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Tuesday
Nov092010

Balance

This album (Warner Bros. 45760 [52:27]) was recorded from 05/25/94 to 09/02/94 and was released on 01/24/95. It debuted at #1 on the U.S. charts. 3.9 million copies have been sold. It was certified gold, platinum and double platinum on 03/29/95.

The CD and cassette versions of this album have some tracks in a different order. The U.S. vinyl release does not include Baluchitherium, while the European vinyl release does.

The twins on the cover are actually only one child digitally cloned to create conjoined twins.  Alex Van Halen commented on the cover during a 02/20/95 interview on Rockline. "It's kind of a duality. It has to do with one person. What you do to another, it comes back to you pretty quickly. It has to do with a balance within everybody; the age old struggle between good and evil. And before I get too deep, 'Balance' is really the title of the picture."

At one point the album was going to be named The Club, a title dedicated to deceased manager Ed Leffler.

The Japanese version of Balance has only one child on the cover because the Japanese took offense at the conjoined twins. The band tossed around the idea of using the second child in the background as a ghost. The Japanese did not like this idea either. Balance was the first Van Halen album to hit #1 on the Japanese charts. This version of the album also includes the extra track Crossing Over.

The landscape on the front cover of the album is actually a moonscape. On the back cover of the album, in the lower right corner, is a can of Coke. It has been rumored that this is a message by the band in reference to their previous troubles with Crystal Pepsi using the song Right Now in their commercials, though the rumor has never been confirmed.

The artwork on the CD itself is Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

Five of the lead vocals on Balance were recorded in Vancouver, Canada, so that producer Bruce Fairbairn could spend more time with his family.

Eddie did not use his Soldano amp for this album. Instead, he went back to his Marshall, which had restoration work done to it, and also used his new Peavey 5150.

Tracks:

Balance Singles and Promos:

Serial #: Pro-CD-7341
Label: WB
Tracks: Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (edit), Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (video version), Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (LP version)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: 41919-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (EP)
Country: UK
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: W0280X
Label: WEA
Tracks: A: Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do), B: Baluchitherium
Country: UK
Release Date: 1995
Format: 12" vinyl

Serial #: 5439-17956-7
Label: WEA
Tracks: A: Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do), B: Baluchitherium
Country: UK
Release Date: 1995
Format: 7" purple vinyl

Serial #: 2-17909
Label: WB
Tracks: Can't Stop Lovin' You, Crossing Over
Highest Chart Position: 30 (USA)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: Pro-CD-7664-R
Label: WB
Tracks: Not Enough (CHR Remix No. 1), Not Enough (CHR Remix No. 2) (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: ?
Label: ?
Tracks: Not Enough (promo)
Country: SPN
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: 2-17810
Label: WB
Tracks: Not Enough, Amsterdam
Country: USA
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: 9362-43510-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Can't Stop Lovin' You, Crossing Over, Right Now (live), Man On A Mission (live)
Country: FRA
Release Date: 1995
Format: CD

Serial #: 9362-41924-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (video version), Dreams (live), Top of the World (live), Judgement Day (live)
Country: FRA
Release Date: 1995
Format: 1st Gold Tin CD

Serial #: WO280 CD 9362-41919-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Don't Tell Me (edit), Why Can't This Be Love? (live), Panama (live), Poundcake (live)
Country: GER
Release Date: 1995
Format: 2nd Gold Tin CD

Serial #: WO302 CDX 9362-43555-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Amsterdam (edit), Runaround (live), Finish What Ya Started (live), Love Walks In (live), [Tracks 2, 3, 4 taken from Live: Right Here, Right Now]
Country: UK
Release Date: 1995
Format: Blue Tin CD

Serial #: 9362-43511-2 / WO288C DX
Label: WEA
Tracks: CD1: Can't Stop Lovin' You, Best of Both Worlds (live), When It's Love (live), One Way to Rock (live), CD2: Can't Stop Lovin' You, Crossing Over, Right Now (live), Man on a Mission (live), [Tracks 2, 3, 4 on CD1 and Tracks 3 and 4 on CD2 taken from Live: Right Here, Right Now]
Country: UK
Release Date: 1995
Format: Black Tin 2 CD Set 

Balance was also the name of a Canadian Van Halen tribute band.

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