River of Dreams
| River of Dreams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 10, 1993 | |||
| Studio | The Boathouse at the Island Boatyard, Shelter Island Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York The Hit Factory, New York City | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 49:10 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Billy Joel, Danny Kortchmar, Joe Nicolo, David Thoener | |||
| Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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| A Voyage on the River of Dreams | ||||
Australian 1994 box set cover | ||||
| Singles from River of Dreams | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Calgary Herald | B+ |
| Deseret News | (favorable) |
| Entertainment Weekly | (A-) |
| The Los Angeles Times | |
| The New York Times | (not rated) |
| Rolling Stone | |
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. 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". However, in 2024, Rolling Stone listed it last as one of "The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time".