A Night on the Town is the third and final studio album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Following albums would be credited to Hornsby alone. A Night on the Town features Hornsby's last significant hit single, "Across the River", which spent one week at the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Hornsby chose Laurelle Brooks as the female lead in the music video for "Across the River".

Background Hornsby, who described his first two studio releases as "solo records with sprinklings of the band here in there", wanted his third album to feature his band, The Range, to a greater extent. He described A Night on the Town as being "harder, more immediate and aggressive – how people say we sound live." To that end, the piano playing that had been heavily featured on Hornsby's first two releases was made less prominent, and in some cases such as "Barren Ground", entirely absent. Hornsby wrote "Fire on the Cross" about the Ku Klux Klan, saying that it was "certainly not a light-hearted song".

When discussing the title track with Musician magazine, Hornsby commented that he wrote it about an event that occurred a year and a half prior and that it included a reference to a location called the Midway Diner near Williamsburg, Virginia. Commenting on the title track, he said that "it's just a song saying that these people are just doing what they were always told to do and what they were taught. It follows up a tradition – we beat up these guys because our fathers beat up these guys." The title track received airplay on over 100 Album-oriented rock radio stations across the United States and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Hornsby wrote "Lost Soul" with his cousin Eddie in mind; Hornsby said that the song was "too personal and hard-hitting to my family" to discuss it any further. He sang "Lost Soul" as a duet with Shawn Colvin after reaching the conclusion that the vocal range was too high for Emmylou Harris.

Critical reception Billboard believed that A Night on the Town was "much more focused and tighter than 1988's Scenes from the Southside", Hornsby's previous studio album. They found that the album continued in the tradition of Bruce Hornsby and the Range's previous albums with "thoughtful lyrics around gentle and skillful melodies", albeit with "a harder edge".

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Greg Sandow thought that the album carried a grittier and more rock oriented sound, saying that "Hornsby has been known to play more assertive rock in his concerts, and now he brings the rougher sound of those stage performances to the recording studio." He opined that Hornsby's vocal delivery was too similar throughout the album and felt that the album was embellished by the presence of multiple guest performers, particularly highlighting Wayne Shorter saxophone playing during "Fire on the Cross".

Writing for Musician magazine, Jon Young wrote that the album "boasts truly inspired moments", specifically citing the album's "dramatic arrangements and beefy choruses" on certain songs such as the title track and "Fire on the Cross". He felt that the album possessed some "overwrought and glib" moments, criticizing "Lost Soul" for sounding "more patronizing than perceptive" and comparing "Barren Ground" to a public service ad. Young also believed that Don Gehman, the album's co-producer, could have infused more of a "rural rasp" akin his work with John Couger Mellencamp, expressing his belief that A Night on the Town was "too smooth to consistently support (Hornsby's) passions."

Track listing

Personnel

The Range Bruce Hornsby – lead vocals, grand piano, synthesizers, accordion George Marinelli – guitars, mandolin, backing vocals Joe Puerta – bass, backing vocals John Molo – drums, percussion

Additional musicians and vocalists Phil Shenale – keyboard and percussion programming Béla Fleck – banjo (3, 4) Jerry Garcia – guitar (4, 5) David Mansfield – guitar (6), violin (7) Charlie Haden – upright bass (7) Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone (3) Jimmie Wood – harmonica (6) Laura Creamer – backing vocals (2, 5) Shaun Murphy – backing vocals (2, 5) Shawn Colvin – backing vocals (4, 7, 10), vocals (8) David Lasley – backing vocals (9, 11) Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (9, 11) Bridgette Bryant – backing vocals (11) Fred White – backing vocals (11)

Production Bruce Hornsby – producer Don Gehman – producer, additional engineer Ed Thacker – engineer (1, 3–11), mixing Eddie King – engineer (2), additional engineer Steve "Sound" Cormier – additional engineer Don Bosworth – assistant engineer Robin Laine-Levine – assistant engineer Ted Pattison –assistant engineer John "Chamberlin" Pilatus – assistant engineer Neal Pogue – assistant engineer Chris Winter – assistant engineer Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, California) Paul Johnson – keyboard technician Sharona Sabbag – production coordinator Ria Lewerke – art direction Norman Moore – art direction, design Peter Miller – photography Tim Neece – management

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for A Night on the Town Chart (1990) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA Charts) 59 European Albums (Music & Media)55US AOR (Radio & Records) 1US Billboard 200 20

Year-end charts +1990 year-end chart performance for A Night on the Town Chart (1990) PositionUS Billboard 200 95

Certifications

References