Bruce Hornsby To Release 25th Anniversary Edition of SPIRIT TRAIL Out October 27th
New York, New York - Friday, September 8, 2023 - Legendary musician Bruce Hornsby has announced today the 25th Anniversary Edition of his iconic double album, Spirit Trail. The 25th Anniversary Edition will be released digitally and in two physical formats, a 3-CD set and a 3-LP set. Originally released in 1998, his sixth album spanned twenty tracks, describing the record to Rolling Stone as “...very Southern so there's a lot of songs about race, religion, judgment and tolerance," he said. "And sort of my own personal struggles with some of these issues -- or observing others with the issues.”
Tracklisting
ORIGINAL ALBUM:
King Of The Hill
Resting Place
Preacher In The Ring Pt. I
Preacher In The Ring Pt. II
Song C
Sad Moon
Pete & Manny
Fortunate Son
Sneaking Up On Boo Radley
Great Divide
Line In The Dust
See The Same Way
Shadow Hand
Sunlight Moon
Listen To The Silence
Funhouse
Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat) (Down With That)
Song D
Swan Song
Variations On Swan Song & Song D
LOST AND FOUND ON THE SPIRIT TRAIL:
Living In The Sunshine
Groove Infatuation
Evening Sun
Clown’s Tambourine
LIVE TRAIL
King Of The Hill [Live]
Resting Place [Live]
Preacher In The Ring (Part 1)/Variation 2 (Webern)/Catenaires (Carter) Excerpt [Live]
Fortunate Son [Live]
Sneaking Up On Boo Radley [Live]
See The Same Way [Live]
Shadow Hand [Live]
Funhouse [Live]
Sunflower Cat [Live]
Swan Song [Live]
The 3-CD set contains the original double album, 4 previously unreleased songs, and over 70 minutes of previously unreleased live performances. The collection is housed in a clamshell box and includes a 36 page book featuring new liner notes by Bruce, lyrics, and photography by Danny Clinch. The 3-LP set contains the original double album and the four previously unreleased songs packaged in a tri-fold jacket with a 4-page insert featuring lyrics & liner notes from Bruce. The original album and bonus material is all mastered by Bob Ludwig. Lacquers for the LP set were cut by Chris Muth. Pre-order for the special edition HERE.
Reflecting on why he has chosen to reissue the album Hornsby says, “that for my true fans - devotees who’ve followed me through this crazy and stylistically peripatetic journey I’ve taken - this record is their favorite.” Plus, he continues, “It’s the record from my more distant past that personally holds up best for me. It’s the first record where I thought the singing has aged well, and I’m still very proud of the songwriting on it. We’re trying to get the word out again, shine a light now on something we thought was pretty special.”
In celebration of today’s announcement, Hornsby has shared three new songs from the edition’s additional material; the previously unreleased “Living In The Sunshine,” a live version of “Swan Song” and a newly remastered “Sunflower Cat.” The additional tracks on the reissue come from what has been referred to as Hornsby’s “lost album,” the one that he shelved in favor of the more “modern-sounding” Big Swing Face. He says, “These were not just demos with a drum machine or solo piano demos. They featured my band playing. There was mostly piano, bass and drums on a lot of them but there was also guitar on a couple, and I’d thrown some organ on one of them. So I felt it was fairly far along. These were rough mixes but they were fairly close, at least in conception, to me. I’m glad these songs are coming out because they’re fun to play and I think a certain fan of mine will go, ‘Why doesn’t he do this more?’”
Hornsby recently chatted with Parke Puterbaugh for a Q&A about the 25th Anniversary Edition. Read it HERE. And find Parke Puterbaugh’s essay on the album HERE.
The Spirit Trail tour also kicked off this past Tuesday. Hornsby and his full band, The Noisemakers, will be out on a US Tour throughout the month of September including stops at festivals such as the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion taking place today in Bristol, TN and the XPoNential Music Festival in Camden, NJ on September 24th. He’ll continue to tour solo throughout October and November. A full list of tour dates are below.
Tour Dates
Full Band:
Sept 08 - Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion - Briston, TN
Sept 09 - Lexington Opera House - Lexington, KY
Sept 12 - Victory Theatre - Evansville, IN
Sept 14 - The Peoples Bank Theatre - Marietta, OH
Sept 16 - Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel - Detroit, MI
Sept 17 - Clyde Theatre - Fort Wayne, IN
Sept 19 - State Theatre of Ithaca - Ithaca, NY
Sept 21 - Garde Arts Center - New London, CT
Sept 22 - Cabot Theatre, Beverly, MA
Sept 24 - XPoNential Music Festival - Camden, NJ
Solo:
Oct 17 - The Pabst Theatre - Milwaukee, WI
Oct 18 - The Pablo Center at the Confluence - Eau Claire, WI
Oct 20 - The Uptown - Minneapolis, MN
Oct 22 - Tower Theatre - Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 24 - Paramount Theatre - Austin, TX
Oct 25 - The Heights Theatre - Houston, TX
Oct 28 - Charline McCombs Empire Theatre - San Antonio, TX
Nov 09 - Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall - Sarasota, FL
Nov 11 - The Lyric Theatre - Stuart, FL
Nov 12 - Parker Playhouse - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Nov 15 - Steinmetz Hall - Phillips Center for the Performing Arts - Orlando, FL
Nov 16 - Seminole Casino Immokalee - Immokalee, FL
Nov 18 - Capitol Theatre - Clearwater, FL
Nov 19 - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
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