River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriterBilly Joel, 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.[9] It was Joel's fourth and last album to reach number one on theBillboard 200 chart, a position it held for three consecutive weeks.
River of Dreams is the last rock album Joel has released to date, as his next album,Fantasies & Delusions (2001), features classical compositions with solo piano performed byHyung-ki "Richard" Joo. SinceRiver 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. In 1993,Rolling Stone gave her theTop Picks award for "The Best Album Cover of the Year".[10] However, in 2024,Rolling Stone listed it last as one of "The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time".[11]
In the summer of 1992, Billy Joel held a series of writing and recording sessions onShelter Island, New York;[12] these sessions eventually produced seven tracks,[13] self-produced by Joel.[14]
Joel was dissatisfied with the results, and so, on the recommendation ofDon Henley, he brought in session guitaristDanny Kortchmar 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.[14]
In a 2018 interview withVulture, Joel expressed disappointment that the album did not yield any hit singles beyond the title track. He further attributed his decision to stop releasing pop albums to the lack of airplay. "The thing was, I put a lot of work intoRiver of Dreams and it was as if the business had left me behind because there are substantial songs on that album that never went anywhere. So I said, 'What's the point of putting myself through writing and recording if it doesn't mean what it's supposed to mean out there in the world?'"[15]
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 atPrinceton University.[16] 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.[17]
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
Curtis Rance King Jr. – choir conductor and contractor (6)
Choir on "All About Soul" –Phillip Ballou,Katreese Barnes, Dennis Collins,Will Downing, 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).
Engineers – Carl Glanville (Tracks 1–7, 9 & 10); Joe Nicolo andPhil Nicolo (Track 8).
Assistant Engineers – Dan Hetzel andBrian Vibberts (Tracks 1–7, 9 & 10); Dick Grobelny (Track 8).
Recorded by Jay Healy,Bradshaw Leigh, Bob Thrasher and Dave Wilkerson.
Mixing –Niko Bolas (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 byTed Jensen 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.
River of Dreams stands as Billy Joel's most recent studio album of original material in the pop/rock genre. Joel has often stated that the album 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.[18] Joel's succeeding studio albumFantasies & Delusions, released in 2001, was an instrumental album of classical piano pieces containing no pop songs whatsoever.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
^"Classifiche".Musica e dischi (in Italian). RetrievedMay 31, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Billy Joel".
^"ビリー・ジョエル-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks ofRiver of Dreams by Billy Joel].oricon.co.jp (in Japanese).Oricon Style. RetrievedAugust 29, 2011.
^"a-ビリー・ジョエル" [Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) – Albums Chart Daijiten – Billy Joel] (in Japanese).Original Confidence. December 30, 2007. Archived fromthe original on February 8, 2012. RetrievedAugust 29, 2011.
