Bruce Hornsby: Big Swing Face : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Admired by jazz aficionados, beloved by Deadheads, a Top Forty artist who has won three Grammy awards -- including Best Bluegrass Recording -- Bruce Hornsby is a musician continually attempting the new. He has played with Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia and Bela Fleck. And his latest album, Big Swing Face, is, no doubt, another effort meant to challenge expectations. Nearly synonymous with the piano, Hornsby, on this record, has abandoned it in favor of keyboards. "Sticks and Stones," the opening track, sounds wonderfully harsh, jarring, the keyboard solo filled with synthesized beats. But softer, melodious tracks such as, "Big Swing Face" and "This Too Will Pass," balance the harsher songs and feature lengthy guitar solos. Without piano, relying more upon guitar and keyboards, Hornsby's latest effort has all the elements for an album with an unrecognizable sound. But his rocky, pop groove and voice -- as strong as ever -- remain unchanged, making this record unmistakably Bruce Hornsby.

CHRISTOPHER SWETALA
(June 25, 2002)