The Journey Within
The Journey Within is the debut album by Bernie Williams, who at the time of its release was still an outfielder for the New York Yankees. Released on July 15, 2003, by GRP Records, Williams played both lead and rhythm guitar on the album and composed seven of the album's songs. The album peaked at number 151 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Top Contemporary Jazz albums chart.
Marketing
The album's label, GRP, hoping to capitalize on Williams's popularity as a baseball player, released the album to coincide with the 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. They also organized a Bernie Williams CD night at Yankee Stadium and distributed a sampler CD with proof of purchase of Kraft products.Track listing
- "La Salsa en Mi" -4:37
- "The Way" -5:14
- "Para Don Berna" -3:23
- "Desvelado" -5:30
- "Just Because" -6:16
- "Samba Novo" -1:46
- "Dust in the Wind" -3:28
- "Stranded on the Bridge" -4:43
- "Bernie Jr." -6:13
- "Enter the Bond" -5:03
- "And So It Goes" -3:46
- "Just Because" -3:49
- "The Williams Kids"-4:27
Personnel
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.Musicians
- Bernie Williams - lead guitar, rhythm guitar, additional percussion
- Mike Alvarez - additional guitar
- Kenny Aronoff - drums
- David Benoit - additional piano
- Rubén Blades - background vocals
- Luis Conte - percussion
- Béla Fleck - banjo
- Jerry Hey - additional flugelhorn
- Bashiri Johnson - percussion
- B.J. Lequerica - background vocals
- Shawn Pelton - drums
- Tim Pierce - rhythm guitar, lead guitar
- Mark Rivera - saxophone
- David Sancious - keyboards
- Gilberto Santa Rosa - background vocals
- Leland Sklar- bass
- David Spinozza - rhythm guitar
- John Thomas - keyboards, piano and strings
- Hiram Williams - cello
- Larry Williams - Fender rhodes
- T-Bone Wolk - bass, acoustic bass
Production
- Lorren Harriet - producer
- Tally Sherwood - engineer
- Danny Bernini - engineer
- Mike Alvarez - additional engineering
- Paul Brown - remixing
- Bud Harner - remixing
- Stephen Marcussen - mastering
- Hollis King - art direction
- LeRoy Neiman - paintings
- Jorge Alvarez - photography, back cover
- Kelly Pratt - release coordinator
- Robert Silverberg - release coordinator
- Bernie Williams - liner notes
- Paul McCartney - liner notes
Charts
The Journey Within charted on several Billboard lists:| Chart | Peak position |