''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and long-lasting love. It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal, particularly certain lyrics from the songs "A Minor Variation" and "The Great Wall of China", stem from Joel's legal disputes with his former manager and ex-brother-in-law, Frank Weber, who reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up.
As of 2022, ''River of Dreams'' is the last rock album Joel has released. The last studio album he released was ''
Fantasies & Delusions
''Fantasies & Delusions'' is the thirteenth and final studio album composed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It features his longtime friend, the British-Korean pianist Richard Hyung-ki Joo, performing compositions written by Joel and ...
'' in 2001, a classical recording featuring solo piano performed by
Hyung-ki "Richard" Joo. Since ''River of Dreams'', Joel has recorded occasional pop/rock singles and continues to play live.
The album cover was a painting by Joel's then-wife,
Christie Brinkley
Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...
. In 1993, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave her the ''Top Picks'' award for "The Best Album Cover of the Year".
Background
In the summer of 1992, Billy Joel held a series of writing and recording sessions on Shelter Island, New York; these sessions eventually produced seven tracks, self-produced by Joel.
Joel was dissatisfied with the results, and so, on the recommendation of
Don Henley
Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...
, he brought in session guitarist
Danny Kortchmar
Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...
for another take on the songs. Kortchmar agreed to produce, provided he be allowed to use session musicians on the recordings, to which Joel agreed. Only one song from the Shelter Island sessions, "Shades of Grey", would make the final album in its original produced form.
Track listing
All songs were written and composed by Billy Joel.
#"
No Man's Land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
" – 4:48
#"The Great Wall of China" – 5:45
#"Blonde Over Blue" – 4:55
#"A Minor Variation" – 5:36
#"Shades of Grey" – 4:10
#"
All About Soul
"All About Soul" is a song by American musician Billy Joel, released in October 1993 as the third single from his 12th studio album, ''River of Dreams''. The single was produced by Danny Kortchmar and Joe Nicolo and features backing vocals by Co ...
" – 5:59
#"
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" is the seventh track from Billy Joel's 1993 album ''River of Dreams'', released in 1994 as the fourth and final single for the album. It was inspired by Alexa Ray Joel, his daughter by Christie Brinkley. The song i ...
" – 3:32
#"
The River of Dreams
"The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, ''River of Dreams.'' The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting ...
" – 4:05
#"Two Thousand Years" – 5:19
#"Famous Last Words" – 5:01
''A Voyage on the River of Dreams''
''A Voyage on the River of Dreams'' is an Australian 3-CD box set released in 1994, which includes the studio album, ''River of Dreams'', along with a 6-track live CD from the '93–'94 River of Dreams Tour, plus a Questions & Answers CD recorded at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
. This box set made the charts in Australia (No. 33) and New Zealand (No. 47), the only places besides Japan where the set was officially released.
Disc one (''River of Dreams'' – Studio album) – as per original album
Disc two (Billy Joel Live)
All songs written and composed by Billy Joel, except where noted
#"
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, first released on 5 October 1973 as a double LP. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is widely regarded as John's magnum ...
" (
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
/
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...
) – 5:08
#"
No Man's Land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
" – 5:44
#"
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel from the album ''Piano Man (Billy Joel album), Piano Man''. It was also issued as a single in the UK backed with "If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You)."
Artistic li ...
" – 5:52
#"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" – 3:40
#"The River of Dreams" – 5:28
#"
A Hard Day's Night" (
Lennon–McCartney
Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...
) – 3:20
Disc three (Questions & Answers Disc)
#"Q & A recorded at Princeton University"
Personnel
*
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
– lead vocals,
clavinet
The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...
(1, 4),
Hammond organ
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 to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
(1, 4, 6, 8, 10), acoustic piano (2, 6–10),
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
(2, 9), backing vocals (2), synthesizers (3, 8), keyboards (5)
*
Jeff Jacobs
Jeff Jacobs is a former mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Career
Jacobs became a member of the St. Louis Park City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and ...
– synthesizers (2), additional programming (8)
* Tommy Byrnes – guitars (1, 3, 5, 6)
*
Danny Kortchmar
Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...
– guitars (1–4, 6, 8–10)
*
Leslie West
Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain.
Life and career Early years: 1 ...
– guitars (1, 2, 4)
* Mike Tyler – guitars (8)
*
T.M. Stevens
Thomas Michael "T. M." Stevens (born July 28, 1951) is an American bass guitarist from New York City. Stevens has worked with an array of rock, R&B, and pop acts as a session musician, and also leads his own groups and works as a solo performer ...
– bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10)
* Lonnie Hillyer – bass (3, 8)
* Schuyler Deale – bass (5)
* Jeff Lee Johnson – bass (8)
* Chuck Treece – bass (8)
*
Zachary Alford
Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album.
Alford contrib ...
– drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8)
*
Liberty DeVitto
Liberatori "Liberty" DeVitto (born August 8, 1950) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his work as a drummer for New York singer-songwriter Billy Joel's recording and touring band. He has also been a session drummer on recordings of ...
– drums (5)
*
Steve Jordan – drums (9, 10)
* Jim Saporito – percussion (2)
*
Andy Kravitz
Andy Kravitz is an American drummer and percussionist, audio engineer, record producer, and songwriter. He has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, winning several. He lives near Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Andy Kravitz wa ...
