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Bruce Hornsby peaked early commercially with his first CD, which incidentally was the first CD I ever purchased. The songs are outstanding, and McCoy Turner would be proud of the piano work here. Bruce would go on to greater musical success, but he could never sell as many records again. Strange really, but maybe Jazz/Bluegrass styled pop music never belonged at the top of the charts anyway.
This CD needs to be reevaluated, maybe with a reissue? It also needs of to be remastered and lose a bit of the echoey 80s production that was thrust on Bruce. The CD has that harsh sound that many early CDs had. When it is eqed correctly it sounds much better and clearer like the follow up, Scenes From The Southside, which was the best-recorded southern album of the 80s.
Having said all that, this is the greatest pop album of 1986. Bruce's best music is still to come! I can't wait for the jazz trio album coming in April 2006.
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This debut from Bruce Hornsby is no doubt his most popular album, and probably his best overall. If you don't go for his "Greatest Hits" disc, this would be the one to pick up. In fact, with the inclusion of "On The Western Skyline", I might grab this first. "The Way It Is" is only nine songs long, but it's quality over quantity on this record. Three of his biggest hits are incuded here, those being "Every Little Kiss", "Mandolin Rain", and of course the title track. I'll say again that I think "On The Western Skyline" is hit-caliber also. However the other tracks are pleasing too. "Down The Road Tonight" and "The River Runs Low" I really enjoy. A few of these songs are produced by Huey Lewis by the way, and he sings on at least one of them. Overall, I call it THE essential album of his, which is why I own it on CD, cassette, and vinyl.
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My friend brought this album into our dormitory at school when I was 16 and at first glance I was like "why did you steal that from your dad?!". Over the next few weeks I grew to love the album and all the songs. Ten years have past since then and I still love every single song on this album. It is so very 80's, and yet timeless to me. I never explored any of his other albums which may seem strange, but I just get so much from this one album.
Songs like Mandolin Rain, The Way it is and The Wild Frontier are like a key right back to my school days with my buddy and I. I don't actually have a copy of the cd and so I am gonna buy one right now! haha
I thoroughly recommend anyone who likes music that provokes a range of emotions. You won't be disappointed by this!
If you had a 6 star rank I would give it that!
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Did you ever find yourself missing that certain gal back home that you might not ever see again? This song will put you in that mood if you listen, or if you're already in that mood, this song will make you sick. HEY, Isn't that what really good music is all about???? 5 stars over and over again. Also, The Way It Is,,,How many of you would guess that on construction sites everywhere, the one line that gets the most people singing is "Get a job",,,? That's just the way it is,,,,
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THE WAY IT IS is a great debut by Bruce Hornsby & The Range. The title song is about issues between the races, and how needless hatred does nothing but deprive people of many positive influences, a theme which has surfaced when people called my use of ethnic dietary ideas to help me look good for several pretty actresses a "stalker mentality." "The River Runs Low" personalizes the theme of how the farms people like myself rely on to help us look good for our significant others and/or our favorite celebrities are being lost to rising land prices and suburbanization, a theme which also runs through such songs as "Down The Road Tonight" and "The Red Plains." The best, and hardest-rocking song, here is definitely "The Wild Frontier", which reminds me of my having gone to Bear Mountain to get in shape for several pretty actresses. There are also a fair share of love songs here, but they're from a 32-year-old's point of view, not a teenager's. Hornsby's belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since 2005 for drug-smuggling was unjustly convicted, as well as his advocacy of increased funding for community policing, makes THE WAY IT IS an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.
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