Lives in the Balance

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]

Professional ratings

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

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."[7]

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]

All tracks composed by Browne except where noted.[9]

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, 5, 6, 8), organ (5)
• Bill Payne – synthesizers (2, 3, 4, 6), acoustic piano (8)
• Danny Kortchmar – sequencing (2), guitar (5)
• Craig Doerge – synthesizers (3)
• Bernie Larsen – clavinet (7), guitar (7)
• Ian McLagan – organ (7)
• Gary Myrick – guitar (1)
• Steve Lukather – guitar (2, 4, 8)
• Rick Vito – guitar (3)
• David Lindley – guitar (5, 7)
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar (5)
• Jorge Strunz – nylon-string acoustic guitar (6)
• Hugo Pedroza – charango (6), tiple (6)
• Kevin McCormick – guitar (7), harmony vocals (7)
• Kevin Dukes – guitar (8)
• Jennifer Condos – bass (1)
• Bob Glaub – bass (2, 3, 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)

• Producer – Jackson Browne
• Production Assistant – Steven Landsberg
• Engineer – James Geddes
• Assistant Engineers – Tchad Blake, Bill Jackson and Coke Johnson.
• Technical Engineer – Ed Wong
• Mixing – James Geddes and Greg Ladanyi
• Mix Assistants – Murray Dvorkin and Sharon Rice
• Mixed at The Complex (Los Angeles, CA).
• Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
• Art Direction – Dawn Patrol and Jimmy Wachtel
• Cover Artwork – Richard Duardo
• Back Cover Photo – Basia Kenton

Album – Billboard (United States)

Singles – Billboard (United States)

• Ronald Reagan in music