The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album)

Last updated
The Way It Is
The way it is hornsby.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 24, 1986 [1]
Recorded1985–1986
Studio
Genre Rock, soft rock
Length43:12
Label RCA
Producer Bruce Hornsby, Huey Lewis, Elliot Scheiner
Bruce Hornsby chronology
The Way It Is
(1986)
Scenes from the Southside
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Robert Christgau B− [3]

The Way It Is is the debut album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range, released by RCA Records in 1986. Led by its hit title track, the album achieved multi-platinum status and contributed to the group winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Other notable tracks from the album include "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little Kiss". Huey Lewis appears on harmonica and provides vocals on "Down the Road Tonight." Lewis also co-produced this track, along with "The Long Race" and "The River Runs Low."

Contents

Releases

The original release of the album featured an impressionistic photograph on the cover of Bruce Hornsby playing an accordion. [4] It was initially aimed at the New Age music market and included slightly different versions of the songs "Down the Road Tonight" and "The River Runs Low."

As the album's tracks began to receive regular airplay on pop music stations in late 1986, it was remixed and subsequently re-released with a new sepia-toned cover featuring a photograph of the band superimposed over an image of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel in Virginia.

Track listing

The Way It Is track listing
No.TitleLength
1."On the Western Skyline"4:42
2."Every Little Kiss"5:48
3."Mandolin Rain"5:19
4."The Long Race"4:26
5."The Way It Is"4:58
6."Down the Road Tonight"4:26
7."The Wild Frontier"4:04
8."The River Runs Low"4:28
9."The Red Plains"5:01

Tracks 2 and 5 were written by Bruce Hornsby, while all other songs were co-written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby. The track times listed are for the current release of the album. The opening of "Every Little Kiss" features an extended quotation from the beginning of Movement III, The Alcotts, from Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2.

Live: The Way It Is Tour 1986–87

Live: The Way It Is Tour 1986–87 track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Every Little Kiss"6:27
2."The Long Race"6:02
3."The Way It Is (Solo Piano Intro)"7:07
4."The Way It Is"6:25
5."Mandolin Rain"6:31
6."The Red Plains"6:44
7."On the Western Skyline"6:19

Produced by DIR Broadcasting for the King Biscuit Flower Hour . Recorded live at The Ritz, New York City, February 2, 1987 by Effanel Music.

Personnel

Bruce Hornsby and The Range

Additional personnel

Production

Charts and certifications

Related Research Articles

<i>August and Everything After</i> 1993 studio album by Counting Crows

August and Everything After is the debut studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released September 14, 1993, on Geffen Records. The album was produced by T Bone Burnett and featured the founding members of the band: Steve Bowman (drums), David Bryson (guitar), Adam Duritz (vocals), Charlie Gillingham (keyboards), and Matt Malley (bass). Among the several session musicians used for the album was multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück, who later joined the band as a full-time member in 1999, as well as Burnett, who also provided additional guitar work.

<i>The Dance</i> (Fleetwood Mac album) 1997 live album by Fleetwood Mac

The Dance is a live album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 August 1997. It hailed the return of the band's most successful lineup of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks, who had not released an album together since 1987's Tango in the Night, a decade earlier. It was the first Fleetwood Mac release to top the U.S. album charts since 1982's Mirage.

<i>The End of the Innocence</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Don Henley

The End of the Innocence is the third solo studio album by Don Henley, the co-lead vocalist and drummer for the Eagles. The album was released in 1989, on Geffen Records, and was his last release on that label. It was also his last solo album before reforming the Eagles and it would be eleven years before he released another solo project, 2000's Inside Job.

<i>Luck of the Draw</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Luck of the Draw is the eleventh studio album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1991.

<i>Longing in Their Hearts</i> 1994 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Longing in Their Hearts is the twelfth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1994. The album contained the mainstream pop hit, "Love Sneakin' Up On You," which reached #19 on the Billboard singles chart, and "You", which remains to date her only UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 31.

<i>Small World</i> (Huey Lewis and the News album) 1988 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News

Small World is the fifth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1988. It was also their last album release on Chrysalis Records in the USA.

<i>Hard at Play</i> 1991 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News

Hard at Play is the sixth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News. It was released in 1991 on EMI for most of the world and Chrysalis in the UK. Hard at Play peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart and produced two top 40 singles, "Couple Days Off" and "It Hit Me Like a Hammer." Music videos were released for "It Hit Me like a Hammer," "Couple Days Off," and "He Don't Know."

