''Spirit Trail'' is the sixth studio album by American pianist and singer

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

, released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

as a double CD in 1998. The cover artwork depicts Hornsby's uncle, Charles Hornsby. The album blended instrumental tracks with the story-telling,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, jazz, and other musical forms Hornsby had delved into over his career. Over the two discs, Hornsby wove a tapestry of varied textures, from the fervent spirituality and almost

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

dirge of "Preacher in the Ring, parts I & II," to the catchy chord progressions of "Sad Moon." ''Spirit Trail'' has been often mentioned to be one of Bruce Hornsby's best albums. Several tracks, notably "Fortunate Son", have since become fan favorites and staples at Hornsby's concerts. Among other homages, the song "Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat) (Down With That)" sampled and looped the main lick from the Grateful Dead song "

China Cat Sunflower "China Cat Sunflower" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which was first recorded for their 1969 studio album '' Aoxomoxoa''. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song was typically sung by Garcia. The ...

." ''Spirit Trail'' considered "very Southern" themes with "songs about race, religion, judgment and tolerance" and "struggles with these issues"—notably on "Sneaking Up on Boo Radley," which references the character from

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning novel ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

''.

Track listing

All songs by Bruce Hornsby, except where noted. In territories other than the USA, the album was released as a single disc, omitting the tracks "Sunlight Moon", "Listen To The Silence" and "Funhouse", and with a different running order.

Musicians

– vocals, grand piano,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Korg Wavestation The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which di ...

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

* J. T. Thomas – organ * David Bendeth – guitar *

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

, on guitar, is sampled, posthumously, on Disc 2, track 7. * Adam Larrabee – guitar *

John Leventhal John Leventhal (born December 18, 1952) is an American musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has produced albums for William Bell, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Michelle Branch, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Sarah ...

– guitar,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

* Michael Mangini – guitar * Wayne Pooley – guitar * Matt Scannell – 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 ...

* J. V. Collier – bass * Skoti Alain Elliott – bass * John Pierce – bass *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

– drums, percussion *

John Molo John Molo (born December 5, 1953, Bethesda, Maryland) is an American rock music, rock and jazz drummer and percussionist. He has played with a variety of bands, combos, and soloists. Best known for being the drummer for Bruce Hornsby and the Rang ...

– drums, percussion *

Shawn Pelton Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s. Pelton has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, N ...

– drums, percussion * Bobby Hornsby –

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

* Ernesto Laboy –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s * Bobby Read –

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

s * Tim Streagle –

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

* John D'earth –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and actor from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at th ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

David Mansfield David Mansfield (born September 13, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Mansfield was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. His father, Newton Mansfield was a first violinist in the New York Philharmonic. David played guitar, pedal steel guita ...

– violin * Colette Coward – backing vocals * Kyle Davis – backing vocals * Debbie Henry – backing vocals * Joe Lee – backing vocals

Production

* Produced by Bruce Hornsby (Tracks #1, 2, 4-13, 15-17); Bruce Hornsby and Michael Mangini (Tracks #3 & 14). * Production Assistance – Melissa Reagan * Production Coordination – Sue Tropio * Engineers – Wayne Pooley (Tracks #1, 2, 4-13, 15-17), Skoti Alain Elliot (Tracks #3 & 14) and Mark Needham (Tracks #4-7, 11 & 12). * Second Engineer (Tracks #3 & 14) – Sharon Kearney * Mixed by Wayne Pooley (Tracks #1-13, 15-17) and Skoti Alain Elliot (Track #14). * Mastered by

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) (18 ...

at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Art Direction and Design – Bruce Hornsby and Kim Biggs * Photography –

Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Early life and education Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New ...

* Liner Notes – Chip DeMatteo

References

{{Authority control 1998 albums Bruce Hornsby albums RCA Records albums