Ignition (John Waite album)

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AllMusic	[1]

Ignition is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter John Waite (ex-vocalist for The Babys). It was released on Chrysalis Records in June 1982 and produced by Neil Giraldo (producer/guitarist for Pat Benatar, who was on the same label).

Two singles were lifted from the record: the Holly Knight-penned "Change" which initially failed to make a significant dent on any chart except for the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, where it scored the No. 16 position. It was, however, one of MTV's most popular early videos. Upon the 1985 release of the soundtrack to the film Vision Quest, the single was re-issued and broke into the top 50 on the Pop charts. Its follow-up single was "Going to the Top".

A few well-known musicians guested on the album as well. Singer Patty Smyth (then in the band Scandal) handled vocal backing, and drummer Frankie LaRocka (also from Scandal) and bassist Don Nossov (who also played with Benatar) guest here.

Track listing[]

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1. "White Heat" (John Waite) – 3:22
2. "Change" (Holly Knight) – 3:15
3. "Mr. Wonderful" (John Waite, Ivan Kral) – 4:07
4. "Going to the Top" (Waite, Tim Pierce) – 4:36
5. "Desperate Love" (Waite, Kral) – 3:55
6. "Temptation" (Chas Sandford) – 2:59
7. "Be My Baby Tonight" (Waite, Kral) – 3:22
8. "Make It Happen" (Waite, Bruce Brody) – 3:18
9. "Still in Love with You" (Paul Sabu) – 3:42
10. "Wild Life" (Waite, Kral) – 3:23

Personnel[]

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• John Waite – lead vocals
• Ilana Morrilo, Patty Smyth and Rahni Kugel – backing vocals
• Brendan Bourke, John Elijah Wright, Dave Lang and John Waite – handclaps and screams on "White Heat"
• Tim Pierce – lead guitar
• Ivan Kral – rhythm guitar, keyboards
• Spyder Downtone Butane James – guitar solo on "Mr. Wonderful"
• Bruce Brody – keyboards, piano
• Don "Donnie" Nossov – bass, backing vocals
• Frankie LaRocka – drums, percussion
• Crispin Cioe, Arno Hecht and "Hollywood Paul" Litteral – horns

Production[]

• Produced by Neil Giraldo
• Engineered by Bob Clearmountain and Jeff Hendrickson
• Assistant Engineer – Neil Dorfsman
• Mixed by Neil Giraldo and Bob Clearmountain
• Originally mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
• Remastered by Jon Astley
• Design – Sandy Pearman and Dyer/Kahn, Inc.
• Photography – Brian Aris

References[]