<i>The Last Waltz</i> (soundtrack) 1978 soundtrack album by the Band

The Last Waltz is the second live album by the Band, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1978, catalogue 3WS 3146. It is the soundtrack to the 1978 film of the same name, and the final album by the original configuration of the Band. It peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Everything</i> (The Bangles album) 1988 studio album by the Bangles

Everything is the third studio album by American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released on October 18, 1988 through Columbia Records. Just like its predecessor, Everything produced a US Top 5 hit, and a number one single, "Eternal Flame," which became a chart-topper in almost every major country around the world.

<i>I Feel for You</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Chaka Khan

I Feel for You is the fifth solo studio album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1984.

<i>City to City</i> 1978 studio album by Gerry Rafferty

City to City is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released on 20 January 1978 by United Artists Records. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years—and first release of any kind since 1975—due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the next three years. The album was well received, peaking at No. 1 in the US and going Platinum, as well as reaching No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were hits on the American charts.

<i>We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions</i> 2006 studio album by Bruce Springsteen

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is the fourteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen. Released in 2006, it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.

<i>Im in You</i> 1977 studio album by Peter Frampton

I'm in You is the fifth studio album by English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton. It was released on 3 June 1977, almost a year and a half after his 1976 signature breakthrough live album, Frampton Comes Alive! It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, where Frampton's Camel was recorded four years earlier. Stevie Wonder, Richie Hayward, Mike Finnigan and Mick Jagger are featured on the album.

<i>Tonight Im Yours</i> 1981 studio album by Rod Stewart

Tonight I'm Yours is the eleventh studio album by Rod Stewart, released in 1981. It features hints of classic rock, pop and new wave. The album had three hit singles, with the title track "Tonight I'm Yours ", "Young Turks", and "How Long".

<i>View from the House</i> 1988 studio album by Kim Carnes

View from the House is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes. It was released on July 25, 1988 by MCA Records. The album marked a return to her early country music roots. Carnes recorded the album in Nashville, Tennessee, and co-produced the album with Jimmy Bowen.

<i>Scenes from the Southside</i> 1988 studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

Scenes from the Southside is the second album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The single "The Valley Road" was Hornsby's third Top 10 U.S. hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and also his first number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It became his third chart-topper on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, following "The Way It Is" and "Mandolin Rain". Three other notable tracks on the record were the single "Look Out Any Window"; "The Show Goes On", which was featured in Ron Howard's 1991 film Backdraft, as well as the pilot episode of Baywatch; and "Jacob's Ladder", which was written by Bruce and John Hornsby but is most well known as being a number-one hit for Huey Lewis and the News in March 1987. In addition, in 2023, "The Show Goes On," was used in the premier of "the Bear: Part 2."

<i>A Night on the Town</i> (Bruce Hornsby album) 1990 studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

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".

<i>Back Home Again</i> (John Denver album) 1974 studio album by John Denver

Back Home Again is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver, released in June 1974.

<i>Good Time</i> (Alan Jackson album) 2008 studio album by Alan Jackson

Good Time is the fifteenth studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on March 4, 2008 and produced five singles on the country singles charts. The first three of these — "Small Town Southern Man", the title track, and "Country Boy" — have all become Number One hits. This album marked Alan Jackson's return to the traditional country music roots.

<i>Time</i> (Rod Stewart album) 2013 studio album by Rod Stewart

Time is the twenty-eighth studio album by Rod Stewart, it was released on 3 May 2013 in the UK, on 7 May in the US and Canada, and on 8 May in Japan under the title "Time: Toki no Tabibito" (タイム~時の旅人~). In May 2013, Stewart released Time, a rock album of his own original material. It marked a return to songwriting after what Stewart termed "a dark period of twenty years"; he said that writing his autobiography gave him the impetus to write music again. The album entered the top 10 in the US and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, setting a new British record for the longest gap between chart-topping albums by an artist, as his last studio album to reach the top spot was A Night on the Town in 1976. The album was certified platinum in the UK on 16 August 2013 and double-platinum on 29 December 2017. Overall, the album was the No. 7 best-selling album of 2013 in the UK. In the United States, the album has sold 141,000 copies as of September 2015.

References

  1. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 36. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r9510
  3. Christgau, Robert (March 31, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  4. "The first U.S. CD issue of Bruce Hornsby and The Range The Way It Is". Keith Hirsch's CD Resource. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 142. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Hornsby And The Range – The Way It Is" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  8. "Charts.nz – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
  9. "Swedishcharts.com – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
  10. "Swisscharts.com – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
  11. "Bruce Hornsby | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  12. "Bruce Hornsby Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  13. "Bruce Hornsby Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard.
  14. "Top Selling Albums of 1987". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  16. "Canadian album certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". Music Canada . Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  17. "British album certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". British Phonographic Industry.
  18. "American album certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". Recording Industry Association of America.