Bruce Hornsby - Harbor Lights (1993)

As a former resident of the state of Virginia, I came to know and love Bruce Hornsby, from the very first album "The Way It Is" to his most recent works. It is interesting when you've followed an artist from the beginning and are able to see their evolution as an artist, and in a sense "watch them grow up" right before your very eyes. Bruce Hornsby began with that characteristic "Virginia Sound", a charming blend---a fusion, if you will----of rock, jazz, classical, country...punctuated by his amazing prowess as a pianist, first, and a multi-instrumentalist besides. The piano, however, is where he sparkles and shines, adding that trademark "Hornsby" sound. It has never escaped me that his sound is firmly rooted in jazz, as he cites the old ECM artists from the '70s as among his influences and idols (Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, to name just a couple). Very seldom do you find an artist with the kind of "range" (pardon the pun) Hornsby has...a mix of styles so perfect and seamless combined with his amazing songwriting abilities, and the savviness to surround himself with some of the most talented and influential musicians in the industry. This album is truly special, and follows his proclivity for assembling a real "who's who" on each and every work. I found this review on Amazon.com that describes perfectly WHY this album is so great:

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Amazon.com wrote: When I put together a review, I normally try to mention something about the liner notes - positive or negative. In the case of Bruce Hornsby's "Harbor Lights", I think it's important to mention this at the beginning. The liner notes for this collection are simply outstanding and go a long way for helping you understand some of the new directions that Bruce takes for this particular collection. These liner notes do include lyrics, musician and production credits - all of which are important things. But, more importantly - there is a 2 panel write-up from Bruce himself that discusses some of the things he did differently. Bruce will give you his insight and context into each of the songs. This goes a long way into understanding this collection. With this particular review, I will try to add some additional perspectives on this collection and try to reference points that Bruce makes in his collection. "Harbor Lights" marks the fourth album by Bruce Hornbsy. Hornsby pioneered something that has been called "The Virginia Sound". The best way I can describe this sound is a mixture of a lot of different genres of music: Jazz, Classical, Bluegrass, Rock, Country, and Pop. In the past, Hornsby incorporated a wide range of instruments in the songs to give this such a distinct sound: Mandolin, Guitar, Violin, Piano, and even Harmonica. On his first two albums ( "The Way It Is" and "Scenes From the Southside" ), if I had to pick a strong influence from those genres - I would probably lean toward Bluegrass. For his third album, "A Night On The Town", Hornsby began to emphasize Rock and to a lesser extent Jazz. For "Harbor Lights", Hornsby definitely turns things more toward the Jazz side. Hornsby does a lot of other things differently as well. As Bruce indicates in the liner notes, this is his first album without his band - The Range. The lone holdover from The Range is drummer John Molo. Bruce also mentions that this is his first album where he took complete control of the Production Duties. He also mentions that this was recorded in his home studio in a very "loose" (i.e. jamming style session). One thing that Bruce doesn't mention is that most of the songs on this collection were written by Bruce and Bruce alone. On the previous three albums, Bruce's brother John would co-collaborate with Bruce on many of the tracks. On this collection, John only is credited with writing the words for 2 of the songs. Usually when an artist decides to self-produce, work at home, and take on the majority of the songwriting - it sometimes proves to be too much. Phil Collins for his "Both Sides" album tried to make a true solo album in which he did everything (including play most of the instruments) and the end result reflects that it is too much. For "Harbor Lights", Bruce does enlist the help of some top musicians - the end result gives this collection a very good feel. The musicians included are Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis , Phil Collins (who at this time was working on the "Both Side" project), Bonnie Raitt, and Jerry Garcia. The inclusion of Metheny and Marsalis make sense. Metheny is a legendary guitarist whose Jazz-like style fits very nicely with the Jazz-like theme of "Harbor Lights". Metheny contributes some of this great guitar work on "Harbor Lights", "Talk of the Town", "China Doll", and "The Tide Will Rise". Marsalis also has experience in working in Jazz/Rock fusions. Bruce had done a song with him during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It was Marsalis' horn work that played a major role of Sting's Jazz-infused Rock album, "The Dream of the Blue Turtles". Marsalis contributes some outstanding horns on this collection to "Long Tall Cool One" and "Rainbow's Cadillac". Collins contributes both percussion and vocal work: "Talk of the Town" (bongos); "China Doll" (background vocals). Raitt's unique vocals are heard on "Rainbow's Cadillac" and "The Tide Will Rise". As for Jerry Garcia, he had started working with Bruce on "A Night on the Town". Bruce had actually worked with Garcia on some Grateful Dead Shows. Garcia contributes some nice guitar work "Passing Thru" and "Pastures of Plenty". Hornsby's albums have always had some strong songwriting. His liner notes describe many of these songs beautifully. On previous works, we've seen sociological messages this on "The Way It Is", "Look At Any Window", and "Fire On the Cross". Hornsby is at no loss for this on this collection as "Talk of the Town" deals with an interracial marriage. Hornsby has always done a nice job at a "storytelling narrative" style in prior songs such as "The Road Not Taken" and "A Night on the Town". You'll hear this style on this collection on songs like "What a Time" and "Long Tall Cool One". While the Virginia Sound might have switched directions, Bruce hasn't totally abandoned it. As Bruce says in the liner notes, the song "The Tide Will Rise" is about the Waterman of Virginia. You'll hear a bit of the classic style from his Range days on "What a Time" (i.e. a bluegrass spin). You will also hear some violin and viola on "Pastures of Plenty" - something that was more of a Hornsby staple in his earlier days. In fact, "Pastures of Plenty" really does a good job at the whole spirit of the Virginia Sound - the fusion of the many genres.

