The Bridge (Billy Joel album)
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| The Bridge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Billy Joel | ||||
| Released | July 9, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | The Power Station, Chelsea Sound and RCA Studios, New York City and Evergreen Studios, Burbank, California 1985-86 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 40:06 | |||
| Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
| Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (Not Rated) [2] |
The Bridge is Billy Joel's tenth studio album released by Columbia Records in 1986, and was his final album to be produced by Phil Ramone. This album had several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust" (peaking at #10), "Modern Woman" (from the Ruthless People soundtrack, peaking at #10), and "This Is the Time" (peaking at #18).
Joel began work on the album in 1985 and it would become The Bridge in early 1986. Ray Charles, one of Joel's heroes, sang a duet with Joel on the song "Baby Grand" and Steve Winwood played Hammond organ on the song "Getting Closer." The first song on the disc, "Running on Ice" is heavily influenced by the music of The Police. The final song recorded for the album was "Code Of Silence," featuring Cyndi Lauper contributing backing vocals and getting co-writing credit for the lyrics.
Though it broke into the Top Ten, The Bridge was not a success in relation to some of Joel's other albums, but it yielded the hit "A Matter Of Trust."
The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the "Family Productions" logo, as he later dropped the logo altogether.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Billy Joel, except where noted.
- "Running on Ice" – 3:15
- "This Is the Time" – 4:59
- "A Matter of Trust" – 4:09
- "Modern Woman" – 3:48
- "Baby Grand" – 4:02
- "Big Man on Mulberry Street" – 5:26
- "Temptation" – 4:12
- "Code of Silence" (Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper) – 5:15
- "Getting Closer" – 5:00
[edit] Personnel
- Billy Joel - piano, synthesizers, vocals; Fender Rhodes on "Getting Closer"
- Liberty DeVitto - drums, percussion
- Doug Stegmeyer - bass
- David Brown - guitars, acoustic twelve string guitar and electric guitar on "Code of Silence", guitar on "Getting Closer"
- Russell Javors - guitars
- Peter Hewlett - background vocals on "Running on Ice"
- Rob Mounsey - synthesizers on "Running on Ice"; orchestration on "This Is the Time", "Modern Woman" and "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Jeff Bova - synthesizers on "A Matter of Trust" and "Code of Silence"; orchestration on "Temptation"
- Jimmy Bralower - percussion on "Modern Woman"
- Mark Rivera - tenor saxophone on "Modern Woman" and "Temptation"
- Ray Charles - vocals and piano on "Baby Grand"
- Vinny Colaiuta - drums on "Baby Grand"
- Dean Parks - guitar on "Baby Grand"
- Patrick Williams - arrangements on "Baby Grand"
- Ron Carter - acoustic bass on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Eddie Daniels - alto saxophone on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Michael Brecker - baritone saxophone on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Mark Stamm - trumpet on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Alan Rubin - trumpet on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Dave Bargeron - trombone on "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
- Phillippe Saisse - orchestration on "Temptation"
- Cyndi Lauper - vocals on "Code of Silence"
- Steve Winwood - Hammond B-3 on'"Getting Closer"
- Neil Jason - bass on "Getting Closer"
- John McClurry - guitar on "Getting Closer"
[edit] Production
- Produced by: Phil Ramone
- Engineer: Jim Boyer
- Associate engineers: Steve Boyer, Fred Tenny, David Dickson and Bradshaw Leigh
- Technical support: Joe Salvatto, Gary Ciuzio, Joe Lopes, Frank Rodriguez, Peter Bergren, Bruce Howell, Cary Butler, Ed Evans, Mark Betts, Steve Buller, Ricki Begin, Audrey Tanaka, Billy Rothschild and Phil Vachon
- Production coordinator: Joseph D'Ambrosio
- Support system: Jim Flynn, Barry Bongiovi and The Power Station staff
- Digitally recorded at: The Power Station, Chelsea Sound and RCA Studios, New York, NY and Evergreen Studios, Burbank, CA
- Mixed at: The Power Station, New York, NY
- Direct metal mastering at: Sterling Sound, New York, NY by Ted Jensen
- Acoustic Piano: supplied by Yamaha
- Design: Mark Larson
- Cover painting: Brad Holland
- Photography: Patrick Demarchelier
- Sleeve photos: Larry Busacca, Phil Ramone and Charles Reilly
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Year | Country | Chart | Position | Weeks | Sales/shipments | Cetification (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Australia | Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 2 | |||
| Japan | Oricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (top 100) | 2 [3] | 14 | 250,000+ | ||
| Oricon Weekly CD Albums Chart (top 100) | 2 [3] | 18 | ||||
| Oricon Weekly CT Albums Chart (top 100) | 8 [3] | 16 | ||||
| United States | The Billboard 200 | 7[4] | 47 | 2,000,000+ | 2x Multi-Platinum[5] | |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Albums Chart | 12 [6] | 23 | |||
| Norway | VG-lista Albums Chart (top 40) | 13 [7] | 6 | |||
| Italy | Italian Albums Chart | 17 [8] | ||||
| Austria | Austrian Albums Chart (top 30) | 18 [7] | 4 | |||
| Holland | Dutch Albums Chart | 20 [6] | 8 | |||
| Switzerland | Swiss Albums Chart (top 30) | 22 [7] | 4 | |||
| Sweden | Albums Chart (top 50) | 25[7] | 3 | |||
| Germany | German Albums Chart | 34 [6] | 9 | |||
| United Kingdom | UK Albums Chart (top 100) | 38 | 10[9] | 60,000+ | Silver[10] |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Country | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Modern Woman" | United States | Billboard AC | 7 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 10 | |||
| Billboard Mainstream Rock | 34 | |||
| "A Matter of Trust" | Australia | Kent Music Report | 3 | |
| United States | Billboard Hot 100 | 10 | ||
| Billboard Mainstream Rock | 14 | |||
| Billboard AC | 17 | |||
| United Kingdom | UK Singles Chart | 52 | ||
| 1987 | "This is the Time" | United States | Billboard AC | 1 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 18 | |||
| Billboard Mainstream Rock | 32 | |||
| "Baby Grand" | Billboard AC | 3 | ||
| Billboard Hot 100 | 75 |
[edit] References
- ^ The Bridge (Billy Joel album) at Allmusic
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ a b c "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Billy Joel" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_billyjoel.html. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ "allmusic ((( The Bridge > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10435/charts-awards. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ "RIAA — Gold & Platinum — Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=The%20Bridge&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ a b c Steffen Hung. "Billy Joel - The Bridge". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Bridge&cat=a. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ a b c d "norwegiancharts.com Billy Joel - The Bridge". VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?key=438&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
- ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1986". Hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1986.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Billy Joel - The Bridge". chartstats.com. The Official Charts Company. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=9601. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ^ "The BPI Platinum Awards Content - JOEL BILLY - THE BRIDGE". http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=23479. Retrieved 2009-02-28.[dead link]
