River of Dreams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

River of Dreams
River of Dreams cover
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released August 10, 1993
Recorded The Boathouse at the Island Boatyard, Shelter Island, NY
Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, NY
The Hit Factory, New York, NY
Genre Rock
Length 49:10
Label Columbia
Producer Billy Joel
Danny Kortchmar
Joe Nicolo
David Thoener
Professional reviews
Billy Joel chronology
Storm Front
(1989)
River of Dreams
(1993)
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert
(2000)

River of Dreams is the twelfth and final studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1993. This is the last pop album made by Joel, and presented a much more serious tone as a whole, 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 "All About Soul" 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 from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up.

The album cover was a painting by Joel's wife at the time, Christie Brinkley.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  • All songs written and composed by Billy Joel
  1. "No Man's Land" – 4:48
  2. "The Great Wall of China" – 5:45
  3. "Blonde Over Blue" – 4:55
  4. "A Minor Variation" – 5:36
  5. "Shades of Grey" – 4:10
  6. "All About Soul" – 5:59
  7. "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" – 3:32
  8. "The River of Dreams" – 4:05
  9. "Two Thousand Years" – 5:19
  10. "Famous Last Words" – 5:01

[edit] Chart positions and certifications

[edit] Album

Year Country Chart Position Weeks Certification (if any) Sales/shipments
1993 Australia ARIA Charts 1 (4 weeks)
1993 United States The Billboard 200 1 (3 weeks) 56 5xPlatinum[1] 5,000,000+
1993 Switzerland 2[2] 28 Platinum[3] 50,000
1993 Austria 2[2] 26
1993 Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100) 3 17[4] Platinum 220,000+[5]
1993 United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 3 10 Gold 100,000+
1993 New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand 6[2] 13
1993 Canada 3x Platinum [6] 300,000+
1993 Norway VG-lista 9[2] 6
1993 Netherlands Mega Album Top 100 23[2] 39
1993 Sweden 30[2] 10

[edit] Singles

Year Country Single Chart Position
1993 Australia "The River of Dreams" ARIA Charts 1
1993 Austria "The River of Dreams" 2
1993 Switzerland "The River of Dreams" 2
1993 North America "The River of Dreams" The Billboard Hot 100 3
1993 United Kingdom "The River of Dreams" UK Singles Chart 3
1993 Germany "The River of Dreams" Media Control Top100 Singles 4
1993 France "The River of Dreams" SNEP Top 100 4
1993 Netherlands "The River of Dreams" MegaCharts 5
1993 Sweden "The River of Dreams" 8
1993 Norway "The River of Dreams" VG-lista 8
1993 North America "All About Soul" The Billboard Hot 100 29
1993 North America "All About Soul" The Billboard AC 6
1993 United Kingdom "All about Soul" UK Singles Chart 32
1993 Germany "All about Soul" Media Control Top100 Singles 51
1993 United Kingdom "No Man's Land" UK Singles Chart 50
1994 North America "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" The Billboard Hot 100 77
1994 North America "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" The Billboard AC 18

[edit] References

Preceded by
Sleepless in Seattle (soundtrack) by Various artists
Billboard 200 number-one album
August 28 - September 17, 1993
Succeeded by
In Pieces by Garth Brooks
Preceded by
The Lobbyist by Diesel
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
August 29 - September 25, 1993
Succeeded by
Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell by Meat Loaf
Languages