The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album)

The Way It Is is Bruce Hornsby and the Range's debut album, released by RCA Records in 1986. Led by its hit title track, the album went on to achieve multi-platinum status and helped the group to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Other hits from the album include "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little Kiss". Huey Lewis features on harmonica and vocals on "Down the Road Tonight". Lewis also co-produced the song, along with the tracks "The Long Race" and "The River Runs Low".

The Way It Is
Studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Released	April 1, 1986
Recorded	1985–1986 Rumbo Recorders, Canoga Park; Ocean Way Recording and Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood; Studio D Recording, Sausalito; King Sound Studios, Hollywood Hills; Village Recorders, Los Angeles.
Genre	Rock, soft rock
Length	43:12
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Bruce Hornsby, Huey Lewis, Elliot Scheiner
Bruce Hornsby chronology
The Way It Is (1986) Scenes from the Southside (1988)
Alternative cover art
First U.S. release cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	B–[2]

Releases

The original release of the album featured an impressionistic photograph on the cover of Bruce Hornsby playing an accordion.[3] It was originally targeted at the New Age music market and featured slightly different versions of the songs "Down the Road Tonight" and "The River Runs Low."

Once the album's tracks started to receive regular airplay on Pop Music stations in late 1986, the album was remixed and was re-released with a new sepia-toned cover featuring a photo of the band superimposed over a photo of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"On the Western Skyline"	4:42
2.	"Every Little Kiss"	5:47
3.	"Mandolin Rain"	5:18
4.	"The Long Race"	4:22
5.	"The Way It Is"	4:56
6.	"Down the Road Tonight"	4:25
7.	"The Wild Frontier"	4:02
8.	"The River Runs Low"	4:26
9.	"The Red Plains"	5:00

Tracks 2 and 5 written by Bruce Hornsby; all other songs written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby. Track times are for the current release of the album. Note: the opening of "Every Little Kiss" features an extended quotation from the opening of Movement III, The Alcotts, from Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2.

Live: The Way It Is Tour 1986-87 track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Every Little Kiss"	6:27
2.	"The Long Race"	6:02
3.	"The Way It Is (Solo Piano Intro)"	7:07
4.	"The Way It Is"	6:25
5.	"Mandolin Rain"	6:31
6.	"The Red Plains"	6:44
7.	"On the Western Skyline"	6:19

Produced by DIR Broadcasting for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. Recorded live at The Ritz, New York City, February 2, 1987 by Effanel Music.

Personnel

Bruce Hornsby & The Range

• Bruce Hornsby – vocals, piano, synthesizer, hammered dulcimer, accordion
• David Mansfield – guitar, mandolin, violin
• George Marinelli – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
• Joe Puerta – bass, backing vocals
• John Molo – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Huey Lewis – harmonica, backing vocals on "Down the Road Tonight"
• John Gilutin and Sean Hopper – synthesizer consultants

Production

• Executive Producer – Paul Atkinson
• Tracks #1-3, 5, 7 & 9 produced by Bruce Hornsby and Elliot Scheiner (for Trackman, Inc.); Tracks #4, 6 & 8 produced by Huey Lewis.
• Recorded and Engineered by Elliot Scheiner (Tracks #1-3, 5, 7 & 9) and Jim Gaines (Tracks #4, 6 & 8).
• Additional Engineers – Eddie King and Jeff "Nik" Norman
• Assistant Engineers – Jim "Watts" Vereecke and Lenette Viegas.
• Mixed by Eddie King, David Luke, Don Smith and Elliot Scheiner.
• Mixed at Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, CA); Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA); The Village Recorder and The Complex (Los Angeles, CA); Rumbo Recorders (Canoga Park, CA).
• Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Digital Editing by Bob Harlan
• Production Assistant – Ivy Skoff
• A&R Coordination – Marge Meoli
• Art Direction and Design – Ted Raess
• Art Consultant – Kathy Hornsby
• Photography – Aaron Rapoport
• Inner Sleeve Photo – Robert Llewellyn
• Management – Tim Neece
• Enforcement – Jeff Gerson

Charts and certifications

Albums Chart (1986) Peak position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 10 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[6] 7 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 25 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[9] 16 US Billboard 200[10] 3 US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[11] 38 Singles Year Single Chart Position 1986 "The Way It Is" The Billboard Hot 100 1 Billboard Album Rock Tracks 3 Billboard Adult Contemporary 1 "On the Western Skyline" Billboard Album Rock Tracks 6 "Every Little Kiss" The Billboard Hot 100 14 Billboard Album Rock Tracks 18 1987 Billboard Adult Contemporary 3 "Mandolin Rain" The Billboard Hot 100 4 Billboard Adult Contemporary 1 Billboard Album Rock Tracks 2 Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks 38

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Silver 60,000^^ United States (RIAA)[13] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r9510
2. Christgau, Robert (March 31, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
3. "The first U.S. CD issue of Bruce Hornsby and The Range The Way It Is". Keith Hirsch's CD Resource. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
5. "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts.
6. "Charts.nz – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
8. "Swisscharts.com – Bruce Hornsby and the range – The Way It Is". Hung Medien.
9. "Bruce Hornsby | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
10. "Bruce Hornsby Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
11. "Bruce Hornsby Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard.
12. "British album certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Way It Is in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
13. "American album certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.