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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.

Harbor Lights
Studio album by Bruce Hornsby
Released	April 6, 1993
Recorded	1992
Genre	Rock Jazz Soft Rock
Length	52:39
Label	RCA
Producer	Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby chronology
A Night on the Town (1990) Harbor Lights (1993) Hot House (1995)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

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.[2] 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".[3]

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."[2]

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.

Personnel (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

Notes

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