''Back from Rio'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...

. It was released on January 8, 1991, more than a decade after McGuinn's previous solo album, ''

Thunderbyrd ''Thunderbyrd'' is an album by the American musician Roger McGuinn, released in 1977 on the Columbia Records label. Following the success of his 1976 album ''Cardiff Rose'', McGuinn intended to make another album in collaboration with its produc ...

''. The album was issued following the release of the '' Byrds''

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

and musically it leans on the sound of the Byrds thanks to McGuinn's ringing

12-string electric guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...

and vocal contributions from ex-Byrds members

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

and

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

. Also prominent on the album are

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

, with Petty co-authoring and duetting with McGuinn on the album's lead single "King of the Hill". In addition, several members of the Heartbreakers provide musical backing on a number of the album's tracks. Other prominent songwriters on the album—besides McGuinn and his wife Camilla—are

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night", the Bangles' hit " If She Knew What She Wants", and the Ignatius Jones and Allison Moyet ...

and Dave Stewart of the

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

. The album was generally well received by music critics and it peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Two singles were drawn from the album: "King of the Hill" and "Someone to Love", which peaked at #2 and #12 respectively, on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart. In Europe, ''Back from Rio'' was released in February 1991 and featured different cover artwork.

Track listing

Side one

# "Someone to Love" (

, Camilla McGuinn) – 3:32 # "Car Phone" (feat.

Stan Ridgway Stanard "Stan" Ridgway (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original lead singer and a founding ...

) ( Mike Campbell, R. McGuinn) – 4:33 # " You Bowed Down" (

) – 3:52 # "Suddenly Blue" ( Scott Cutler, R. McGuinn, Dennis Morgan) – 3:49 # "The Trees Are All Gone" (R. McGuinn, C. McGuinn) – 3:51

Side two

# "King of the Hill" (R. McGuinn,

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

) – 5:27 # "Without Your Love" (R. McGuinn, C. McGuinn) – 3:59 # "The Time Has Come" (Scott Cutler, R. McGuinn) – 3:45 # "Your Love Is a Gold Mine" (R. McGuinn, Dave Stewart) – 4:06 #* Includes "Back from Rio Interlude" (R. McGuinn, Petty,

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

) # "If We Never Meet Again" (

) – 4:28

Personnel

* Mike Campbell – electric guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, baritone guitar *David Cole – percussion, piano, acoustic guitar, MPC-60 *

– backing vocals *

– vocals, backing vocals *George Hawkins – bass guitar *Dan Higgins – saxophone *

– vocals, background vocals *

John Jorgenson John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel g ...

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

, saxophone, bass guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in Cincinn ...

– drums, percussion *Roger McGuinn – lead vocals,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

, 12-string acoustic guitar *

Michael Penn Michael Daniel Penn (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer, and composer. His 1989 single " No Myth" was a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries. Early life Penn was born in the Greenwich Village neighb ...

– backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar *

– co-lead vocals ("King of the Hill"), backing vocals *

– telephone voice *

Kimmy Robertson Kimmy Robertson (born November 27, 1954) is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' and Rose in the film '' The Last American Virgin''. Career Robertson's high-pitched voice has led to ...

– telephone voice * Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals * J. Steven Soles – backing vocals *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

– organ, keyboards,

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

* Michael Thompson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Production

* David Cole – producer, engineer, mixing * Peter Doell – engineer * John Hall – demo engineer, mixing at Firetail-on-the-Hill Studios * Jesse Kanner – mixing * Roger McGuinn – producer, mixing * Wally Traugott – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back From Rio Roger McGuinn albums 1990 albums Arista Records albums Albums recorded at Capitol Studios