Halcyon Days is the eighth studio album by American singer and pianist Bruce Hornsby. The album, recorded with his touring band the Noisemakers, was released in 2004. It was Hornsby's first release with Columbia Records. One song, "What The Hell Happened", has been described as a rare example of the use of bitonality in a pop piece.
The album marked a return to a more acoustic, piano-driven sound that reviewers described as "pure Hornsby". Guests included Sting, Elton John and Eric Clapton. The tracks "Gonna Be Some Changes Made," "Candy Mountain Run," "Dreamland," and "Circus On The Moon" became concert staples, each showcasing the diversity of Hornsby's improvisations and the Noisemakers' live sound. Notably, Halcyon Days also includes a suite of solo piano songs—"What The Hell Happened," "Hooray For Tom," and "Heir Gordon"—which all have a "Randy Newman pastiche." Although the album was markedly less-risk-taking than Big Swing Face, it would be well-received as a "winning balance of [Hornsby's] tuneful and adventurous sides."
"Gonna Be Some Changes Made" was used in several Lowe's commercials from 2006.
Contents
Track listing
All songs written by Bruce Hornsby.
"Gonna Be Some Changes Made" - 5:18
"Candy Mountain Run" (with Eric Clapton) - 5:15
"Dreamland" (duet with Elton John) - 5:05
"Circus on the Moon" - 6:32
"Halcyon Days" (duet with Sting) - 5:57
"What the Hell Happened" - 4:22
"Hooray for Tom" - 3:56
"Heir Gordon" - 4:24
"Mirror on the Wall" - 5:41
"Song F" - 4:13
"Lost in the Snow" - 5:08
Musicians
Bruce Hornsby – vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards
Eric Clapton – guitar (1, 2, 5), vocals (2)
R. S. Hornsby – guitar (2, 9)
Doug Derryberry – guitar (4)
Wayne Pooley – guitar (5, 9)
J. V. Collier – bass
Sonny Emory – drums
Bonny Bonaparte – percussion (4)
Bobby Read – clarinet (4, 6, 8, 11)
Sting – vocals (1, 5)
Elton John – vocals (3)
Lloyd Johns – backing vocals (3)
Woody Green – backing vocals (3)
Ralph Payne – backing vocals (3)
Donnie Struckey – backing vocals (3)
Orchestra (on "Dreamland", "Hooray for Tom" and "Lost in the Snow")
Peter Harris – orchestra arrangements (3, 7)
John "J. T." Thomas – orchestra arrangements (11)
Kurt Muroki and Satosh Okamoto – double bass
Elizabeth Dyson, Jeanne LeBlanc, Elieen Moon and Sarah Seiver – cello
David Creswell, Karen Dreyfus, Dawn Hannay, Vivek Kamath, Sue Prey and Robert Reinhart – viola
Production
Lennie Meat – A&R
Bruce Hornsby – producer, mixing
Wayne Pooley – producer, engineer
Dagle – mixing
Simon Climie – Pro Tools, additional engineer
Alan Douglas – additional engineer
Brian Garten – additional engineer
Kevin Halpin – additional engineer
Matt Still – additional engineer
Tony Maserati – additional mixing (1)
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York City, NY).
Moonie Geiger – production coordinator
Patti Oates Martin – production assistant
Melissa Reagan – CFO
Dave Bett – art direction
Jay Flom – logo design
Sean Smith – photography
Circus World Museum (Baraboo, Wisconsin) – front cover illustration
John Scher for Metropolitan Talent Management – management
Al Hilbert – enthusiast
Road crew
Peter Banta