Balance - In For The Count

Balance – In For The Count

4.8
(4)

‘In For The Count’ is a great album on so many levels, because Balance were not afraid to experiment with shifting styles, hard to soft, slow to fast.

Written by: gdmonline

ARTIST: Balance
ALBUM: In For The Count
LABEL: Portrait
SERIAL: 38019
YEAR: 1982
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

LINEUP: Peppy Castro – vocals * Bob Kulick – guitars * Doug Katsaros – keyboards * Chuck Burgi – drums * Dennis Feldman – bass

TRACK LISTING: 01 In For The Count * 02 Is It Over * 03 Slow Motion * 04 Undercover Man * 05 On My Honor * 06 All The Way * 07 Pull The Plug * 08 Bedroom Eyes * 09 We Can Have It All

WEBLINKS: NA

Background

After the modest success of 1981’s self titled debut, Balance released the superior follow up just a year later. The original three members, Castro, Kulick and Katsaros added drummer Chuck Burgi and ex Speedway BLVD bassist Dennis Feldman as full time band mates. Scanning this line up years later, it’s a dream team of AOR talent that made an album every bit as good as expected.


[Katsaros, Kulick, Burgi, Castro, Feldman]

The Songs

The title cut kicks it off with the dominating synthesizers of Katsaros, but the whole cut as a whole is more polished than anything off the debut. Kulick’s solo burns it up and his riffs border on metal. ‘Is It Over’ moves with pace, especially Kulick, who so far is dominating the album with his classy fills.

‘Slow Motion’ is about that fast, but some inspirational lyrics from the great Castro make this a positive sing a long. There’s a great bridge half way through, sweeping stuff with constant changing tempos. ‘Undercover Man’ is all Kulick. The guitar work is brutal, showcasing his fondness for hard rock heaviness. The hardest Balance ever played.

‘On My Honor’ is a thriller all the way, particularly the final minute, where Balance reach the pinnacle of melody, and once again it is Kulick’s guitar harmonies which make it. ‘All The Way’ moves closely to ‘Is It Over’, same speed, but exceptional chorus nonetheless.

‘Pull The Plug’ is the lone weak track. Moving at a snails pace, it sounds like the band was indeed on life support on this one. Borderline melody unfortunately. ‘Bedroom Eyes’ has an upbeat hook line and is close in style to the debut, more pop orientated than hard rock. So is Balance’s final track ‘We Can Have It All’ which sacrifices guitar driven AOR in favour of an epic keyboard solo.

In Summary

‘In For The Count’ is a great album on so many levels, because Balance were not afraid to experiment with shifting styles, hard to soft, slow to fast. The all important melody is always present and in a perfect world Balance would have been huge, something any AOR pro is aware of.

After the band split Burgi moved to Rainbow, Feldman joined Michael Bolton‘s band, Katsaros became a session man, while Kulick involved himself in numerous projects which included Meatloaf, Skull and Murderers Row. As for Castro his vocal skill went unused, a waste of talent.

This album remains a fixture in any fans collection though. In later years helped by public encouragement, Balance reunited, released ‘Equilibrium’ in 2009, and even toured over to Sweden. There are miracles in the world!

Video

In For The Count

Balance - In for the count [lyrics] (HQ Sound) (AOR/Melodic Rock)

Is It Over
Balance - In for the count [lyrics] (HQ Sound) (AOR/Melodic Rock)

Undercover Man
Balance - In for the count [lyrics] (HQ Sound) (AOR/Melodic Rock)


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