Bruce Hornsby & The Range - Scenes From The Southside (1988)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a CD which was either sold, stolen, traded or lost, then replaced by another CD.

I was hooked from the first time I heard The Valley Road and I still think it's Hornsby's best song with The Range. That hit single (#5 pop, #1 AC, #1 rock) has got to be the peppiest song and video ever made about the age-old tale of rich girl meets working-class hired hand, gets pregnant, and goes off to "live with her sister" for awhile. To the record label's delight, I liked the single so I bought the album and, while the rest of the album doesn't measure up, it's a somewhat enjoyable spin - even more impressive when you consider this was Hornsby's sophomore effort. Not sure why I bought this on CD instead of paying half the price for a prerecorded cassette tape because, at the time of purchase in early 1989, I was working part-time jobs so money was probably tight. But I was living with my parents so at least I had that going for me, which is nice.

I like that the technically-gifted Hornsby was not only choosing to play piano during the synth-rich '80s, but also how he often treated the piano as a percussion instrument (which it is, academically speaking). Lyrics are mainly about growing up in the small towns of the South, so your humble blogger, a small town southern boy himself, can mostly relate to the stereotypical storytelling. The only problem with this album, as mentioned in Stereo Review below, is that the album "comes up short on variety." There's a lot of mid-tempo tunes that run together after awhile. But the CD was worth the $2 I paid for it the second time around. I hope my neighbors like The Valley Road, because it seems to be playing a lot around here recently.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "the right mix of rock, country and jazz"
• Robert Christgau (C): "try crossing vague Bruce with '80s Elton. Then run it through Firefall."
• Stereo Review: "comes up short on variety and emotional charge."
• Billboard: "underlines the formidable writing talents that his debut album promised."
• CashBox: "last year's debut success was no fluke"
  

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #5
• Billboard Pop CD: #1
• CashBox CD: #2
• Rolling Stone: #2

Tracks: Also noteworthy besides The Valley Road are Look Out Any Window (#35 pop, #7 AC, #5 rock), The Old Playground, and Defenders Of The Flag (featuring Huey Lewis on blues harp and lyrics that, sadly, remain relevant). Jacob's Ladder is good, but not as good as Huey's earlier, chart-topping version. The rest, like I said, starts to run together.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: As mentioned above, in early 1989 I was living with my parents in a duplex in San Antonio (about a mile from my current location). I had graduated from college in December, 1988 and didn't really want to start a teaching job in the middle of the year - those positions are usually open for good reason. In the mornings, I tried to sell master antenna TV (MATV) systems to apartment complexes in town while the afternoons were spent downtown in the development office of the San Antonio Symphony. Both jobs paid minimum wage but the symphony job had an added benefit of free concert tickets, so I attended every classical concert during the spring season.

Two nights a week (maybe Monday and Thursday?), I drove from the symphony offices out I-10 to the University of Texas at San Antonio* for graduate classes. Courses were "MUS 5263 Music History: Classic Period" and "MUS 5583 Advanced Instrumental Techniques." I earned A's in both classes and actually enjoyed the history course, but after that I paused my graduate-level music education for about 20 years.

I proposed to a wonderful woman on March 31 and we were married 19 weeks later. However, we like to tell the little white lie that I proposed on April Fool's Day because, let's be honest, that's a much better story.

In addition to this Bruce Hornsby album, others remind me of those few months in San Antonio during the first half of 1989:

• R.E.M. - Green
• Tchaikovsky - The Tempest/Der Sturm, Op. 18 & Symphony No. 2, Op. 17
• Liz Story - Speechless
• The Judy's - Moo
• Take 6
• The Best of The Art of Noise

Previously revisited for the blog:
Hot House (1995)
Harbor Lights (1993)

*The mascot of UTSA is the Roadrunner and the rally cry is "Birds Up!" which I find hysterical. No idea whether or not the cheerleaders encourage fans to "Give 'em the Birds!" during game day activities, but one can hope.

Bruce Hornsby - Hot House (1995)

I thought that Hornsby might take the jazz-influenced pop of his previous release, Harbor Lights, and take it to the next level with this album. Unfortunately, he started leaning more towards bluegrass music and the influences from Hornsby's days with the Grateful Dead are readily apparent. His impressive skills as a pianist are on display, but Hornsby was obviously more concerned with chord progressions than memorable melodies or varying tempi. Other than one really good cut, this CD never gets played around here. I've never purchased another Hornsby album.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #68

Tracks: I like the lead track, Spider Fingers, and that's all.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Harbor Lights (1993)

Bruce Hornsby - Harbor Lights (1993)

This was Bruce Hornsby's first release without his backing band, The Range. So who did he get to replace them? Jeff Lorber, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Phil Collins, Jimmy Haslip, Bonnie Raitt, and Jerry Garcia. Smart move, Bruce. As a result, Hornsby is able to move beyond his former Mellencamp folk-rock to a cooler, jazzier, more sophisticated sound. Financially, I'm not sure that was a good idea because he stopped having hit singles. Could it be that an artist was more concerned with his art than money? In any case, Hornsby, Metheny, and Marsalis all shine on their solos, with most songs having extended sections that allow them to stretch out and play off each other, not unlike The Grateful Dead (Hornsby played frequently with the Dead from 1988-95). It's not quite Steely Dan, not quite early solo Sting, not quite Little Feat, but they all share similar elements. Good, not great, with bonus points for fantastic liner notes by Hornsby himself.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "the signs of a restless musical mind"
• Musician: "puts the emphasis on the writing this time around"
• Billboard: "shows a deeper involvement in jazz modes"
• Entertainment Weekly (B-): "Harbor Lights exudes the same warmth, the same sense of every note being in the right place as, say, James Taylor’s Gorilla — and unfortunately, in 1993, most people may want to hear it about as often."
  

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #46 (May 1, 1993)

Tracks: The title track is probably my favorite cut on the disc; also good are Rainbow's Cadillac, Passing Through, and the manic What A Time. I'm not a fan of Talk Of The Town, China Doll, and the faux-Irish Pastures Of Plenty.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the spring of 1994, I visited a good friend in Longview as his band was performing one of my songs. At his office, a co-worker had this CD playing and I talked to her briefly about it, then later purchased it. While the music is good at times, the bigger influence on my life was my introduction to the work of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). The album cover for Harbor Lights features Hopper's 1951 painting Rooms By The Sea. I love this work, the way the door seems to open directly to the water and the way the light hits the walls of the rooms. I eventually got a print of this painting for my office and now go out of my way to see other Hopper works, most recently the 1930 painting Corn Hill (Truro, Cape Cod) at the McNay in San Antonio (below). Maybe one of these days I'll make it to the Yale University Art Gallery and see Rooms By The Sea for myself.