Pulse (Greg Phillinganes album)

Pulse is the second solo album by American session keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. Released on July 17, 1984, the album includes Phillinganes' best-known solo song, a cover of "Behind the Mask" by Yellow Magic Orchestra arranged by Michael Jackson.

Pulse
Studio album by Greg Phillinganes
Released	July 17, 1984
Recorded	Studio 55, The Room, Bodifications, The Music Grinder (Los Angeles)[1]
Genre	Dance-pop, soul, R&B, electronic
Length	43:05
Label	Planet Records
Producer	Richard Perry
Greg Phillinganes chronology
Significant Gains (1981) Pulse (1984)
Singles from Pulse
"Behind The Mask" Released: 1985

The track "Countdown to Love" was also featured in the 1984 film Streets of Fire, while both "Playin' with Fire" and "Signals" would later appear in the 1986 film Touch and Go.^[2] More recently, "Behind the Mask" was used for a montage in the sixth episode of the Max Original Series Fired on Mars (2023).

Track listing

1. "Behind the Mask" (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Chris Mosdell; arr. Michael Jackson) (4:48)
2. "Won't Be Long Now" (Robbie Nevil, Mark Mueller) (5:05)
3. "Playin' With Fire" (Jackie Jackson, Pamela Phillips-Oland, Jack Wargo) (4:46)
4. "I Have Dreamed" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) (4:39)
5. "Come As You Are" (Brock Walsh, Nevil) (4:18)
6. "Lazy Nina" (Donald Fagen) (5:25)
7. "Signals" (Richard Page, John Lang, Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East) (5:00)
8. "Countdown To Love" (Kenny Vance, Marty Kupersmith) (2:56)
9. "Shake It" (Anthony Marinelli, Share Stallings, Brian Banks) (6:08)^[1]

Personnel

• Greg Phillinganes – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, arranger
• Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli – Synclavier programming, "special effects"
• Richard Perry – production
• Michael Brooks – engineering^[3]

Additional track-by-track personnel

"Behind the Mask"

• David Williams – guitars
• Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli – synthesizer programming
• Michael Boddicker – vocoder
• Howie Rice – clap effects
• Richard Page – additional backing vocals
• Michael Jackson – arranger, possible backing vocals
• John Arrias and John Vigran – engineering

"Won't Be Long Now"

• The Pointer Sisters – backing vocals
• Robbie Nevil – guitars
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli – synthesizer programming
• Robbie Nevil – arranger

"Playin' With Fire"

• James Ingram, Howard Hewett, Phillip Ingram – backing vocals
• Carlos Rios – guitar
• Carlos Vega – drums
• Bo Tomlyn – synthesizer programming
• Jerry Hey – horns
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizer
• Jackie Jackson, Jerry Hey – arranger
• John Vigran, Gary Skardina, Roger Paglia, Alex Schmoll – engineering

"I Have Dreamed"

• Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli – synthesizer programming
• John Robinson – percussion
• John Vigran – engineer

"Come as You Are"

• Robbie Nevil – guitar
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Julia Tillman, Maxine Willard, and Clydene Jackson – backing vocals
• Brock Walsh, Robbie Nevil – associate producers
• Robbie Nevil – arranger
• Bert Battaglia – engineer

"Lazy Nina"

• Michael Boddicker – synthesizer programming
• John Robinson – drums
• Philip Perry, Maxi Anderson, Darryl Phinnessee, Gwen Matthews – backing vocals
• Greg Phillinganes, Cherron Taylor-Phillinganes, Shyra Mason, and Howard Dresden – claps
• Donald Fagen – arranger
• Jeremy Smith and John Vigran – engineering

"Signals"

• Bo Tomlyn – synthesizer programming
• Nathan East – bass guitar
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Richard Page, Steve George – backing vocals

"Countdown to Love"

• Howie Rice – synthesizer
• Dennis Herring – guitar
• Howie Rice – arranger
• John Arrias, Roger Paglia – engineering

"Shake It"

• Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks – synthesizers, synthesizer programming, engineering, associate producers
• Daryl Phinnessee – backing vocals
• Anthony Marinelli, Brian Banks

Production credits

• Assistant engineers: Greg Holguin, Bob Loftus, and Alex Schmoll
• Remix engineers: Bill Schnee, Michael Brooks, John Arrias, and Lew Hahn
• Mastering engineer: Stephen Marcussen^[1]