1998 was a formative year for Bruce Hornsby. As if playing a key role in the formation of a Grateful Dead redux – The Other Ones – and the massive coast-to-coast summer tour that accompanied it wasn’t enough, the Williamsburg, VA native still managed to find time to record a double album that continues to stand as arguably the hallowed pianist’s greatest work.
Released on 10/13/98, Spirit Trail’s twenty-song tracklist is immediately compelling from the opening rumbles of “King of the Hill” to the bittersweet finale of “Swan Song”, running the musical gamut from rock to jazz with sprinkles of country, R&B and nearly everything else in between. In addition to covering a wide musical spectrum, Hornsby’s masterful story-telling abilities are on full display with poignant lyrics that address a litany of sobering themes including race, religion, and tolerance.
Despite its relatively lukewarm commercial reception – Spirit Trail remains one of Hornsby’s lower-charting records for RCA – the album is still considered by many to be Bruce’s magnum opus, offering up an intimate glimpse at a bona fide legend performing at a musical apex.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Spirit Trail, Bruce has announced a deluxe re-issue of the album featuring a 3CD set that contains the entire original double-LP, a handful of unreleased tracks as well as a full-length compilation of unreleased live recordings of Spirit Trail material.
Join us as Glide takes a look at ten of our favorite live performances of Spirit Trail material captured on video:
“King of the Hill → Big Boss Man” (w/ Bob Weir and Branford Marsalis)
Kicking the album off on an upbeat note, “King of the Hill” features a jazzy vamp with lyrics that touch on a number of weighty tropes, including capitalism, nepotism and the everyday struggle of the blue-collar worker. With over 200 live performances since it’s 1997 debut, “King of the Hill” remains a regular part of Bruce’s setlists to this day, and often features innovative segues into bluesy numbers such as The Allman Brothers’ “Mountain Jam”, Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train” and Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man”, including this 2012 performance from The Gathering of the Vibes with Bob Weir and Branford Marsalis.
“Resting Place” (w/ Chris Thile)
As evidenced by this 2019 performance with Chris Thile from the mandolinist’s variety radio show Live From Here, “Resting Place” features a particularly catchy chorus and lyrics that bring to light the overt ridicule and humiliation overweight people are regularly subjected to:
“Ever feel like a side-show attraction? / Ever feel like a walking infraction? / Some people call me Tarzan in my big, big sweats / Don’t know just what they mean / Maybe not good, real bad I bet”
“Fortunate Son → Comfortably Numb”
Counting as one of Hornsby’s most requested songs at his live shows, “Fortunate Son” became an instant fan-favorite after its 1998 debut, a sentiment that has only been further cemented after Bruce started to pair it with Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” in a dramatic arrangement, including this 2004 performance.
“Sneaking Up On Boo Radley”
Inspired by Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, “Sneaking Up On Boo Radley” continues to receive a warm reception at Bruce’s live outings thanks to a typically memorable right-hand-driven piano melody, a hallmark Of Hornsby’s compositional style. This 2023 performance, from NYC’s Town Hall, is particularly noteworthy as Bruce and his band are joined by jazz legends John Scofield and Christian McBride on guitar and bass, respectively.
“See the Same Way”
“There was a man playing G.I. Joe / Way back there in the woods / In training for the coming of the promised war / Seeing all conspiracy / Needs somebody to blame / If only he could open up / Love a little more”
With lyrics that, unfortunately, remain as relevant today as when they were written over a quarter-century ago, “See the Same Way” addresses the vastly disparate viewpoints that we, as a global community, have to seemingly common problems. Watch Bruce, and his talented ensemble The Noisemakers, take on this portentous number at a 2004 NYC performance.
“Shadow Hand”
Written about Bruce’s sons and their imaginary companions, the studio version of “Shadow Hands” counts as the first-ever recording of Bruce on the dulcimer, an arrangement he continues to this day in a live setting, including this intimate April 2019 performance from Brooklyn’s National Sawdust.
“Funhouse”
This cautionary tale about the temptations of living life dangerously has been a regular inclusion in Bruce’s live setlists since its 1998 debut. This particular performance was captured on the 2005 DVD release, Three Nights on the Town.
“Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat) (Down With That)”
In addition to Bruce’s well-documented tenure as part-time keyboardist for the Grateful Dead from 1990-1992, Jerry Garcia also contributed to several of Hornsby’s studio efforts, including Night on the Town (1990), Harbor Lights (1993), and Hot House (1995). On Spirit Trail, Garcia once again receives a contributing credit, albeit posthumously, on “Sunflower Cat” thanks to Hornsby’s clever sampling of Garcia’s signature lick from the Europe ‘72 version of the Dead’s “China Cat Sunflower”. Bruce often pairs “Sunflower Cat” with Bob Dylan’s seminal “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” for a raucous melody, as is the case from this 2005 performance.
“Swan Song”
Fittingly placed as Spirit Trail’s final track, “Swan Song” stands as one of Hornsby’s strongest original compositions thanks to it’s poignant lyrics and inspiring melodies, and fills the same “optimistic farewell” niche as the Dead’s “Touch of Grey”.
“Living in the Sunshine”
Originally recorded for what was intended as a follow-up album to Spirit Trail – a move that was ultimately eschewed after a record executive’s involvement led to the more “modern-sounding” 2002 release Big Swing Face – “Living in the Sunshine” features a catchy arrangement bolstered by the classic Bruce Hornsby sound with a piano intro that evokes echoes of Bruce’s 1988 hit, “Look Out Any Window”. In addition to finally releasing the “lost” studio track as a part of the 25th-anniversary reissue of Spirit Trail, Bruce also unveiled the live debut of the song this past September, just a few weeks after this officially released footage of the band sound-checking their “newest” tune at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine on June 30.
