''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 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) remaining the sole cons ...

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

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

Thunderbyrd ''Thunderbyrd'' is American singer-songwriter and guitarist Roger McGuinn's 5th solo studio album, released in 1977 on the Columbia Records label. Following the success of his 1976 album ''Cardiff Rose'', McGuinn intended to make another album ...

''. The album was issued following the release 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) remaining th ...

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

and musically it leans on the sound of the Byrds thanks to McGuinn's ringing 12-string electric guitar and vocal contributions from ex-Byrds members

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

and

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent ...

. Also prominent on the album are

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

, 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 Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

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" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

and Dave Stewart of the

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

. 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 advertise ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

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" ( Mike Campbell, R. McGuinn) (Featuring

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

) – 4:33 # " You Bowed Down" (

) – 3:52 # "Suddenly Blue" (

Scott Cutler Scott Michael Cutler is an American songwriter, musician, record producer, and music executive. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, he co-wrote " Torn" which was covered in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia. Her recording became the wor ...

, Roger McGuinn, Dennis Morgan) – 3:49 # "The Trees Are All Gone" (Roger McGuinn, Camilla McGuinn) – 3:51

Side two

# "King of the Hill" (Roger McGuinn,

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

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

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

) # "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 tha ...

, 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 gu ...

– 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, Schec ...

, saxophone, bass guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" 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 ...

– 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 use ...

, 12-string electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar *

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

– backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar *

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

– telephone voice *

Kimmy Robertson Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series ''Twin Peaks'' and for the film ''The Last American Virgin''. Career Robertson's high-pitched voice has led to roles in animated series such as '' Batm ...

– telephone voice *

Timothy B. Schmit Timothy Bruce Schmit (born October 30, 1947) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He has performed as the bassist and vocalist for Poco and the Eagles (band), Eagles, having replaced bassist and vocalist Randy Meisner in both cases ...

– 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 ...

– organ, keyboards,

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

* Michael Thompson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Production

* David Cole – producer, engineer, mixing *

Peter Doell Peter Doell is an American recording and mastering engineer known for his work with Miles Davis, Toto, Céline Dion and The Beach Boys. Doell has been a staff engineer at Capitol Studios, Sunset Sound Recorders and Universal Mastering Studios W ...

– 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