Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is (1986) Vinyl LP Record
£12.99
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Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is (1986) Vinyl LP Record
£12.99
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Product Description
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Album Introduction
The Way It Is is the debut studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range — Bruce Hornsby (piano, vocals) with David Mansfield, George Marinelli, Joe Puerta and John Molo — released in 1986 on RCA Records. Hornsby, born in Williamsburg, Virginia, had spent years as a session musician and songwriter before this debut album brought him immediate and widespread recognition. The album won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987 and spawned three US Top 20 singles. The title track The Way It Is reached No. 1 in the United States; its lyric addresses the legacy of the Civil Rights Act and the persistence of economic inequality, giving it a social and political weight unusual for a mainstream pop hit of the era. The song's piano riff was later sampled by 2Pac in Changes (1998), introducing it to an entirely new generation. Mandolin Rain reached US No. 4 and Every Little Kiss US No. 14. Hornsby's piano-centred sound — drawing on jazz, classical, folk and rock in equal measure — gave the album a musical sophistication that distinguished it from the more polished end of the mid-1980s pop-rock market.
Stand-Out Tracks
- The Way It Is — One of the most immediately recognisable piano-driven pop singles of the 1980s; its lyric of racial and economic inequality gives it a social weight unusual for a mainstream hit, and its piano riff — later sampled by 2Pac in Changes (1998) — has given it a cultural reach that extends far beyond its original chart context. US No. 1.
- Mandolin Rain — The album's most melodically generous and emotionally direct ballad; a warm, piano-and-mandolin-driven song with a lyric of romantic loss and the passage of time, and one of the most immediately replayable and emotionally satisfying moments on the record. US No. 4.
- Every Little Kiss — A driving, rhythmically confident piano-rock track that gives the album one of its most energetic and commercially effective moments; the production is warm and contemporary and Hornsby's vocal is completely assured. US No. 14.
- On the Western Skyline — The album's opening track and a confident statement of intent; a driving, piano-led rock song that establishes Hornsby's sound and aesthetic from the very first note and demonstrates his ability to construct a hook of immediate commercial appeal without sacrificing musical sophistication.
- The Red Plains — The album's closing track and its most musically expansive; a slow-building, atmospheric piano-rock song that brings the album to a conclusion of genuine musical ambition and gives Hornsby the opportunity to demonstrate the full range of his piano playing in a more extended and exploratory context.
Record Details
- Artist: Bruce Hornsby and the Range
- Title: The Way It Is
- Year: 1986
- Label: RCA Records
- Catalogue No.: PL 89901
- Format: Vinyl LP
- Pressing: UK pressing
- Genre: Rock / Piano Rock
- Decade: 1980s
- Barcode: 078635590418
Condition
Condition: VG/VG — see our Condition Grading Guide.
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