Harbor Lights | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 6, 1993 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:39 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer | Bruce Hornsby | |||
Bruce Hornsby chronology | ||||
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Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Harbor Lights was the fourth album by Bruce Hornsby and was released by RCA Records in 1993. It was the first album credited solely to Hornsby, without his previous backing band, the Range.
The record showcased Hornsby in a more jazz-oriented setting and featured an all-star lineup, including Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia, Phil Collins and Bonnie Raitt. Unlike earlier albums, Harbor Lights allowed more space for Hornsby's and guest-players' "extended instrumental" solos to "flow naturally" out of the songs. [2] The tone was set by the opening title track, which after 50 seconds of expansive solo piano lurches into an up-tempo jazz number, ending with Metheny's guitar runs. The album closes in a similar fashion with "Pastures of Plenty", this time with an extended guitar solo from Garcia intertwined with Hornsby's piano. Hornsby also quotes the main musical phrase from the Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" as the jazz head to his song about tensions surrounding a biracial relationship, "Talk of the Town". [3]
The mid-tempo "Fields of Gray", written for Hornsby's recently born twin sons, received some modest radio airplay, peaking at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harbor Lights was well received by critics and fans, who praised it for its "cooler, jazzier sound" and its "affinity for sincere portraits of American life, love, and heartache." [2]
The album cover uses Edward Hopper's 1951 painting Rooms By the Sea.
All music and lyrics by Bruce Hornsby, except where noted.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
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1. | "Harbor Lights" | 7:11 | |
2. | "Talk of the Town" | 5:11 | |
3. | "Long Tall Cool One" | 4:59 | |
4. | "China Doll" | 5:16 | |
5. | "Fields of Gray" | 4:52 | |
6. | "Rainbow's Cadillac" | 4:37 | |
7. | "Passing Through" | 5:58 | |
8. | "The Tide Will Rise" | B. Hornsby, John Hornsby | 3:55 |
9. | "What a Time" | J. Hornsby | 4:03 |
10. | "Pastures of Plenty" | 6:37 |
"Harbor Lights"
"Talk of the Town"
"Long Tall Cool One"
"China Doll"
"Fields of Gray"
"Rainbow's Cadillac"
"Passing Through"
"The Tide Will Rise"
"What A Time"
"Pastures of Plenty"
Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions.
Luck of the Draw is the eleventh studio album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1991.
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Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe is the fourth studio album by American rock band Fishbone. It was the last album to feature all six original members, as guitarist Kendall Jones left the band a few months after the album's release, and keyboardist/trombonist Chris Dowd would leave the next year.
Halcyon Days is the eighth studio album by American singer and pianist Bruce Hornsby. The album, recorded with his touring band the Noisemakers, was released in 2004. It was Hornsby's first release with Columbia Records. One song, "What The Hell Happened", has been described as a rare example of the use of bitonality in a pop piece.
A Night on the Town was the third and final studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Following albums would be credited to Hornsby alone. A Night on the Town features Hornsby's last significant hit single, "Across the River", which spent one week at the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Hornsby chose Laurelle Brooks as the female lead in the music video for "Across the River".
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Here is a discography of works by Bruce Hornsby. Hornsby released albums with his backing group The Range in his early years, and from 2002 onward with The Noisemakers. He has also released solo albums, as well as collaborations with other artists.
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The Tonight Show Band was the house band that played on the American television variety show The Tonight Show. From 1962 until 1992, when the show was known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the band was a 17-piece big band, and was an important showcase for jazz on American television. During the Carson era, the band was always billed as "The NBC Orchestra" and sometimes "Doc Severinsen and the NBC Orchestra".
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Rehab Reunion is the sixth album by Bruce Hornsby with his current touring band, the Noisemakers. Released on June 17, 2016, the album is notable in that Hornsby, widely recognized for his piano capabilities, does not play piano on the album at all. Rather, he plays the dulcimer. The album also marks Hornsby's first release on 429 Records.