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Bruce Hornsby and The Range — The Way It Is (1986) [US 1st press]

Bruce Hornsby and The Range — The Way It Is (1986) [US 1st press]

 Bruce Hornsby and The Range — The Way It Is (1986) [US 1st press]
•   Singer/songwriter and pianist whose breezy, nonchalant style made his numerous hits of the 1980s instantly recognizable.                                  © Red Hook Summer New York Premiere 
Born: November 23, 1954 in Williamsburg, VA
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.
Album release: 1986, 2015
Genre: Pop Rock, Soft Rock, Heartland Rock |
Record Label: RCA
Duration:     43:27
Tracks:
01. On the Western Skyline      4:42
02. Every Little Kiss      5:48
03. Mandolin Rain      5:19
04. The Long Race      4:25
05. The Way It Is      4:58
06. Down the Road Tonight      4:33
07. The Wild Frontier      4:05
08. The River Runs Low      4:31
09. The Red Plains      5:03
Written by:
•   Bruce Hornsby / John Hornsby     1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
•   Bruce Hornsby     2, 5Credits:
•   Paul Atkinson Executive Producer
•   Jim Gaines Engineer
•   Jeff Gerson Unknown Contributor Role
•   John Gilutin Synthesizer
•   Bob Harlan Digital Editing
•   Sean Hopper Synthesizer
•   Bruce Hornsby Accordion, Composer, Dulcimer, Hammer Dulcimer, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals
•   John Hornsby Composer
•   Eddie King Engineer, Mixing
•   Huey Lewis Guest Artist, Harmonica, Producer, Vocals
•   Robert Lou Llewellyn Photography
•   David Luke Mixing
•   David Mansfield Guitar, Mandolin, Violin
•   Stephen Marcussen Mastering
•   George Marinelli Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
•   John Molo Drums, Percussion
•   Joe Puerta Bass, Vocals
•   Ted Raess Art Direction, Design
•   Aaron Rapoport Photography
•   Elliot Scheiner Engineer, Mixing, Producer
•   Ivy Skoff Assistant Producer
•   Don Smith Mixing © Bruce Hornsby addresses the audience during his concert at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Monday, Aug. 9, 2004, where he was touring to support his new album "Halcyon Days." (AP Photo/Ross Weitzner)
BRUCE HORNSBY
Notable instruments: A piano by Steinway & Sons, formerly a piano by Baldwin Piano Company. Synthesizers by Korg M1 and Oberheim OB–X, accordion, dulcimer
AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann;  Score: ****½
•   There isn’t a second of Bruce Hornsby & the Range’s The Way It Is that suggests it’s a debut album. On the contrary, the record sounds like the culmination of a band’s efforts over many years. The group has a distinct sound of its own, often led by Hornsby’s bright piano chords and elastic tenor, with cohesive and evocative arrangements; there is new age music here, as well as jazz and country, and the mixture is presented naturally by musicians who seem to have been playing with each other for some time. Similarly, the songwriting has its own flavor. Hornsby wrote seven of the nine songs with his brother John Hornsby, and they create their own world, a working–class environment of longing and loneliness set against the background of the Virginia Tidewater area. (The album cover displays a sepia–toned photograph of the band set over another photograph of the long Chesapeake Bay Bridge.) The lyrics are lightly poetic and restrained, for the most part. The exception is the title song (written by Bruce Hornsby alone), a brave if somewhat clumsily written attack on the heartless right–wing politics of the mid–‘80s, as the U.S. suffered through a second Reagan administration determined to roll back civil rights gains. The boldness of the statement and the lovely piano theme more than compensate for the awkward writing, however, making the song one of the album’s most memorable. And that’s saying a lot when the competition includes the engaging “Mandolin Rain” and the appealingly romantic “Every Little Kiss” (Hornsby’s other sole writing credit). ♣   Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the music is so accomplished. Hornsby was no teenage neophyte when he made it, having kicked around the music business and gotten into his thirties, and the band includes such veterans as David Mansfield, who may be remembered as a member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder troupe and the Alpha Band, as well as being a film composer. Sometimes a debut album just happens to be the first music most people get to hear by a mature talent, and that’s the case here on the debut album of the year. (Bruce Hornsby & the Range went on to win the 1986 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
•   http://www.allmusic.com/
Website: http://www.brucehornsby.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BruceHornsby
MySpace: https://myspace.com/brucehornsby
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brucehornsby
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brucehornsby
AWARDS:
Billboard Albums
•   1986 The Way It Is The Billboard 200      #3
Billboard Singles
•   1987 Every Little Kiss Adult Contemporary      #3
•   1987 Mandolin Rain Adult Contemporary      #1
•   1987 Mandolin Rain Country Singles      #38
•   1987 Mandolin Rain Mainstream Rock      #2
•   1987 Mandolin Rain The Billboard Hot 100      #4
•   1987 The Way It Is Adult Contemporary      #8
•   1987 The Way It Is The Billboard Hot 100      #7
•   1986 Every Little Kiss Mainstream Rock      #18
•   1986 Every Little Kiss The Billboard Hot 100      #14
•   1986 On The Western Skyline Mainstream Rock      #6
•   1986 The Way It Is Adult Contemporary      #1
•   1986 The Way It Is Mainstream Rock      #3
•   1986 The Way It Is The Billboard Hot 100      #1
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Bruce Hornsby and The Range — The Way It Is (1986) [US 1st press]

ALBUM COVERS XI.