“Brrrrooooooooooo…”
The crowd of several thousand standing in the Atlanta Fairground shouted into the bright, hot, southern sky.
“Are they saying ‘Bruce’ or ‘boo?” Juliana asked.
“It’s hard to tell,” I replied. “I, for one, am shouting ‘Bruce.’ How could you boo the spidery fingers of Bruce Hornsby? Especially during such a hot version of ‘The Way It Is!’”
“They must be yelling ‘Bruce.’”
And they were, as hundreds of thousands have yelled the same throughout Hornsby’s twenty year career.
That night Bruce was playing keys with the Other Ones – the first Grateful Dead reincarnation following Jerry Garcia’s death. It was but one of many collaborations in a career full of imaginative, incredible ensembles including Ricky Skaggs, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and Pat Methany.
To say Bruce Hornsby is a multifaceted musician would be like calling Leonardo DaVinci a renaissance man – certainly it is true, but also rather superfluous and redundant.
With the release of the new boxed set, Intersections, Bruce Hornsby has shown just how multi-talented he really is – from piano based power-pop to bluegrass and century’s old fiddle tunes to improvisational jazz the songs covered in this set stretch across the American song book.
The bulk of the music presented here is culled form previously unreleased live cuts. This is not only good news for the hard core fan who already has all the studio tracks, but for the casual listener interested in understanding Hornsby’s work. As is the way for many of the artists I enjoy, Hornsby’s studio albums are often less than totally satisfying. In a live setting is where Bruce has always found his own, and performed nothing less than inspiring.
The set is separated into three categories spanning four disks. The first, “Top 90 Time” contains the hits and singles, albeit often live and in a different arrangement than what is found on the original album.
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
"BREWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
That's what the kids scream when they read your articles, Sir Brewster. Enjoyed this one. Sounds like a well-constructed box set.
2 - Mat Brewster
And all this time I thougth the voices in my head were jeering me.
Tis a very nice set. Something I forgot to mention, and is my one complaint, the booklet is horribly binded. It fell apart upon my first opening it.
3 - Roberta Rosenberg
I've enjoyed Bruce's work for many years and always keep a few of his CDs and tapes (I'd old, the car is old) in my car. But did you know that Bruce Hornsby also offers auto theft protection?
One summer morning about 10 years ago, my husband and I awoke to discover that both our cars, sitting so nicely in our driveway, had been broken into. Hubby likes the head-banging stuff and his change and all of his music were cleanly lifted. My car, except for some pocket change, was left untouched. The lousy little criminals did rifle through my music but left all my Bruce Hornsby and Enya tapes. I'm sure it was dismissed with a "Crap, chick music."
I had a friend make me a bumper sticker that said simply, "This car protected by Bruce Hornsby and Enya. You have been warned." Car was never touched again.
I'll have to get hubby to get me this for the Holidays. I have a new car. It needs protection.
4 - Mat Brewster
That's a great story Roberta. I simply must get me a similar sticker. Thanks for reading.
5 - Aaron Fleming
I already commented on your blog entry, but I'll repeat myself here: sounds like a damn fine box.
And I think the "Brewwwwww" tribal call should be enacted as soon as possible.
6 - Mat Brewster
Thanks Sir Fleming. I know Hornsby isn't exactly your type of tunage, but it is a very cool box.
7 - Connie Phillips
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