Customer Reviews

Spirit Trail

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Does Hornsby make poor music? No. Six albums and not one is disposable. Hornsby is a trained pianist and he did his time before hitting it big with "The Way It Is" in 1986. He won best new artist in 1987 and hasn't looked back since. He could have capitalized on his success by repeating himself over and over, but he hasn't. He could have sold out and made radio friendly, accessible pop tunes, but he didn't. Spirit Trail is arguably his best album to date. I am a fan, so I like them all, and some of his earlier albums are great, but I think on bravery and originality none of them matches Spirit Trail. Two discs of classic Hornsby. Great songs like "King Of The Hill", "Resting Place", Preacher In The Ring, Pt.1", "Song C", "Pete & Manny", "Fortunate Son", "Sneaking Up On Boo Radley", "Great Divide" on disc one to "Line In The Dust", "See The Same Way", "Shadow Hand", "Sunlight Moon", "Listen To The Silence", "Sunflower Cat", "Song D" and "Swan Song." Hornsby's piano playing hasn't sounded this fresh and interesting since Scenes From The Southside in 1988. His storytelling is remarkable and for two discs he is never boring or repetitive. Hornsby has talent, something many pop stars fake. This is a must have for any rock collector.

Any time I see an artist releasing a double album I get a dreadful sensation. How am I going to listen to two hours of music by this artist? Well, I should have known. I've been a long time Hornsby fan and this is his best album since 1988's Scenes from the Southside. Why? Well, this two cd set offers many upbeat tunes with a wide range of social topics. There are instrumentals (which Hornsby's 5 previous albums have been lacking), there are ballads, there are songs that make you think, make you feel good, make you feel sad, and in the end the two discs are over and you want to listen again. I was very surprised by Hornsby because his last two cds were good but missing something. Spirit Trail is Hornsby back to form. I am ashamed of U.S. radio stations catering so much to those under 20 years of age. Who thinks that teenagers wouldn't like Hornsby? Are the Backstreet Boys more important than Hornsby? I think not. I was 13 when I became a Hornsby fan, why "King of the Hill" wasn't a hit I don't know. There's plenty of good songs on this set. Wake up RCA records! You have a talented musician easily compared to Billy Joel or Elton John and you overlook him. Didn't Bruce win best new artist? I see "Song C" is nominated for best intrumental on a rock album--what a shame it should be Best Album nominee. Whatever happened to Graceland or Back in the High Life Again or Private Dancer? All of those were people over 30 making great music and teenagers were listening too. Spirit Trail was one of the best cds released in 1998.

Why Spirit Trail by Bruce Horsnby is not being played on radio and heard by more people is absolutely puzzling to me. This album is the best Hornsby has put out since his first two (The Way It Is, Scenes From The Southside). It is chockful of really fine tunes. I'm surprised that radio has not embraced some of these songs - Swan Song, Fortunate Son, Sunlight Moon, Shadow Hand - they are all radio-friendly. The people want something new - this is the real thing. This one is for the ages. Buy Spirit Trail and you'll be listening to it for the next twenty years.

"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.

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.

i've been a fan of hornsby's since day 1, and his first couple of albums were great and very appropriate for that time in musical history. After that his "night on the town" album, though it had a few catchy tunes, kinda lost me. With "Harbour lights," Hornsby still had not found his niche, and "Hot House" was just plain terrible! But with "Spirit Trail," Bruce has come of age, and this to me is his GREATEST MUSICAL ACHEIVEMENT! Never before has an album displayed Hornsby's abilities on the piano and keyboards so wonderfully. And with its typical "hornsby-esque" melodies backed by some bold loops and sampled beats, Bruce has definitely caught up with the state of music today. And not in such a way that makes his music sound like an older artist trying to sound "hip," but in truly modern genres, while still holding on to that certain hornsby quality. From the catchy jangle of "shadow hand" to the moody, beat-driven "sunlight moon," this album truly is Hornsby's best.

Bruce Hornsby is difficult to categorize; too jazzy for blues, too bluesy for pop, too classy for rock, with a bit of a country feel thrown in, he stands alone. He brings us tales told to the background of a syncopation so addictive that it almost makes your heart adopt the rhythm; stories of shattered loyalties, faded loves, and grainy everyday people looking for redemption any way they can.

With "Spirit Trail", Bruce gives us a gift with a two-disc set of songs as American as anything I can think of. Much comes to mind in listening to this work; all the oddball characters I ever brushed up against, all the less-popular kids at school, glimpses of seediness; that shadow of a man you saw ducking down an alley last Saturday night, barely seen, is here in this music. This is the other side of the coin, the ones that didn't make it to the top; the unfortunates, but with still a glimmer of hope.

