The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album)
1986 studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range
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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."
- Rumbo Recorders (Canoga Park, California)
- The Village Recorder and The Complex (Los Angeles, California)
- Ocean Way Recording, Capitol Studios, Conway Studios and Kingsound Studios (Hollywood, California)
- Studio D (Sausalito, California)
- Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California)
| The Way It Is | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Album cover on the reissue | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 24, 1986 (original release)[1] December 20, 1986 (reissue)[‡ 1] | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1986 | |||
| Studios |
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| Genres | Rock, soft rock | |||
| Length | 43:12 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Bruce Hornsby chronology | ||||
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| Original release cover | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[3] |
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 on December 20, 1986,[‡ 1] 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
All tracks are written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "On the Western Skyline" | 4:42 | |
| 2. | "Every Little Kiss" | Bruce Hornsby | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Mandolin Rain" | 5:19 | |
| 4. | "The Long Race" | 4:26 | |
| 5. | "The Way It Is" | Bruce Hornsby | 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 |
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
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- Bruce Hornsby – vocals, grand piano, synthesizer, hammered dulcimer, accordion
- David Mansfield – guitar, mandolin, violin
- George Marinelli – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
- Joe Puerta – bass, backing vocals
- John Molo – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Huey Lewis – harmonica, backing vocals on "Down the Road Tonight"
- John Gilutin and Sean Hopper – synthesizer consultants
- Jeff Gerson – enforcement
Production
- Paul Atkinson – executive producer
- Bruce Hornsby – producer (1–3, 5, 7, 9)
- Elliot Scheiner (for Trackman, Inc.) – producer (1–3, 5, 7, 9)
- Huey Lewis – producer (4, 6, 8)
- Ivy Skoff – production assistant
- Marge Meoli – A&R coordinator
- Ted Raess – art direction, design
- Kathy Hornsby – art consultant
- Aaron Rapoport – photography
- Robert Llewellyn – inner sleeve photography
- Tim Neece – management
- Technical credits
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Lacquer (Hollywood, California)
- Bob Harlan – digital editing
- Elliot Scheiner – tracking engineer (1–3, 5, 7, 9), mixing
- Jim Gaines – tracking engineer (4, 6, 8)
- Eddie King – mixing, additional engineer
- David Luke – mixing
- Don Smith – mixing
- Jeff "Nik" Norman – additional engineer
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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