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Rating: Rediscovering Forgotten AOR...
The older among you who, like myself, continue to mess around on DeBaser instead of engaging in more serious activities might remember the hit "The Way It Is" that dominated throughout 1986 by then-unknown Bruce Hornsby. A decent, pleasant, and well-played track that gave our man popularity but perhaps relegated him to an artistically "pop" position uncomfortable for him. Indeed, because our man has always been a highly sought-after session musician, as well as a pianist and keyboardist in some of the most successful concerts of the Grateful Dead.
Success and fame did not favor the talented Hornsby, who quickly fell into obscurity after the brief and ephemeral season of "The Way It Is". Yet, scrolling through the credits list of this 1993 album is dizzying: Jimmy Haslip, the legendary Yellow Jackets bassist, Pat Metheny and Jerry Garcia on guitars, Phil Collins (who, it should be remembered, has illustrious jazz-rock and progressive past), Brandford Marsalis on sax.
Metheny is decidedly not inclined to this kind of collaboration, and it's quite striking to hear him improvise in an environment so distant from those he usually frequents. However, it must be said that Hornsby provides non-trivial harmonic structures on which the guitarist can express himself with a certain freedom ("China Doll"). His guitar synth solo in "The Tide Will Rise" is brief but effective.
In tracks like "Harbour Lights" or "Fields Of Gray", our man does not hide clear connections to the lighter and sunnier American songwriting, but everything is energized by piano inserts that reveal an excellent command of the keyboard. His piano happily bounces on the rhythmic setup put together by the renowned Haslip-Collins duo, giving a blazing swing to more than one piece ("Talk Of The Town").
The average quality of the writing is dangerously high, as can be seen in "Rainbow's Cadillac" where the electric organ and the voice of Bonnie Raitt add a soulful touch to the ensemble, and in the almost rhapsodic pace of the finale "Pastures Of Plenty", with an excellent Jerry Garcia.
Open and paced melodies à la Donald Fagen, jazzy moments that would not have displeased Sting of the blue turtles, a hint of the most swinging Joe Jackson and a good dose of the folk-rock of James Taylor and Jackson Browne: et voilà, here is a delightful gem, an album that goes down like a sip of mountain water. If you love the genre, and if the names mentioned above pique your curiosity, listening to this work is a must: you might have an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
The latest news gives us a Bruce Hornsby who has turned entirely to jazz, with the release of his album in trio with Jack DeJohnette and Brian Blade... Let's hope for the best...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Fields of Gray (04:51)
When the night lies so still
Before I go to sleep
I come by, I come by
Just to look at you
In the dim light I say
That in my own small way
I will try, I will try
To help you through
There'll be blue skies falling
There'll be sad scenes and bad dreams
In a world so uncertain
Through the clouds it's hard to see
I will grab you and lift you
As you hold on tight and sway
We'll go walking
Across the fields of gray
There's a place I can go
When the world gets me down
When nothing, when nothing
Goes quite right it seems
As I look there I know
Fortune smiles on me so
But who knows, no one knows
About tomorrow
There'll be blue skies falling
There'll be sad scenes and bad dreams
In a world so uncertain
Through the clouds it's hard to see
I will grab you and lift you
As you hold on tight and sway
We'll go walking
Across the fields of gray
When I was younger I saw things in black and white
Now all I see is a sad, hazy gray
Sometimes I see a narrow flash of light
Sometimes I look and you show me the way
No matter what else happens
What the future will be
In a world so uncertain
Through the clouds it's hard to see
I will grab you and carry you
Calm your fears if you're afraid
We'll go walking
Across the fields of gray
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