives in the Balance
3. ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum award. Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 20, 2010
4. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Lives in the Balance > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
5. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Lives in the Balance > Review". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
6. ^ a b Coleman, Mark. "Lives in the Balance > Review". Rolling Stone.[dead link]
7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
8. ^ Guterman, Jimmy. Rolling Stone, Review of Lives in the Balance. April 10, 1986. Accessed July 13, 2012.
9. ^ Lives in the Balance, overview at AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
10. ^ Lives in the Balance, credits at AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 48\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0657". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jackson Browne – Lives in the Balance". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
19. ^ "Jackson Browne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
20. ^ "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1986". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved April 6, 2025.

* v
* t
* e

Jackson Browne

Studio albums|

* Jackson Browne
* For Everyman
* Late for the Sky
* The Pretender
* Hold Out
* Lawyers in Love
* Lives in the Balance
* World in Motion
* I'm Alive
* Looking East
* The Naked Ride Home
* Time the Conqueror
* Standing in the Breach
* Downhill from Everywhere

Live albums|

* Running on Empty
* Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1
* Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2
* Love Is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino

Compilations|

* The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne
* The Very Best of Jackson Browne

Singles|

* "Doctor, My Eyes"
* "Rock Me on the Water"
* "Redneck Friend"
* "Take It Easy"
* "Walking Slow"
* "Fountain of Sorrow"
* "Here Come Those Tears Again"
* "The Pretender"
* "Running on Empty"
* "The Load-Out/Stay"
* "You Love the Thunder"
* "Boulevard"
* "That Girl Could Sing"
* "Hold On Hold Out"
* "Somebody's Baby"
* "Lawyers in Love"
* "Tender Is the Night"
* "For a Rocker"
* "You're a Friend of Mine"
* "For America"
* "In the Shape of a Heart"
* "Lives in the Balance"
* "I'm Alive"

Other songs|

* "Song for Adam"
* "The Birds of St. Marks"
* "Jamaica Say You Will"
* "These Days"
* "For Everyman"
* "Late for the Sky"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Groove Masters Studios
* Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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