Harbor Lights (Bruce Hornsby album)

Harbor Lights was the fourth album by Bruce Hornsby and was released by RCA Records in 1993. It was the first album credited solely to Hornsby, without his previous backing band, the Range.

The record showcased Hornsby in a more jazz-oriented setting and featured an all-star lineup, including Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia, Phil Collins and Bonnie Raitt. Unlike earlier albums, Harbor Lights allowed more space for Hornsby's and guest-players' "extended instrumental" solos to "flow naturally" out of the songs. The tone was set by the opening title track, which after 50 seconds of expansive solo piano lurches into an up-tempo jazz number, ending with Metheny's guitar runs. The album closes in a similar fashion with "Pastures of Plenty", this time with an extended guitar solo from Garcia intertwined with Hornsby's piano. Hornsby also quotes the main musical phrase from the Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" as the jazz head to his song about tensions surrounding a biracial relationship, "Talk of the Town".

The mid-tempo "Fields of Gray", written for Hornsby's recently born twin sons, received some modest radio airplay, peaking at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harbor Lights was well received by critics and fans, who praised it for its "cooler, jazzier sound" and its "affinity for sincere portraits of American life, love, and heartache."

The album cover uses Edward Hopper's 1951 painting Rooms By the Sea.

Track listing
All music and lyrics by Bruce Hornsby, except where noted.

On all tracks

 * Bruce Hornsby – vocals, grand piano, organ, accordion, synthesizers
 * Jimmy Haslip – bass
 * John Molo – drums

Additional personnel, by track
"Harbor Lights"
 * Pat Metheny – guitar solo, sitar
 * John Bigham – rhythm guitar
 * Laura Creamer-Dunville – backing vocals
 * Jean McClain – backing vocals
 * Dave Duncan – MIDI man
 * Jeff Lorber – loops

"Talk of the Town"
 * Branford Marsalis – soprano saxophone
 * Jeff Lorber – programming
 * Will Ross – rhythm guitar
 * Pat Metheny – guitar
 * Phil Collins – bongos

"Long Tall Cool One"
 * Branford Marsalis – soprano saxophone
 * Phil Collins – backing vocals

"China Doll"
 * Pat Metheny – guitar solo
 * Phil Collins – backing vocals
 * Tony Berg – guitar chords
 * Wayne Pooley – guitar chords

"Fields of Gray"
 * Phil Collins – tambourine, backing vocals
 * John McLaughlin Williams – violin
 * Laura Roelofs Park – violin
 * Beverly K. Baker – viola
 * William Conita – cello
 * Lamont Coward – percussion

"Rainbow's Cadillac"
 * John Bigham – lead and rhythm guitars
 * Bonnie Raitt – backing vocals
 * Laura Creamer-Dunville – backing vocals
 * Jean McClain – backing vocals
 * John D'earth – trumpet
 * Glenn Wilson – horns
 * Branford Marsalis – saxophone

"Passing Through"
 * John Bigham – guitar
 * Laura Creamer-Dunville – backing vocals
 * Jean McClain – backing vocals
 * Jerry Garcia – guitar

"The Tide Will Rise"
 * Pat Metheny – rhythm guitar and guitar solo
 * Bonnie Raitt – backing vocals
 * Debbie Henry – backing vocals
 * Laura Creamer-Dunville – backing vocals
 * Jean McClain – backing vocals
 * Bona Cheri Williams – backing vocals
 * John D'earth – trumpet
 * Glenn Wilson – horns
 * George Gailes III – horns
 * Roy Muth – horns
 * Tim Streagle – horns
 * George Harple – French horn
 * Philip Koslow – French horn
 * Adam Lesnick – French horn
 * Alan Peterson – French horn

"What A Time"
 * Debbie Henry – backing vocals
 * Bona Cheri Williams – backing vocals
 * John D'earth – trumpet
 * Glenn Wilson – horns
 * George Gailes III – horns
 * Roy Muth – horns
 * Tim Streagle – horns

"Pastures of Plenty"
 * Jerry Garcia – guitar
 * John McLaughlin Williams – violin
 * Laura Roelofs Park – violin
 * Beverly Baker – viola
 * William Comita – cello

Production

 * Produced by Bruce Hornsby
 * Production Coordination – Sharona Sabbag, Shamina Singh and Amy Wenzler.
 * Engineered by Wayne Pooley and Steve Strassman
 * Additional Engineering – Eddie King
 * Mixed by Wayne Pooley (Tracks #1, 3–5, 7, 8 & 10), Keith "KC" Cohen (Track #2) and David Leonard (Tracks #2, 6 & 9).
 * Recorded at Bruce Hornsby's House (Williamsburg, VA) and Acme Recording Studios (Mamaroneck, NY).
 * Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME) and Masterdisk (New York, NY).
 * Horn Charts by Bruce Hornsby
 * String Quartet Charts by John McLaughlin Williams
 * Art Direction and Design – Norman Moore
 * Cover and Inside Art – Edward Hopper
 * Back Cover Photo – Greg Gorman
 * Inside Photo – Carey Wilhelm
 * Management – Q Prime
 * Guitar Technician for Pat Metheny – Carolyn Chrzan
 * Piano Tuning and Service – Leo Schatzel
 * Tambourine Technician – Danny Gillen