The Return of Bruno (album)

The Return of Bruno
Studio album by Bruce Willis
Released	January 20, 1987
Recorded	1986
Genre	R&B, Pop
Length	40:34
Label	Motown
Producer	Robert Kraft
Bruce Willis chronology
The Return of Bruno (1987) If It Don't Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Return of Bruno is the debut album by actor Bruce Willis. Released by Motown in 1987, this album is an eclectic gathering of R&B music sung by Willis, with backing musicians including Booker T. Jones, The Pointer Sisters and The Temptations. It is a companion piece to an HBO special of the same name which aired shortly after the album's release. A re-issue was distributed by Razor & Tie in 1997.

Overview

The album peaked at #14 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.^[2] Leadoff single "Respect Yourself," a duet with June Pointer featuring background vocals by the Pointer Sisters, was a hit. It peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. Follow-up singles "Young Blood" and "Under the Boardwalk" did not fare nearly as well, peaking at #68 and #59, in the US respectively. Though "Under the Boardwalk" fared poorly in the US, in the UK it was a different matter, as the single reached #2 in the charts and became the UK's 12th best-selling single of 1987.

Reception and legacy

Reviews of the album were mixed. In February, 1987, People magazine gave the album a B+, while calling Willis' cover of "Under the Boardwalk" "surprisingly okay", noting additionally that the album "shows us that he (Willis) can't shout songs quite as well as Don Johnson. So Springsteen he ain't. Funny he is."^[3] Allmusic observes that Willis "doesn't quite have the conviction or skill of the Blues Brothers", adding that The Return of Bruno is today little more than a kitsch artifact.^[4]

Track listing

1. "Comin' Right Up" (Brock Walsh) – 3:30
2. "Respect Yourself" (Luther Ingram, Mack Rice) – 3:53
3. "Down in Hollywood" (Ry Cooder, Tim Drummond) – 5:20
4. "Young Blood" (Jerry Leiber, Doc Pomus, Mike Stoller) – 4:08
5. "Under the Boardwalk" (Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick) – 3:03
6. "Secret Agent Man / James Bond Is Back" (Steve Barri, P.F. Sloan) / (John Barry) – 4:48
7. "Jackpot (Bruno's Bop)" (Robert Kraft, Bruce Willis) – 4:12
8. "Fun Time" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:38
9. "Lose Myself" (Larry John McNally, Jon Lind) – 3:56
10. "Flirting with Disaster" (Brock Walsh, Jeff Lorber) – 4:33

References