River of Dreams

This article is about the Billy Joel album. For the song, see The River of Dreams. For the Hayley Westenra album, see River of Dreams: The Very Best of Hayley Westenra. For other uses, see River of Dreams (disambiguation).

River of Dreams
Studio album by
Billy Joel
ReleasedAugust 10, 1993 (1993-08-10)
StudioThe Boathouse at the Island Boatyard, Shelter Island
Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York
The Hit Factory, New York City
GenrePop[1]
Length49:10
LabelColumbia
ProducerBilly Joel, Danny Kortchmar, Joe Nicolo, David Thoener
Billy Joel chronology
Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection
(1990) 		River of Dreams
(1993) 		Greatest Hits Volume III
(1997)
A Voyage on the River of Dreams
Australian 1994 box set cover
Singles from River of Dreams
  1. "The River of Dreams"
    Released: July 1993
  2. "All About Soul"
    Released: October 1993
  3. "No Man's Land"
    Released: February 1994 (UK)
  4. "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"
    Released: March 1994[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Calgary HeraldB+[3]
Deseret News(favorable)[4]
Entertainment Weekly (A-)[5]
The Los Angeles Times[6]
The New York Times(not rated)[7]
Rolling Stone[8]

River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. River of Dreams presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, 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 "A Minor Variation" 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 millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up.[9] It was Joel's fourth and last album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart, a position it held for three consecutive weeks.

River of Dreams is the last rock album Joel has released to date, as his next album, Fantasies & Delusions (2001), features classical compositions with solo piano performed by Hyung-ki "Richard" Joo. Since River of Dreams, Joel has recorded occasional pop/rock singles and continues to play live.

The album cover was a painting by Joel's then-wife, Christie Brinkley. In 1993, Rolling Stone gave her the Top Picks award for "The Best Album Cover of the Year".[10]

The same cover, in 2024, was named one of the worst 50 album covers of all time by Rolling Stone.[11]

  1. ^ a b River of Dreams at AllMusic
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  3. ^ Obee, Dave (August 22, 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  4. ^ Boren, Ray (June 18, 1989). "'RIVER OF DREAMS' FEATURES WELL-CRAFTED SONGS". Deseret News. Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  5. ^ Sandow, Greg (August 13, 1993). "River of Dreams Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  6. ^ Willman, Chris (August 22, 1993). "BILLY JOEL – "River of Dreams"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  7. ^ Holden, Stephen (August 8, 1993). "RECORDINGS VIEW; Billy Joel, A Pundit Of Suburbia". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  8. ^ Manning, Kara (August 19, 1993). "Music Reviews: River of Dreams by Billy Joel". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008.
  9. ^ Goldman, Andrew (May 24, 2013). "Billy Joel on Not Working and Not Giving Up Drinking". New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  10. ^ "Christie Brinkley biography". Official website. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  11. ^ The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time, by Gavin Edwards, Rolling Stone, July 19, 2024