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Tracklisting:
1. Harbor Lights (7:11)
2. Talk of The Town (5:10)
3. Long Tall Cool One (4:59)
4. China Doll (5:17)
5. Fields of Gray (4:51)
6. Rainbow's Cadillac (4:38)
7. Passing Through (5:59)
8. The Tide Will Rise (3:55)
9. What a Time (4:04)
10. Pastures of Plenty (6:30)

Total Time: 52:34

Line-Up:
- Bruce Hornsby / Organ, Piano, Accordion, Vocals
- Branford Marsalis / Horn, Saxophone, Sax (Soprano)
- Phil Collins / Bongos, Vocals (Background), Vocals, Tambourine
- Jerry Garcia / Guitar
- Pat Metheny / Guitar, Sitar
- Jeff Lorber / Drums, Programming, Loops
- Bonnie Raitt / Vocals, Vocals (Background)
- Larry Williams / Vocals (Background)
- Omar Hakim / Percussion, Drums
- Jean McClain / Vocals (Background)
- John McLaughlin Williams / Violin
- John Molo / Drums
- Roy Muth / Horn, Vocals (Background)
- Laura Roelofs Park / Violin, Balloon
- Dr. Alex Paterson / French Horn
- Wayne Pooley / Guitar, Mixing, Engineer
- Laura Satterfield / Vocals (Background)
- Tim Streagle / Vocals (Background)
- Pauline Wilson / Vocals (Background)
- Waddy Wachtel / Guitar
- George Harple / French Horn
- Philip Koslow / French Horn
- Tim Struggle / Horn
- Adam Lesnick / French Horn
- Alan B. Paterson / French Horn
- Will Ross / Guitar (Rhythm)
- John D'earth / Horn
- Glenn Wilson / Horn
- Jimmy Haslip / Bass
- Beverly K. Baker / Viola
- Tony Berg / Guitar
- John Bigham / Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm)
- William Conita / Cello
- Lamont Coward / Percussion
- Laura Cramer-Dunville / Vocals (Background)
- George A. Gailes III / Horn, Vocals (Background)
- Debra Henry / Vocals (Background)
- Phillip Ingram / Vocals (Background)