This Is Serious

This Is Serious
Studio album by Marilyn Martin
Released	March 1988
Genre	Pop
Length	40:04
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer	Michael Verdick, Patrick Leonard (track 1) Jon Astley (tracks 2-9) Terry Brown (track 10)
Marilyn Martin chronology
Marilyn Martin (1986) This is Serious (1988) Through His Eyes (1994)

This Is Serious is the second album from American singer Marilyn Martin.^[1]

Background

When Martin emerged with the duet Separate Lives with Phil Collins, Martin signed with Atlantic Records for a two-record deal. Her 1986 self-titled debut album Marilyn Martin peaked at #72 on the Billboard 200, whilst the single "Night Moves" entered the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.^[2] In 1988, Atlantic released Martin's second album, This Is Serious, which included the single "Possessive Love" (a tune that Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Jai Winding co-wrote for her). However, the album and its singles did not sell very well, failing to chart at all. After beginning to work on a third album, Doug Morris, the head of Atlantic Records, suggested that Martin record a country album. In 1994, she recorded her unreleased country album Through His Eyes, although for most of the 1990s, she provided some background vocals for various artists. Atlantic Records would release the title track Through His Eyes as a promotional single.^[3] However they did not release the album, and Atlantic dropped Martin from the label. The singer never signed with another major label.^[4] In 2012, Martin released a new album independently Trust, Love, Pray.^[5]

The album's lead single was "Possessive Love", which failed to make any chart appearances. A second single, "Love Takes No Prisoners," written by Bruce Woolley and Jimmy Scott, was released to similar commercial failure. The same year, Martin also recorded a duet with David Foster, "And When She Danced," which was used as the "love theme" for the film Stealing Home. It was released as a single.^[6]

The Jimmy O'Neill-penned "This Is Serious" had previously been submitted to other artists and had been recorded twice prior to The Silencers' own version on their 1991 album Dance to the Holy Man; in 1987 Eric Martin recorded it for his I'm Only Fooling Myself album, and then one year later Martin recorded it for her 1988 album, which took its name from the track.^[7][8]

The album was produced entirely by Jon Astley alone, who had produced some of Martin's debut album, except for two tracks. although "Possessive Love" was produced by Michael Verdick and Leonard, whilst Terry Brown produced the album's closing track "Pretender".^[9][10]

Around May 1987, Astley, an airplace fanatic, was reported to have been arrested at the Nellis Air Force Base air show in Las Vegas after taking some photographs. After the misunderstanding was sorted out, he returned to Los Angeles where he was in the middle of producing the This Is Serious album.^[11][12]

Release

The album was released via Atlantic Records on vinyl, CD and cassette, in the US, Germany and Japan, whilst Wea Records, S.A. released the album in Spain.^[1] In 2006, Wounded Bird Records re-issued the album on CD, following the 2005 re-issue of Martin's debut album.^[13][14]

Today, the album's re-issue remains in print, unlike the 2005 Marilyn Martin re-issue, whilst the album can be purchased as a digital download on sites such as Amazon and iTunes.^[15][16]

Track listing

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[17]
Philadelphia Inquirer	[17]

Alex Henderson of Allmusic stated "Marilyn Martin's second album, "This Is Serious", found the Southern pop/rocker continuing to work with producer Jon Astley. Martin wanted a different production style for her sophomore album, and she got it - while her first LP had a very slick, high-tech, synthesizer-driven sound, "This Is Serious" favors a more organic production style than its predecessor. "This Is Serious" doesn't sound as programmed as "Marilyn Martin", but in terms of the songs themselves, this 1988 release wasn't all that radical a departure from her first album. Martin was still a commercial, radio-friendly pop/rock vocalist, and her appreciation of R&B continued to assert itself. Even though "This Is Serious" is very much a pop/rock record, there are hints of R&B on spirited, infectious tracks like "Try Me," the title song, and the single "Possessive Love" (which Madonna co-wrote). And that isn't surprising because Martin was quick to point out that she grew up listening to R&B extensively. "This Is Serious" had the makings of a hit, but surprisingly, the album turned out to be a commercial disappointment - which resulted in Atlantic dropping Martin. Even though "Marilyn Martin" is the more essential of her two albums, "This Is Serious" is also quite enjoyable."^[17]

In the Philadelphia Inquirer of May 29, 1988, a review of the album stated "Martin has built a career as a backup singer for many artists, including Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks. The usual problem when a good backup singer performs as a lead singer is that she's so used to subsuming her vocal personality to another that the result is technically perfect but bland music. Martin neatly avoids this trap by permitting the rough edges in her voice to surface and by singing in an intimate, conversational tone. It helps, too, that with the exception of a few bombastic ballads, her material is strong pop-rock."^[18]

Personnel

• Marilyn Martin - Vocals
• Jon Astley - Producer (tracks 2-10)
• Michael Verdick, Patrick Leonard - Producer (track 1)

References