Album Page - River of Dreams

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Front cover by Christie Brinkley.

Billy Joel's last studio rock/pop album, River of Dreams, was released on August 10, 1993. During the four years from his prior album, Storm Front, Billy had gone through many turbulent changes in his life including the betrayal of his longtime manager Frank Weber and subsequent litigation, more changes to his band personnel, and the eventual demise of his marriage to Christie Brinkley (they announced their separation in April 1994, though were together prior to the release of the album). He was also approaching middle age, turning 44 a few months before River of Dreams was released. It was a time to reflect on recent events, and on life in general.

Thematically and lyrically, River of Dreams is one of Billy's most mature and engaging albums. Billy was grappling with many things in his life and the greater issues and questions about life , and these struggles informed his art. Songs like "The Great Wall of China," "A Minor Variation," "Shades of Grey" and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel") were intensely personal songs, based on events and issues in Billy's life. At the same time, the album overall had a heavy philosophical, even religious, bent to it as Billy explored questions about the meaning and purpose of life ("Two Thousand Years," "The River of Dreams" "Shades of Grey"). The best songs are the underrated "Blonde Over Blue" and the impressionistic, if over-produced, "Famous Last Words."

The album has on overeaching arc to it, with the songs on Side One representing a man's struggles with life and relationships, it is almost painful and depressing. But Side Two offers a more hopeful message. The five songs on Side Two of River of Dreams flow together thematically as sort of reflection on various stages of one's life. "All About Soul" is about love and finding an honest relationship. This leads to "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" about teaching a child about life and death, which flows into "The River of Dreams" in which Billy explores spirituality and the meaning of one's own life. "Two Thousand Years" looks at life from a broader and grander level, from the perspective of world history and asks "what kind of life will [our children] live" in the future. And "Famous Last Words" is of course a denouement of a life and career. This gives the album a feeling of unity and depth.

Musically, however, a few of the songs on Side One seem to chug along haltingly ("The Great Wall of China," "A Minor Variation," and "Shades of Grey"), while songs on both sides of the album could have used a lighter touch ("Famous Last Words," The River of Dreams") in my unprofessional opinion. But one gets a better appreciation for the album and the process of creating it, the artistic choices made and rejected, in the well-done PBS documentary "Shades of Grey." A good article about the album's development is here.

The album was quite successful, debuting at #1 on the charts and garnering several Grammy nominations. Kara Manning summed up the album well in her review in Rolling Stone: "Throughout his career, Billy Joel has worried the stages of growing up — through women, children, fame, betrayal, money gained and lost, loneliness, moments of happiness. But as with any gifted artist, whether he finds that elusive inner peace isn't the point — it's the hellish searching for it that is ultimately so compelling." It is the journey not the destination that is important. We're all carried along, after all, by the river of dreams.

And these are the last words I have to say
It's always hard to say goodbye
But now it's time to put this book away
And that's the story of my life

– From "Famous Last Words"

Versions of most of the songs, before Danny Kortchmar producted the final version of the album, are on a bootleg called the "Shelter Island Sessions" (see YouTube playlist). You can read fans debate the merits of these earlier versions versus the final Kortchmar-produced version of the album at this forum.

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Billy's concert in Frankfurt, Germany on the River of Dreams tour was broadcast on the Disney Channel in 1994 and later released as a DVD "Live from the River of Dreams" along with the My Lives collection 2005. You can also see it at this playlist.

Publicity Photo: Patrick Demarchelier (1993)

The documentary Shades of Grey describes the making of the album.

Promotional shot from 1993. Source unknown (publicity photo).

No Man's Land

The Great Wall of China

Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

The River of Dreams

Two Thousand Years

Famous Last Words

Covers for "The Great Wall of China," "Blonde Over Blue," "A Minor Variation," "Two Thousand Years," and "Famous Last Words" are fictional. Painting in "Blonde Over Blue" is Untitled#17, Mark Rothko.

Songlist
(click on links for lyrics)

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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)

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Full Album (and more) - River of Dreams

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)

Interviews & Features - River of Dreams

Shades of Grey. This is a playlist for Shades of Grey, a PBS documentary on the making of the River of Dreams album from 1993, along with a couple extra videos.

Because of how these were uploaded on the official Billy Joel YouTube page, some of the documentary is clipped off before or after the live versions of songs.