LIVES IN THE BALANCE

Personnel: Jackson Browne (vocals, acoustic guitar, vocoder); Gary Myrick, Steve Lukather, Rick Vito, Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, David Lindley, Kevin Dukes (guitar); Jorge Strunz (nylon string guitar); Phil Kenzie (alto saxophone); Jai Winding (piano, organ, synthesizer); Ian McClagen (organ); Bernie Larsen (Clavinet); Bill Payne, Craig Doerge (synthesizer); Jennifer Condos, Bob Glaub, Jorge Calderon, Phil Chen (bass); Ian Wallace, Russ Kunkel, Stan Lynch, Jim Keltner (drums); Hugo Pedroza (charango, tiple); Quique Cruz (zampona); Doug Haywood, Bonnie Raitt, Deborah Dobkin, Mindy Sterling, Kevin McCormick (background vocals). Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory and The Outpost, Los Angeles, California. Personnel: Jackson Browne (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, gut-string guitar, piano, keyboards, vocoder, sequencer); Kevin McCormick (vocals, guitar, gut-string guitar); Rick Vito (vocals, guitar); Jorge Calder?n, Mindy Sterling, Debra Dobkin, Bonnie Raitt (vocals, gut-string guitar); Jon Douglas Haywood (vocals); Jorge Strunz (guitar, acoustic guitar, nylon-string guitar); David Lindley (guitar, steel guitar, violin); Bernie Larsen (guitar, Clavinet, organ); Danny Kortchmar (guitar, percussion, sequencer); Richard Wachtel, Gary Myrick, Steve Lukather, Waddy Wachtel, Kevin Dukes (guitar); Doug Haywood (gut-string guitar); Hugo Pedroza (tiple, charango); Phil Kenzie (saxophone, alto saxophone); Jai Winding (piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Kai Winding (piano, organ, synthesizer); Bill Payne (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Ian McLagan (organ, keyboards); Craig Doerge (keyboards, synthesizer); Walfredo Reyes (drums, congas); Jim Keltner, Russ Kunkel, Stan Lynch , Ian Wallace (drums); Hugo Pebruza, Quique Cruz (percussion). Audio Mixers: Greg Ladanyi; Murray Dvorkin; James Geddes; Sharon Rice. Recording information: Sunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles, CA; The Outpost, Los Angeles, CA. Browne, usually the most introspective of singer-songwriters, looks outward on this album, more or less for the first time. Here, his lyrical evocations of the Reagan-era U.S.A. are less than flattering. The title song in particular uses a stinging indictment of our then-policy in Latin America as a metaphor for a larger spiritual void, and the dub reggae drenched "Till I Go Down," is a sort of one-man call to revolution. Songs in Browne's more familiar L.A. folk rock mode include the romantic "In the Shape of a Heart," and "Candy," a poignant dysfunctional family love song that boasts one of his best choruses.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 10/25/1990