Balin (album)

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.

Balin
Studio album by Marty Balin
Released	May 11, 1981
Recorded	December 1980 – March 1981
Studio	The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, California); The Record Plant and White Rabbit Studios (Sausalito, California).
Genre	Rock
Length	35:34
Label	EMI America
Producer	John Hug
Marty Balin chronology
Balin (1981) Lucky (1983)
Singles from Balin
"Hearts"/"Freeway" Released: May 1981 "Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)"/"Lydia!" Released: August 1981

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hearts"	Jesse Barish	4:32
2.	"You Left Your Mark on Me"	Terry Turrell Eric J. Burgeson	4:40
3.	"Lydia!"	Rick Nowels Marty Balin
4.	"Atlanta Lady"	Barish	3:46

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Spotlight"	Turrell Burgeson	3:30
2.	"I Do Believe in You"	Richard Page John Lang Steve George Jerry Manfredi	3:23
3.	"Elvis and Marilyn"	Leon Russell Kim Fowley Dyan Diamond	3:05
4.	"Tell Me More"	Obren Bokich John Whitney	3:48
5.	"Music Is the Light"	Barish	4:17
Total length:			35:34

CD releases

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

Chart (1981)	Peak position
US Pop	35

Singles

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

• Marty Balin – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Pete Sears - Keyboards and synths
• 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

• Michael Boddicker – vocoder (2)
• John Jarvis – acoustic piano (4, 6)
• Neil Larsen – electric piano (9), synthesizers (9)
• John Hug – guitars, string arrangements and conductor
• Ken Watson – cymbalum (1)
• Bobbye Hall – percussion
• Steve Forman – percussion
• Harry Bluestone – concertmaster
• Frank De Caro – contractor
• Bill Champlin – backing vocals (1)
• Rick Nowels – backing vocals
• David E. Landau – backing vocals

Production

• 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