Balin (album)

Balin
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 11, 1981
RecordedDecember 1980 – March 1981
StudioThe Village Recorder (Los Angeles, California); The Record Plant and White Rabbit Studios (Sausalito, California).
GenreRock
Length35:34
LabelEMI America
ProducerJohn Hug
Marty Balin chronology
Balin
(1981)
Lucky
(1983)
Singles from Balin
  1. "Hearts"/"Freeway"
    Released: May 1981
  2. "Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)"/"Lydia!"
    Released: August 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Balin is Marty Balin's 1981 debut solo album. Two top-40 singles were released, "Hearts" (a U.S. #8 hit, and also his biggest as a solo artist) and "Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)" (U.S. #27). The album rose to #35 on the Billboard charts.

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hearts"Jesse Barish4:32
2."You Left Your Mark on Me"
  • Terry Turrell
  • Eric J. Burgeson
4:40
3."Lydia!"
 
4."Atlanta Lady"Barish3:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spotlight"
  • Turrell
  • Burgeson
3:30
2."I Do Believe in You"
3:23
3."Elvis and Marilyn"3:05
4."Tell Me More"
  • Obren Bokich
  • John Whitney
3:48
5."Music Is the Light"Barish4:17
Total length:35:34

CD releases

[edit]

Balin was released by American Beat on CD in 2008 and by EMI in 2009. Both editions featured the shorter, single version of "Hearts" rather than the longer album version.

In March 2013 BGO reissued the album along with the follow-up release Lucky on one CD. Mastered by Andrew Thompson the BGO edition is the only CD version that features the full-length album version of "Hearts".

In 2020, A&M alongside Universal Music Japan re-released the title as a part of the AOR Light Mellow 1000 series.

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1981) Peak
position
US Pop 35
Singles[2]
Year Single Chart Position
1981 "Hearts" US Pop 8
US AC 9
US Rock 20
"Atlanta Lady
(Something About Your Love)
"
US Pop 27
US AC 11

Personnel

[edit]
  • Marty Balin – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Mark Cummings – pianos, synthesizers, vocoder, backing vocals
  • Johnny De Caro – guitars, backing vocals
  • Richard Bassil – bass, backing vocals
  • Billy Lee Lewis – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional Personnel

[edit]

Production

[edit]
  • A Great Pyramid Ltd. Production.
  • John Hug – producer
  • Tom Flye – engineer
  • Clif Jones – assistant engineer
  • Ann Fry – assistant engineer
  • David E. Landau – production coordinator
  • Joe Buchwald – chief executive, manager
  • Recorded at The Village Recorders, (Los Angeles) and The Record Plant (Sausalito).
  • Mixed at The Record Plant
  • "Elvis and Marilyn" recorded at White Rabbit Studios (Sausalito).
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City).
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Bill Burks – art direction
  • Richard Avedon – Marty Balin photography
  • Tom Gibson – other photography

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Balin at AllMusic
  2. ^ "Marty Balin, Singles Chart Positions". Retrieved November 24, 2016.