Bruce Hornsby is one of my favorite piano players of all-time. Everything he plays has this undeniable quality of sentimentality. It’s in his melancholic chord choices, his delicate phrasing, and the glistening tone of his piano. It’s perfect.
Hearing Hornsby play I always get a feeling of homesick longing. It’s a feeling of missing something deeply and tenderly in the current moment while at the same time having the hopeful belief that everything will be alright in the end. It’s the feeling that you’re in the second act of the Hero’s Journey. I really do enjoy that sense of longing in music.
1986’s The Way It Is was the debut album for Hornsby and his band The Range. The album is filled with soft rock masterpieces including “Mandolin Rain” and “Every Little Kiss”, with Hornsby’s piano perfectly blending with the heartland oriented arrangements. The musicianship from the entire band is strong throughout, especially the dynamic playing of guitarist David Mansfield and the sublime bass tone of former Ambrosia member Joe Puerta.
The title track off 1986’s The Way It Is was a smash hit in the 80’s and remains Hornsby’s most recognizable songs forty years later. For some, it is probably best known for being sampled in 2Pac’s 1998 song “Changes”. Those two songs are inexorably linked together in the sands of time, uplifting messages of hope in the face of Civil Rights injustices.
It’s a wonderful message that still resonates to this day. It probably always will.
Standout Songs: “The Way It Is”, “Every Little Kiss”, “Mandolin Rain”, “Down the Road Tonight”
Matthew. 