Spirit Trail

Amazon.com
From its unusual jokey cover of his Uncle Charles to the diverse amalgam of styles (jazz, R&B, pop) covered over its two discs, Spirit Trail is Bruce Hornsby at his most difficult to pin down. Whereas his work with the Range set standards for '80s adult-contemporary pop, Hornsby is now determined to move from the middle of the road to new territory. The unusual piano breaks throughout the first disc ("Resting Place" detours into fuzak), the sprightly hip-hop rhythms, the horns that punctuate "Line in the Dust," the simple, playful pop pleasures of "Shadow Hand" prove Hornsby can grow. He's still a super technician with ambitious production and arrangement designs, but his singing has grown more soulful with age. He'll never cut a convincing barrelhouse tune, as "Preacher in the Ring Pt. 1" attests, but his journey into Steely Dan-type sophistication brings his approach new life. --Rob O'Connor

Entertainment Weekly
Trail has a certain massive grandeur, but in the end its (and Hornsby's) virtues defeat it, and him.

Spirit Trail,Bruce Hornsby,RCA,Adult Contemporary,Heartland Rock,Pop,Pop/Rock,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

Spirit Trail

Average customer rating:

2 Great CD's for the price of one
Unbelievable Double Disc!
It's my Dad
Bloated, But Still a Great Album
Hornsby does it again....but in a different way

Spirit Trail
Bruce Hornsby
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Hot House
Harbor Lights
A Night on the Town
Halcyon Days
Scenes From the Southside

ASIN: B00000ADFZ
Release Date: 1998-10-13

Tracks:

King Of The Hill
Resting Place
Preacher In The Ring Part 1
Preacher In The Ring Part 2
Song C
Sad Moon
Pete & Manny
Fortunate Son
Sneaking Up On Boo Radley
Great Divide

Tracks:

Line In The Dust
See The Same Way
Shadow Hand
Sunlight Moon
Listen To The Silence
Funhouse
Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat/Down With That)
Song D
Swan Song
Variations On Swan Song & Song D

Amazon.com

From its unusual jokey cover of his Uncle Charles to the diverse amalgam of styles (jazz, R&B, pop) covered over its two discs, Spirit Trail is Bruce Hornsby at his most difficult to pin down. Whereas his work with the Range set standards for '80s adult-contemporary pop, Hornsby is now determined to move from the middle of the road to new territory. The unusual piano breaks throughout the first disc ("Resting Place" detours into fuzak), the sprightly hip-hop rhythms, the horns that punctuate "Line in the Dust," the simple, playful pop pleasures of "Shadow Hand" prove Hornsby can grow. He's still a super technician with ambitious production and arrangement designs, but his singing has grown more soulful with age. He'll never cut a convincing barrelhouse tune, as "Preacher in the Ring Pt. 1" attests, but his journey into Steely Dan-type sophistication brings his approach new life. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

2 Great CD's for the price of one.......2003-11-09

2 Full CD's of great music. I listenend to this for 3 straight days. Never gets boring. Excellent work.

Unbelievable Double Disc!.......2003-01-06

Wow, I was shocked when I thought that Bruce didn't have it in him to release two discs at once, because I was totally wrong!

This set is UNBELIEVABLE and everyone should have a copy. The songs cover everything on here from ballads, to short stories, to explorations of characters in society. Best of all, it contains FORTUNATE SON which was based a lot on COMFORTABLY NUMB by Pink Floyd. It's a great matchup for that song!

You won't be disappointed at all with this one, this is one of the best CDs out there.

GET IT!

It's my Dad.......2002-11-30

That's my Dad on the cover. It's a great albumn.

Bloated, But Still a Great Album.......2002-07-12

"Spirit Trail" is a 60-minute masterpiece buried in 90 minutes of music. "Fortunate Son" is Bruce's most hauntingly moving ballad since "Mandolin Rain," "Sunflower Cat" is irresistably funky, and "Sad Moon," "Shadow Hand," and "Swan Song" are just great songs. It's a pleasure to hear some instrumental interludes as well ("Song C," etc.). "Spirit Trail" is a unique and worthy contribution to American music.

However, the album could have been improved tremendously by leaving out a few weak tracks. In particular, "Preacher in the Ring" (recorded in two different versions, no less) is both musically uninteresting and lyrically stupid (is Bruce trying to make fun of actual religious fundamentalists, or is this his "clever" way of comparing Christian conservatives with snake handlers?).

Buy this album, but don't be afraid to skip over a few tracks.

Hornsby does it again....but in a different way.......2002-06-30

Another great album put out by Bruce, but still somehow different from Hot House and Harbor Lights. I think it is the fact that it's not as totally jazz-influenced. I think we hear a lot more (rock) guitar on this cd, not like on his previous two projects where Metheny's jazz guitar (and even some sitar) was more evident. Of course there are some very jazz-oriented songs such as "Sneaking Up on Boo Radley" and "Sad Moon" which is a very pretty track. On "Sad Moon" we are not lead through a typical hornsby song. About half of "Sad Moon" was a jazz-piano solo. I feel he really is showing us his technical skill in Spirit Trail, as there are some tracks where there is just piano such as "Song C", "Song D" and "Variations of Swan Song & Song D". I bet a lot of people feel the cd should have been condensed or a lot "tighter" but I don't think so. In addition, I love how Hornsby songs don't just tell a story or talk about important social ascpects but how they are really very catchy. I particularly love "Resting Place", "Line in the Dust" (which is my favourite)and "Swan Song". "King of the Hill" just blew me away with the two hand piano work. You hear him do something with his left hand over and over again while doing something completely different with his right. Almost like an ostinato. These are some of the best songs I have ever heard from Hornsby. I feel even "Fortunate Son", "Listen to the Silence", "Sunlight Moon" and "The Great Divide" deserve a lot of respect and attention. I have seen a lot of reviews and I notice many people don't like "Preacher in the Ring". I actually loved these songs but especially the second part. They have a beautiful rural feel and remind me of some of his previous tales such as Country Doctor. Anyways, Spirit Trail in my mind is the best cd of 1998.