Leaving behind the Range, Bruce Hornsby trades heartland rock for a cooler, jazzier sound with Harbor Lights, an album that nonetheless retains his affinity for sincere portraits of American life, love, and heartache.
The title track is a humid, celebratory song that evokes a romantic summer evening in the South, setting the stage for a collection of humanistic songs.
If the album has an underlying theme, it's the necessity of seeing yourself and the ones you love through the hard times as well as the good.
The purely upbeat songs, like "Rainbow's Cadillac" and "What a Night," are counterbalanced by the sober "Fields of Gray" and "Tide Will Rise," and the cultural commentary of "Talk of the Town." The music is uniformly excellent, with Hornsby's piano work blending seamlessly into the rich arrangements.
Each song usually ends with an extended instrumental section, but these flow naturally instead of feeling like tacked-on jam sessions.
And Hornsby isn't just showing off here, as he lets other voices, like Branford Marsalis' sax and Pat Metheny's guitar, get their say.
In later albums, Hornsby's focus on music would tend to overtake his lyrical content, but Harbor Lights marks the point at which he found the right balance between virtuosic playing and personal storytelling.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harbor LightsWill Grosz, Bruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 07:11 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Talk of the TownBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Long Tall Cool OneBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | China DollBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Fields of GrayBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Rainbow's CadillacBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Passing ThroughBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 05:59 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | The Tide Will RiseBruce Hornsby, Elton John | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | What a TimeBruce Hornsby, Elton John | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Pastures of PlentyBruce Hornsby | Bruce Hornsby | Play | 06:29 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 53 mins | 121 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly K. Baker | Viola |
| 2 | Tony Berg | Guitar |
| 3 | John Bigham | Guest Artist, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 4 | Keith "KC" Cohen | Mixing |
| 5 | Phil Collins | Bongos, Guest Artist, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | William Conita | Cello |
| 7 | Lamont Coward | Percussion |
| 8 | Laura Cramer-Dunville | Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | John D'earth | Horn |
| 10 | Dave Duncan | MIDI |
| 11 | Ron Fair | Producer |
| 12 | George A. Gailes III | Horn, Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Jerry Garcia | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 14 | Greg Gorman | Photography |
| 15 | Will Grosz | Composer |
| 16 | Omar Hakim | Drums, Percussion |
| 17 | George Harple | French Horn |
| 18 | Jimmy Haslip | Bass |
| 19 | Debra Henry | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Edward Hopper | Design |
| 21 | Bruce Hornsby | Accordion, Composer, Liner Notes, Organ, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 22 | Phillip Ingram | Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Ted Jensen | Mastering |
| 24 | Elton John | Composer |
| 25 | Eddie King | Engineer |
| 26 | Philip Koslow | French Horn |
| 27 | David Leonard | Mixing |
| 28 | Adam Lesnick | French Horn |
| 29 | Jeff Lorber | Drums, Guest Artist, Loops, Programming |
| 30 | Tom Lord-Alge | Remixing |
| 31 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 32 | Branford Marsalis | Guest Artist, Horn, Sax (Soprano), Saxophone |
| 33 | Jean McClain | Vocals (Background) |
| 34 | Pat Metheny | Guest Artist, Guitar, Sitar |
| 35 | John Molo | Drums |
| 36 | Norman Moore | Art Direction, Design |
| 37 | Roy Muth | Horn, Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Laura Roelofs Park | Balloon, Violin |
| 39 | Alan B. Paterson | French Horn |
| 40 | Dr. Alex Paterson | French Horn |
| 41 | Wayne Pooley | Engineer, Guitar, Mixing |
| 42 | Bonnie Raitt | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 43 | Will Ross | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 44 | Sharona Sabbag | Assistant Producer |
| 45 | Laura Satterfield | Vocals (Background) |
| 46 | Steve Strassman | Engineer |
| 47 | Steven Strassman | Engineer |
| 48 | Tim Streagle | Vocals (Background) |
| 49 | Tim Struggle | Horn |
| 50 | Waddy Wachtel | Guitar |
| 51 | Amy Wenzler | Assistant Producer |
| 52 | Carey Wilhelm | Photography |
| 53 | John McLaughlin Williams | Violin |
| 54 | Larry Williams | Vocals (Background) |
| 55 | Glenn Wilson | Horn |
| 56 | Pauline Wilson | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |