Halcyon Days (Bruce Hornsby album) explained

Halcyon Days
Type:Studio album
Artist:Bruce Hornsby
Cover:HornsbyHdays.jpg
Released:August 17, 2004
Genre:Rock
Jazz
Label:Columbia
Producer:
  • Wayne Pooley
  • Bruce Hornsby
Prev Title:Big Swing Face
Prev Year:2002
Next Title:Intersections (1985-2005)
Next Year:2006

Halcyon Days is the eighth studio album by American singer and pianist Bruce Hornsby. The album, recorded with his touring band the Noisemakers, was released in 2004. It was Hornsby's first release with Columbia Records. One song, "What The Hell Happened", has been described as a rare example of the use of bitonality in a pop piece.[1]

The album marked a return to a more acoustic, piano-driven sound that reviewers described as "pure Hornsby".[2] Guests included Sting, Elton John and Eric Clapton. The tracks "Gonna Be Some Changes Made," "Candy Mountain Run," "Dreamland," and "Circus On The Moon" became concert staples, each showcasing the diversity of Hornsby's improvisations and the Noisemakers' live sound. Notably, Halcyon Days also includes a suite of solo piano songs - "What The Hell Happened," "Hooray For Tom," and "Heir Gordon" - which all have a "Randy Newman pastiche."[3] Although the album was markedly less-risk-taking than Big Swing Face, it would be well-received as a "winning balance of [Hornsby's] tuneful and adventurous sides."

"Gonna Be Some Changes Made" was used in several Lowe's commercials from 2006.

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Hornsby.

  1. "Gonna Be Some Changes Made" - 5:18
  2. "Candy Mountain Run" (with Eric Clapton) - 5:15
  3. "Dreamland" (duet with Elton John) - 5:05
  4. "Circus on the Moon" - 6:32
  5. "Halcyon Days" (duet with Sting) - 5:57
  6. "What the Hell Happened" - 4:22
  7. "Hooray for Tom" - 3:56
  8. "Heir Gordon" - 4:24
  9. "Mirror on the Wall" - 5:41
  10. "Song F" - 4:13
  11. "Lost in the Snow" - 5:08

Musicians

Orchestra (on "Dreamland", "Hooray for Tom" and "Lost in the Snow")

Production

Notes and References

  1. Diton, Robert (September 23, 2011). "Bruce Hornsby to bring the noise to Englewood", Examiner.com.
  2. Web site: Wild . David . Bruce Hornsby: Halcyon Days . Rolling Stone . 2004-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071104051035/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/brucehornsby/albums/album/6415110/review/6416461/halcyon_days . dead . November 4, 2007 . 2007-05-04.
  3. Web site: Miller . Skyler . [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r695109|pure_url=yes}} Halcyon Days: Overview ]. All Media Guide, LLC . 2007-05-04.