Heartland (Michael Stanley Band album)

Arguably the biggest album of the Cleveland, Ohio–based rock group, Heartland was released in 1980, after the band was dropped from Arista Records following their mediocre-charting Greatest Hints album. The band was not convinced that they could come back from a fall down the charts, as Greatest Hints only reached number #148 on the Billboard magazine album chart. The band continued on without a label and recorded the album that would become their US breakthrough, Heartland. The band planned to release the masterwork independently,[3] however, EMI America Records picked up both the band and the Heartland album upon its completion. The album peaked at #86 in Billboard in 1981.

Heartland proved to be the album the band had been waiting since the 1970s to see. However, speculation regarding lack of touring, limited radio play, weak support from EMI America, and the band being exhausted from trying year after year to crack the top of the charts have been blamed for the apparent fall that occurred after the Heartland bonanza the band enjoyed.

The album spawned the band's highest-charting single, "He Can't Love You", which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981. The song features a surging sax lick by Clarence Clemons that makes it instantly recognizable. The album featured another single, "Lover", rising to a respectable #68 on the charts and staying there for over two weeks. It featured the iconic lyric "thank God for the man who put the white lines on the highway", which was sung back by the audiences to Stanley whenever he performed the song live.[4]

Although MSB went on to more chart successes after Heartland, which the band considered to be its definitive album, MSB never again fully felt the instantaneous relief following the release of Heartland. The band's next album, North Coast, released in 1981 would go on to top the chart position of Heartland surging up to the #79 spot. After the first two successful EMI America albums, the third, MSB, released in 1982, stalled at #136 on the Billboard album chart, failing to crack the top 100.

Michael Stanley Band

• Michael Stanley – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, percussion
• Kevin Raleigh – lead and backing vocals, organ, piano, percussion
• Michael Gismondi – bass, synthesizer
• Gary Markasky – lead electric guitars
• Bob Pelander – piano, organ, electric piano, synthesizer, orchestra bells, percussion, vocals
• Tommy Dobeck – drums, percussion
• Danny Powers – lead guitar and vocals on live bonus tracks

Additional performers

• Clarence Clemons – saxophone
• Dan Montecalvo – choke

Production

• Produced by the Michael Stanley Band
• Engineered by Arnie Rosenberg and Paul Schwartz, assisted by Lydia Terrion
• Mixed by Fred Mollin, Michael Verdick, and the Michael Stanley Band
• Mastered by Mike Reese
• Art direction by Bob Rath; Reissue art direction by Kristian Lawing
• Photography by Anastasia Pantsios and Dan Montecalvo

• Michael Stanley official site
• Heartland at AllMusic