– percussion (8)
* Arno Hecht – baritone saxophone (4)
*
Richie Cannata
Richie Cannata (born March 3, 1949) is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leav ...
– tenor saxophone (4)
* Osvaldo Melindez – trombone (4)
* Laurence Etkin – trumpet (4)
*
Ira Newborn
James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks.
Life and career
Newborn was born in New York City. References to him as James I ...
– orchestrations (2, 6–8)
* Lewis Del Gatto – orchestra manager (2, 6–8)
*
Frank Simms
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curre ...
– backing vocals (1, 2, 8)
* George Simms – backing vocals (1, 2, 8)
*
Color Me Badd
''Color'' Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams (born November 16, 1969), tenor Mark Calderon (born September 27, 1970), second tenor Sam Watters (born July 23 ...
– guest vocals (6)
* Wrecia Ford – backing vocals (6, 8)
* Marlon Saunders – backing vocals (6, 8)
*
Crystal Taliefero
Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her college years she was ...
– backing vocals (6, 8), vocal arrangement (6, 8)
* B. David Witworth – backing vocals (6, 8)
* Curtis Rance King, Jr. – choir conductor and contractor (6)
* Choir on "All About Soul" – Phillip Ballou,
Katreese Barnes
Katreese Barnes (January 3, 1963 – August 3, 2019) was an American musician, musical director, and songwriter, best known for being half of the pop duo Juicy with her brother Jerry Barnes, and her work on the music of ''Saturday Night Live'', in ...
, Dennis Collins,
Will Downing
Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch.
Biography
Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, ...
, Frank Floyd, Diane Garisto, Stephanie James, Devora Johnson, Marlon Saunders and Corliss Stafford
Production
* Producers – Danny Kortchmar (Tracks 1–4 & 6–10); Billy Joel (Track 5).
* Associate Producer on Track 5 – David Thoener
* Co-Producer on Track 8 –
Joe Nicolo
The Butcher Bros. is an American music production team made up of brothers Phil and Joe Nicolo, originally based out of Philadelphia in the mid-to-late '80s. Together and individually, the brothers have produced albums for a wide variety of ban ...
* A&R – Don DeVito
* Production Coordinator – Bill Zampino
* Engineers – Carl Glanville (Tracks 1–7, 9 & 10); Joe Nicolo and
Phil Nicolo
The Butcher Bros. is an American music production team made up of brothers Phil and Joe Nicolo, originally based out of Philadelphia in the mid-to-late '80s. Together and individually, the brothers have produced albums for a wide variety of ban ...
(Track 8).
* Assistant Engineers – Dan Hetzel and
Brian Vibberts
Brian Vibberts is an American audio engineer, a native of Portland, Connecticut, who has been active since 1991. He is a 7-time Grammy Award winner (6x Grammy, 1 Latin Grammy) and has participated in the making of numerous albums that have resul ...
(Tracks 1–7, 9 & 10); Dick Grobelny (Track 8).
* Recorded by Jay Healy,
Bradshaw Leigh
Brad Leigh is an American Audio Engineer, known for having recorded and mixed many recordings including Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'', Tracy Chapman's '' Matters of the Heart'' as well as Julian Lennon's ''Valotte'' and '' Secret Value of Day ...
, Bob Thrasher and Dave Wilkerson.
* Mixing –
Niko Bolas
Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, i ...
(Tracks 1–4, 6, 7, 9, 10); David Thoener (Track 5); Joe Nicolo and Phil Nicolo (Track 8).
* Assistant Mixing on Track 8 – Dick Grobelny
* Mastered by
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
* Technical Support – Andrew Baker*, Lester Baylinson, Steve Bramberg, Laura Delia, Jon "J.D." Dworkow*, Greg Garland, Peter Goodrich, David Hewitt, Dave Hofbauer, Doug Kleeger, Howie Mendelson, Larry DeMarco, Artie Smith and Courtney Spencer.
* Art and Commerce – Jeff Schock
* Art Direction – Christopher Austopchuk
* Cover Artwork –
Christie Brinkley
Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...
* Design – Sara Rotman
* Photography – Glen Erler
Aftermath
''River of Dreams'' stands as Billy Joel's most recent studio album of original materials in the pop/rock genre. Joel has often stated that the album itself was designed to stand as his final record and that while he still composes music, he no longer writes within the pop/rock music vein and has no more interest in the recording industry. Accordingly, Joel's succeeding one-off studio album ''
Fantasies & Delusions
''Fantasies & Delusions'' is the thirteenth and final studio album composed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It features his longtime friend, the British-Korean pianist Richard Hyung-ki Joo, performing compositions written by Joel and ...
'' which was released in 2001 was an instrumental album of classical piano pieces containing no pop songs whatsoever. However, there is currently a petition online at
Change.org
Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
created by a group of Billy Joel fans asking him to put out at least one more studio album with new songs of original materials in the pop/rock genre.
Accolades
Grammy Awards
, -
, width="35" align="center" rowspan="4",
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, , ''River of Dreams'' , ,
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to:
Awards
* ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia
* Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK
* Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US
* Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA
* Lati ...
, ,
, -
, rowspan=3, "The River of Dreams" , ,
Song of the Year , ,
, -
,
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
, ,
, -
,
Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male , ,
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
References
{{authority control
1993 albums
albums produced by Danny Kortchmar
Billy Joel albums
Columbia Records albums