Glen Burtnick - Heroes & Zeros (1987)

Glen Burtnik (born April 8, 1955) is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx. Burtnik has lived in North Brunswick, New Jersey since his birth. Burtnik has written hit songs for Randy Travis, Patty Smyth and Don Henley.
GLEN BURTNICK and his second solo album "Heroes & Zeros" from 1987 (co-produced by David Prater of Dream Theater fame, etc). New Jersey's cult/legend rocker - mostly known to average joe as a band member of Styx. He's actually been a 'Styx' member, not once, but twice, as he first took on lead vocals in the late eighties (when Tommy Shaw had the 'Damn Yankees'), and recently in the 2000's. He was a member of LaBamba and The Hubcaps led by New Jersey shore favorite Richie 'LaBamba' Rosenberg, the Jan Hammer Band, Helmet Boy, etc. as well as provided material to other bands/artists over the years (including the U.S. #1 hit "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" for Patty Smyth and Don Henley).
Whether it's the opening lines of minor hit 'Follow You' - with its fast-paced delivery, to the superb 'Love Goes On', Burtnick is the equivalent of a musical chameleon within the confines of the pop/rock genre. Able to deliver a variety of interesting tunes in the 3-4 minute bracket. 'Spinnin' My Wheels' is an intense but melodic tune with an abundance of vocal harmonies to fatten out the sound. The sound of the mid-west is recounted with 'Walls Come Down'. Here you can hear where the Jude Cole similarity kicks in. 'Heard It On The Radio' features a chorus of Def Leppard proportions, in fact, if Joe and the boys wanted to do pop/rock at some stage, they should recruit Glen to assist. 'Abalene' wouldn't sound out of place on that one-off Stealin' Horses - give or take the male vocal/female vocal difference. For something totally different is the foot-stomping near-jig like qualities of 'Here Comes Sally', and the token ballad on the album 'The Day Your Ship Gets Through'.
This is actually a rather Poppy album and not too far away from the style of Rick Springfield, Don Henley, Styx, etc. Anton Fig, Bruce Hornsby, Neal Schon, are some of the guest musicians.

Track listing

01.  Follow You  - 4:01 
02.  Spinning My Wheels  - 3:54 
03.  Walls Came Down  - 3:45 
04.  Stupid Boys (Suckers For Love)  - 3:46 
05.  Love Goes On  - 4:22 
06.  Heard It On The Radio  - 3:39 
07.  Abalene  - 3:48 
08.  Here Comes Sally  - 3:41 
09.  Scattered  - 3:06 
10.  The Day Your Ship Gets Thru  - 3:11

Credits
Glen Burtnick - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Anton Fig - drums
Buddy Allen - bass
Doug Worthington - electric guitars
Neal Schon - guitar
Mick Gormaley - percussion
Chuck Burgi - drums
David Prater - drums
Bob Burger - Vocals (Background) 
Bruce Hornsby - Accordion, Guest Artist, Piano 
Southside Johnny - Guest Artist 
Shelly Thompson - Vocals (Background) 
Johnny Lyon - Harmonica 
Plinky - Keyboards 
David Prater - Drums, Vocals (Background) 
Britt Savage - Vocals (Background) 
John Rollo - Engineer
Producer – David Prater, Glen Burtnick

Notes
Genre:  Rock
Length:  37:13
Label:  A&M Records

© 1987