Nothing here is your run-of-the-mill love-story type music. In "Preacher in the Ring I & II" he tells a tale of religion from one of the oddest Southern sects, those whose preachers use snakes to show devotion and faith. "Funhouse" takes us where we all secretly want to go - beyond the boundaries we've grown up with...the temptation to be reckless, at least once. "King of the Hill" is a man in the lower echelon, looking up at the boss with envy and enmity. "Line In The Dust" - my personal favourite - tells of a man wondering where a friendship went wrong, and whether it was his friend who changed or he himself. "Sad Moon" is about that girl from school that faded out of the picture, only to be found years later and much reduced in luck. "Fortunate Son" - another favourite - is a man struggling with life but still hanging on to what good he has.

This is a masterful work. Interspersed with the intricate stories ia some of the best keyboard work you will ever hear, and a wonderful voice - in some songs I found myself thinking, if Bonnie Raitt was a man, this is the voice she would have - making this by far my most favourite of Bruce's works, in a career of work where there are no duds. He just keeps getting better.

Williamsburg, VA's native son Bruce Hornsby, ol' "Spider Fingers" himself, proves once again that he is the most consummate pianist in pop music today, capable of playing in any musical genre with amazing skill and aplomb. The double-disc "Spirit Trail" widens the two paths previously forged by BH on "Harbor Lights" and "Hot House": jammy, improvisational works combined with more radio-friendly melodies. This time, however, he is not afraid to revisit a song to give it a new treatment; "Preacher in the Ring" takes on a jubilant, revivalist feel in "Part I" and broods in "Part Two." His songwriting is still character-driven; among the various tracks, you will meet the prostitute, the veteran, even the Finch kids from Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." And again Bruce's rhythm section lays down some funky grooves; "Pete & Manny" has moves just like its colorful title characters. If ever there was a Hornsby album not to be missed, "Spirit Trail" is the one.

I know sales don't mean anything, but two weeks on Billboard 200? Peaking at #148???? This album is in my top 10 of all time. A masterpiece!!

Spirit Trail is a pattern used in the Native American tradition by weavers which believe spirits trapped in evil can escape, and this pattern usually includes a "way out" for such trapped spirits. Bruce's songs are about such spirits. Bruce "has produced a set of intricate tapestries, bringing together disparate themes." "The MAESTRO weaves a rich fabric, a tour-de-force magnum opus which warms the soul and curls the tongue." (see insert)

This is a compilation of richly intelligent and well-done songs in a 2 CD set. In his examination of the various elusive, subtle, insidious & infectious natures of evil and OUR relationship with it & our need to escape from it, Bruce comes forth with several really good themes that really make you think even if you don't know what this CD is about. Now if you don't like to think, this is a wonderfully executed CD as far as sound goes--it is richly-packed & sophisticated music. The studio recordings are perfect. Some of these songs I already heard on Intersections & they just blew me away they were that good (and I played them over and over). Like good wine that takes a few years to reach perfection, perhaps some live renditions of the same songs heard on Intersections are even better than on this CD (when I heard them on Intersections, I thought that they just COULDN'T get any better than that), but these songs are nevertheless superb.

I started with side 2 (it's just me that can't do things from start to finish) and I heard "Line in the Dust" for the first time that just floored me completely right away with both its magestic and exotic sound, music mix & texture. Since I already heard some of the best on this CD previously, this song so struck me that I was playing it non-stop for hours and hours each day for two weeks--quite literally. I love it and can't get enough of this exotic melody with its exotic sounding organ, guitars & other instruments. Some excellent songs on these CDs were either on Intersections or on his Greatest Hits, but I haven't said anything yet about Swan Song that tells about an ending: The song and especially the piano solo is so very very beautiful, so sad but oh so beautiful. When Bruce touches that keyboard, you can bet he is beyond perfection.

For those still so much in love with "The Way It Is" (the original melody available on the album The Way It Is and Bruce's Greatest Radio Hits) and who are unable to escape its spell and accept anything else from Bruce, PLEASE give Bruce a chance because I was equally in love with that song and I am still in love with it, but Bruce has really outdone himself lots of times since then--please really listen because such a musician with such unbelievable talent will come up with more masterpieces and he HAS.

After recently returning from Europe in 1986, I had a small radio in the office at the college where I spent just a few hours a day (the only link to music was this little radio--I had nothing at home), and due to the overwhelming things going on, there was NO space for any interest in music at that time. In 2005 I discovered a box from 1986 that I had left in an attic in which I found three 45's that were none other than The Way It Is. I had bought them at that time and put them away for a later time. When I found these records, I already had his Greatest Hits CD, and I had no memory AT ALL of buying the three 45's. I find that remarkable, because like a massless particle, I must have heard The Way It Is and his song & piano playing penetrated so many impenetrable layers and hit the center core of my soul. And now that I am looking Bruce up, I have discovered so many other songs that hit the core of my soul.

Can the Maestro sing TOO? Oh yes! Bruce has a gorgeous voice and has a sensous way of singing. Many musicians view these albums here and one review mentioned Bruce's voice fails to hit a certain level (note), (he was brilliant enough to notice) but these petty observations and judgments are none other than jealousy camoflaged w/ a halo.

Brucey baby, remain calm under fire, they're VERY jealous of you!