Tracklist
| On The Western Skyline | 4:39 | ||
| Every Little Kiss | 5:46 | ||
| Mandolin Rain | 5:21 | ||
| The Long Race | 4:28 | ||
| The Way It Is | 4:57 | ||
| Down The Road Tonight | 4:26 | ||
| The Wild Frontier | 4:01 | ||
| The River Runs Low | 4:26 | ||
| The Red Plains | 5:08 |
Credits (18)
Joe PuertaBass, Vocals
John MoloDrums, Percussion-
Bob HarlanEdited By [Digital]
Elliot ScheinerEngineer
Jim GainesEngineer
Eddie KingEngineer [Additional]
Notes
The original release (cat# 8058) has the blurry color photo of Hornsby in motion, and was released in the U.S. in April 1986. The far more common version of the album was released on and after September 1986, coinciding with the release of the title track ("The Way It Is") as a single. This version has a photo of the full group on the cover, all tracks were remastered, and the songs "Down The Road Tonight" and "The River Runs Low" were replaced with alternate mixes.
Versions
Filter by
108 versions
| Image | , | – | In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory |
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Version Details | Data Quality | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Way It Is
CD, Album
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RCA – PD89901 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo
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RCA – PL89901 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, Indianapolis Pressing
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RCA Victor – AFL1-5904 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – PK 89901 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album, Reissue, Dolby
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RCA – AFK1-5904 | Canada | 1986 | Canada — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – 104.4220 | Brazil | 1986 | Brazil — 1986 | ||||
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo, Indianapolis
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RCA Victor – NFL1-8058 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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Starcall Records – TC SFK1-0151 | Australia & New Zealand | 1986 | Australia & New Zealand — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album, Reissue
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RCA – AFK1-5904 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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Starcall Victor – SFL1 0151 | Australia | 1986 | Australia — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Reissue
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RCA Victor – AFL1-5904 | Canada | 1986 | Canada — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – NFL1-8058 | Canada | 1986 | Canada — 1986 | ||||
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo
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RCA Victor – RCLP 20386 | Greece | 1986 | Greece — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – PL-85904 | Spain | 1986 | Spain — 1986 | ||||
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Club Edition
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RCA – 13 688-7 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – RCAC 1034 | South Africa | 1986 | South Africa — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA – PL 15904 | Portugal | 1986 | Portugal — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album, Dolby System
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RCA Victor – NFK1-8058 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA – PL89901 | Italy | 1986 | Italy — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
CD, Album
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RCA – R32P-1079 | Japan | 1986 | Japan — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Test Pressing
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RCA – RCLP 20386 | Greece | 1986 | Greece — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
CD, Album
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RCA Victor – PCD1-5904 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
CD, Album, Stereo
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RCA Victor – PCD1-8058 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Sonderauflage Sonocord
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RCA – 36 156-8 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Promo
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RCA – RPL 8348 | Japan | 1986 | Japan — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Reissue, Hauppauge Pressing
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RCA Victor – AFL1-5904 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – SFL1 0151 | Australia & New Zealand | 1986 | Australia & New Zealand — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Repress, Stereo
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RCA – RPL 8348 | Japan | 1986 | Japan — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – NFK1 8058 | Canada | 1986 | Canada — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album, Stereo
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RCA/Ariola International – NFLI-8058 | Indonesia | 1986 | Indonesia — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo
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RCA – PL89901 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 | ||||
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – TC RCLP 20386 | Greece | 1986 | Greece — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo
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RCA – NFL1-8058 | Philippines | 1986 | Philippines — 1986 |
Needs Changes
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album, Reissue
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RCA – AFK1-5904 | US | 1986 | US — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA Victor – TLP-70055 | Argentina | 1986 | Argentina — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album
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RCA – SFL1 0151 | Australia & New Zealand | 1986 | Australia & New Zealand — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – RPT-8348 | Japan | 1986 | Japan — 1986 |
New Submission
|
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – NFK 1-8058 | Turkey | 1986 | Turkey — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
Cassette, Album
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RCA – PK 89901 | Italy | 1986 | Italy — 1986 |
New Submission
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The Way It Is
LP, Album, Stereo
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RCA – PL89901 | Europe | 1986 | Europe — 1986 |
Recently Edited
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Recommendations
Reviews
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This pressing sounds fantastic. Quiet, dynamic, and expressive. The album include three big 80s hits that may have been overplayed during the MTV era, but a revisit to the vinyl reiterates how much "What It Is" deserved its triple platinum sales performance. A small amount of dated production choices leak in here and there, but on the whole, this is a solidly produced record that stands the test of time on the strength of the songwriting, high-level technical proficiency, and uniqueness.
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Edited 7 months agoMust respectfully disagree with the first two reviews of this masterful pressing by Jack Adelman. For me, the work of Scheiner and Marcussen added to JA's cut is what makes this a sonic marvel. Cut really hot, as typifies mid-1980s AAA major studio output. -
referencing The Way It Is (LP, Album, Stereo) PL89901
One of my all time favorites. I am commenting on this particular Euro version. My copy is super clean no surface noise or pops. The mastering is perfect on this. It sounds as if he just level matched and let the mix do the talking. Fantastic recording from the microphone placement to the mix and master. Great performance and production on this one. Great lyrics. -
referencing The Way It Is (CD, Album) PCD1-5904
The CD copy I have is an unlisted variant - the matrix pressing code is "1A3 6X" -
referencing The Way It Is (LP, Album, Stereo) PL89901
Perfect to listen to on game day! The way it is remains an all time classic -
Edited one year agoDecent pressing. Decent soundstage. Sounds bright and bassy. Sounds a bit digital with hints of sibilance at high volumes. -
Mine is a nice copy! A very well produced album. Sure sounds like it. You'll be hard-pressed as hell to find a very well produced 80's era record that doesn't sound phenomenal. -
Sounds good overall, but a bit congested on the upper mids and highs, so there's a lack of 'airiness' that would define a great vinyl pressing. Seems like the digital process has impacted what should have been a musical masterpiece of a pressing. It could use a bit more fullness on the bottom end too.
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referencing The Way It Is (CD, Album, Stereo) PCD1-8058
The "River Runs Low" version on this release is substantially different from subsequent releases, with drums and different vocals and instrumentation. "Down the Road Tonight" has a slightly longer fadeout and a less "big-sounding" mix. The other tracks seem to differ only in EQ/mastering. This is the only cd release containing these different versions. -
referencing The Way It Is (CD, Album, Reissue) PCD1-5904
"Down The Road Tonight" has source defects (second verse) ??????
Master Release
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Recently Edited
Recently Edited
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