Despite Straight Lines is the debut album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Marilyn, released in 1985.

Overview

Although Marilyn had scored three Top 40

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 hits throughout the 1983-84 period, his debut album was not released until mid-1985, 18 months after his biggest hit "Calling Your Name" was a top 10 hit. Possibly due to a loss of momentum, the album failed to chart and subsequent singles following its release were also unsuccessful.

Although it is his only album released to date, the album was reissued on CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 2008 as Despite Straight Lines: The Very Best Of Marilyn, by Cherry Pop (a division of Cherry Red

Cherry Red

Cherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...

 Records). The reissue includes several bonus tracks, consisting of b-sides and alternative versions, though it excludes the single "Pray for That Sunshine".

Track listing

All songs composed by Marilyn except "Calling Your Name" composed by Marilyn and Paul Caplin

Paul Caplin

Paul Caplin trained as a mathematician at Imperial College, London and Cambridge University. He began his musical career in New Romantic rock group Animal Magnet, which released a synthpop track called Welcome to the Monkey House in 1981 and were the support act on Duran Duran's first national...

, "Mountain To The Ocean" composed by R. Jackson, "Give It Up" composed by Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson may refer to:* Eric Robinson , British conductor* Eric Robinson , Canadian politician in Manitoba* Eric Robinson , Australian federal politician...

, "Wear It Out" composed by Marilyn and Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson may refer to:* Eric Robinson , British conductor* Eric Robinson , Canadian politician in Manitoba* Eric Robinson , Australian federal politician...

. Tracks 11-18 feature on 2008 CD reissue only, on which track 4 is excluded.

1. "Calling Your Name" - 4:06
2. "Mountain To The Ocean" - 3:46
3. "Surrender To Your Love" - 4:04
4. "Pray for That Sunshine" - 4:00
5. "Third Eye" - 3:24
6. "Baby U Left Me (In The Cold)" - 3:51
7. "You Don't Love Me" - 3:24
8. "Give It Up" - 3:58
9. "Wear It Out" - 2:17
10. "Cry And Be Free" - 3:34
11. "Calling Your Name (Midnight Party Mix)" - 4:42
12. "Move Together" - 3:36
13. "Calling Your Name (Extended Version)" - 6:54
14. "Running" - 3:06
15. "Cry And Be Free (Gospel)" - 5:43
16. "Cry And Be Free (Streisand Style)" - 5:19
17. "Raining Again (Dub Version)" - 7:08
18. "Baby U Left Me (In The Cold) (Extended Version)" - 7:08

Producer

• Alan Winstanley
  Alan Winstanley
  Alan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
  
   (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15)
• Clive Langer
  Clive Langer
  Clive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
  
   (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15)
• Don Was
  Don Was
  Don Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.-Life and career:Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...
  
   (tracks: 2, 5, 17)
• Eric Robinson
  Eric Robinson
  Eric Robinson may refer to:* Eric Robinson , British conductor* Eric Robinson , Canadian politician in Manitoba* Eric Robinson , Australian federal politician...
  
   (tracks: 4, 7, 8)
• Roger Jackson
  Roger Jackson
  Roger Charles Jackson, is a Canadian academic and Olympic gold medalist rower. He was born in Toronto, Ontario....
  
  (tracks: 11, 13, 16)