Maps of Music

River of Dreams (1993)

Where the lyrics of River of Dreams take you, and where it was really made.

River of Dreams was designed to stand as Billy Joel's final record, and it remains his last rock album to date.

Key places

Recording studio in Glen Cove (1993)

Recording site Cove City Sound Studios — Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove is listed as a place where River of Dreams was recorded. The point marks the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio in New York City (1993)

Recording site The Hit Factory — The Hit Factory in New York City is listed as a place where River of Dreams was recorded. The point marks the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mastering at Sterling Sound (1993)

Recording site Sterling Sound — Ted Jensen mastered River of Dreams at Sterling Sound in New York. This point marks the mastering studio, not a recording session. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Shelter Island sessions, summer 1992 (1993)

Recording site The Boathouse at the Island Boatyard — Joel held writing and recording sessions on Shelter Island in summer 1992, and these produced seven tracks. The point is set at town-center level for Shelter Island. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel
• Released in August 1993
• Takes a more serious tone than Joel's previous albums
• Deals with trust and long-lasting love
• River of Dreams is the last rock album Joel has released to date
• The following album, Fantasies & Delusions (2001), features classical solo piano by Hyung-ki Richard Joo
• Joel has continued to tour and record occasional pop/rock singles since then

Background

• In summer 1992, Joel held writing and recording sessions on Shelter Island, New York
• These sessions produced seven tracks, self-produced by Joel
• Joel was dissatisfied with the results
• On Don Henley's recommendation, session guitarist Danny Kortchmar was brought in
• Kortchmar agreed to produce on condition that he could use session musicians
• Only Shades of Grey from the Shelter Island sessions made the final album in its original produced form
• It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal stem from Joel's legal disputes with former manager and ex-brother-in-law Frank Weber
• Weber reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up
• In a 2018 interview with Vulture, Joel said the album did not yield any hit singles beyond the title track

Recording

• Recording took place after the Shelter Island sessions, with Kortchmar producing most tracks
• Carl Glanville engineered most tracks
• Niko Bolas mixed most tracks
• The album was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York

Cover

• The cover is a painting by Joel's then-wife, Christie Brinkley
• In 1993, Rolling Stone gave the cover the Top Picks award for Best Album Cover of the Year
• In 2024, Rolling Stone listed the cover last among The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born May 9, 1949 in the Bronx, New York City; raised in Hicksville on Long Island.
• Began piano lessons at age four at his mother's insistence.
• Saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided to pursue a music career.
• Played in the Echoes, the Hassles, and Attila before going solo.

Career

• Debut solo album Cold Spring Harbor (1971); signed with Columbia Records in 1972 after a Philadelphia radio broadcast of "Captain Jack".
• Breakthrough with The Stranger (1977), Columbia's best-selling release at that time.
• 52nd Street (1978) won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
• Released 12 self-written studio albums from 1971 to 1993; over 160 million records sold worldwide.
• Performed a long Madison Square Garden residency from 2014 to 2024.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone gave the cover the Top Picks award for Best Album Cover of the Year in 1993
• Sold approximately 240,000 units in its first week
• Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, the fourth and last of Joel's albums to reach number one
• The album held the number one position for three consecutive weeks
• The title track reached number three on the US chart, according to the Spanish Wikipedia page

Reappraisal

• In 2024, Rolling Stone listed the cover last among The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time
• The same painting was praised as the year's best cover in 1993 and ranked at the bottom in 2024

Records

• Billboard 200: number one, three consecutive weeks
• First-week sales of approximately 240,000 units
• Japan: first-week chart debut at number one on the Billboard 200 is noted in the Japanese Wikipedia page
• A Voyage on the River of Dreams, a 1994 Australian 3-CD box set, made the charts in Australia at number 33
• The same box set made the charts in New Zealand at number 47
• The box set was officially released only in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• In a 2018 Vulture interview, Joel said he was disappointed that the album produced no hit singles beyond the title track
• Joel linked his decision to stop releasing pop albums to a lack of airplay
• Kortchmar agreed to produce the album only if he could use session musicians on the recordings
• A 1994 Australian box set, A Voyage on the River of Dreams, combined the studio album with a six-track live CD from the 1993–94 tour and a Questions and Answers CD recorded at Princeton University
• Joel divorced Christie Brinkley, the cover painter, in 1994, the year after the album came out
• In Japan, the first pressing carried no Japanese title and was printed in uppercase Latin letters as RIVER OF DREAMS

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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