The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album)

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

The Way It Is
Album cover on the reissue
Studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Released	April 24, 1986[1]
Recorded	1985–1986
Studio	Rumbo (Los Angeles) Ocean Way (Hollywood) Capitol (Hollywood) Studio D (Sausalito) King Sound (Hollywood) Village (Los Angeles)
Genre	Rock, soft rock
Length	43:12
Label	RCA
Producer	Bruce Hornsby, Huey Lewis, Elliot Scheiner
Bruce Hornsby chronology
The Way It Is (1986) Scenes from the Southside (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B−[3]

Releases

The original release of the album featured an impressionistic photograph on the cover of Bruce Hornsby playing an accordion.^[4] It was initially aimed at the New Age music market and included slightly different versions of the songs "Down the Road Tonight" and "The River Runs Low."

As the album's tracks began to receive regular airplay on pop music stations in late 1986, it was remixed and subsequently re-released with a new sepia-toned cover featuring a photograph of the band superimposed over an image of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel in Virginia.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby, except where noted.

The Way It Is track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"On the Western Skyline"		4:42
2.	"Every Little Kiss"	Bruce Hornsby	5:48
3.	"Mandolin Rain"		5:19
4.	"The Long Race"		4:26
5.	"The Way It Is"	Bruce Hornsby	4:58
6.	"Down the Road Tonight"		4:26
7.	"The Wild Frontier"		4:04
8.	"The River Runs Low"		4:28
9.	"The Red Plains"		5:01

The track times listed are for the current release of the album. The opening of "Every Little Kiss" features an extended quotation from the beginning of Movement III, The Alcotts, from Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2.

Live: The Way It Is Tour 1986–87

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 and The Range

• Bruce Hornsby – vocals, grand 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 and 9 produced by Bruce Hornsby and Elliot Scheiner (for Trackman, Inc.); tracks 4, 6 and 8 produced by Huey Lewis.
• Recorded and engineered by Elliot Scheiner (Tracks 1–3, 5, 7 and 9) and Jim Gaines (Tracks 4, 6 and 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
• Art direction and design – Ted Raess
• Art consultant – Kathy Hornsby
• Photography – Aaron Rapoport
• Inner sleeve photo – Robert Llewellyn
• Enforcement – Jeff Gerson

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Way It Is Chart (1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 20 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 10 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] 7 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 25 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[12] 16 US Billboard 200[13] 3 US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[14] 38

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Way It Is Chart (1987) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 5 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 40 US Billboard 200[17] 4 Certifications Certifications for The Way It Is Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[18] Platinum 70,000^ Canada (Music Canada)[19] 2× Platinum 200,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 60,000^ United States (RIAA)[21] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.