Bruce Hornsby’s previous studio CD, “Big Swing Face,” was a shock. He completely avoided his signature instrument, the piano, and instead pursued a modern groove-oriented dance and R&B-type sound that featured a host of loops, samples, programmed rhythms and other production touches.
| Wednesday, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle. Sold Out. |
“I had two reactions to that record,” Hornsby said. “One, what in the world are you doing? And two, this is the first record you’ve ever made that I liked.”
Hornsby performs in a sold-out concert Wednesday in Seattle.
Hornsby’s current CD, “Halcyon Days,” won’t generate such diametrically opposed reactions. In fact, for fans of the CDs that preceded “Big Swing Face,” it will sound like the return of an old, familiar friend.
“This is actually the first record where every song is a piano song,” Hornsby said. “I know that sounds odd, but … I’ve always had one or two accordion songs or electric piano, Wurlitzer or just synthesizer songs. This is the first time where I’ve made a record where every song is about the piano.”
Though “Halcyon Days” marks a return to a piano-centric sound, it’s anything but a stylistic rehash. Yes, there are songs such as the first single, “Gonna Be Some Changes,” that evoke the smooth-flowing piano pop of “The Way It Is,” the hit single that launched Hornsby’s career and turned his 1986 debut CD of the same name into a triple platinum hit.
And other new tunes sit comfortably alongside the more complex and jazzier sounds of other Hornsby albums such as “Harbor Lights” (1993) and “Hot House” (1995).
But Hornsby also shows some fresh dimensions. For instance, “What the Hell Happened” and “Heir Jordan” are rooted in a ragtime stride piano style.
“I’d never done it before, and I wanted to do it,” Hornsby said about exploring ragtime.
Lyrically, Hornsby shows a lighter, more humorous side. “What the Hell Happened,” for instance, finds the native of Williamsburg, Va., good-naturedly complaining that he didn’t inherent his parents’ good looks.
On “Gonna Be Some Changes Made,” Hornsby adopts the guise of the bumbler who just can’t seem to stop himself from screwing up.
The latter song gave Hornsby a taste of success on the pop charts for the first time in more than a decade.
“Gonna Be Some Changes” is also one of several songs on “Halcyon Days” that benefits from the musical contributions of some high-profile guests. It’s one of three songs to feature a guitar solo from Eric Clapton and one of two songs that gets a vocal assist from Sting.
A third superstar, Elton John, meanwhile, contributes vocals to the warm and encouraging ballad “Dreamland.”
Fans can get a good sampling of Hornsby’s live show from the first part of the “Halcyon Days” tour on a new DVD that will be released late this month, “Three Nights on the Town.” Though culled from a three-night stand at three different New York City venues last October, the centerpiece is a full show from New York’s “Town Hall.”
That said, “Three Nights on the Town” isn’t a carbon copy of other shows. In an effort to create spontaneity in his live shows, Hornsby, who hasn’t used a set list for concerts in more than a decade, said he feels he has accomplished his mission of building an audience that appreciates the complexity and unpredictability of his music.
“It’s a bit of a struggle because those listeners are out there, but they’re not easily found,” he said. “So you have to do the extra work. But it’s worth it because that’s why we can tour year after year, and every year have people still come because the people who come are there because they want to hear an adventurous night of music. They know that’s what they’re going to get.
“And the people who come to hear the hits, I’ve actually been a little nicer about that this year.”
Bruce Hornsby performs Wednesday at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
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