REVIEWS:
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: She's Got A Way. LOW POINTS: Why Judy Why, Turn Around, Got To Begin Again, Tomorrow Is Today, Nocturne.
Two years before Billy Joel made it big with Piano Man, he recorded his very first album Cold Spring Harbor, an awkward 1971 release that is probably the least listened to out of his whole catalog. While his melodic brand of piano-styled balladeering is definitely showcased on here, it is easy to see why the album is not very well known. The singles that he's known for through-out the latter half of the decade and into the 80's were all usually distinct from one another and very memorable, but on here Joel just writes a bunch of piano-laden pop/Rock throwaways that all contain the same basic style. Some songs are faster, some are slower, but the general light mood and lack of real solid melodies makes this album seem like a smudge in his career that should be well-forgotten if you have his later work.
However, I did tell you that his melodic sense was already there, so a few of the tracks fortunately do peep out from all the filler. In fact, the first three tracks are all pretty good in their own way. Easily the strongest one, "She's Got A Way" is a graceful piano ballad that hints at the greatness he would achieve on better ballads of the future like "If I Only Had The Words" and "She's Always A Woman". Then there is a decent stab at dramatic piano pop on "You Can Make Me Free", a song that contains some awkwardly-sung vocals and a bit of lively orchestration, and a sentimentally nice, though melodically generic tune called "Everybody Loves You Now".
After that latter tune, though, the album is pretty slight, ranging from melodies that aren't too solid or just sorta generic like "Why Judy Why", "Falling Of The Rain" (which actually has melodic verses and pretty fast piano-playing), "Turn Around", "You Look So Good To Me", and "Got To Begin Again". You even get to hear a few laughable attempts of Joel trying to deepen his voice on "Tomorrow Is Today" (he would use deep vocals more efficiently on later tunes... here they just sound, well, a bit retarded), and his skill on piano on the unmemorable instrumental "Nocturne" (well ok, this is pretty unnecessary since you hear is piano ability on every other track). All in all, the majority of the songs here would be considered filler if placed on most of his other albums. Still, this stuff is pretty inoffensive and harmless piano pop/rock, and you can already tell that Joel already has his very basic style down pat, so it's not all that bad. Of course it's not that good either, just mediocre.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Billy Joel became a successful solo Rock star with this album when it was released in late 1973. Piano Man shows that Mr. Joel had already found his style; a mixture of introspective piano ballads and faster dramatic tunes. The title track is a classic and is what paved the way for Joel's career. Along with this great six minute song, there are a few other classic cuts on here, which include "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" and "Captain Jack". "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" is a dramatic piano epic that starts off as a slow tune with some harmonica going along to it, and then becomes a fast tune with thematic orchestration and great piano playing.
"Captain Jack" is almost as great, with another excellent melody and storyline. This slower verses of this song, contrast well with the loud and hopeful chorus 'Captain Jack will get you high tonight', ends the album in a big way. Those are the three songs over 5 minutes in length, the other songs are shorter and less important but just as convincing and melodic. The fun, bouncy, and fastpaced opener, "Travelin' Prayer" is a neatsounding tune, "Ain't No Crime" is highlighted by a great chorus, and "Worse Comes To Worst" is an excellent midtempo rock song with a funky edge. "Stop In Nevada", and the ballads "If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You)" and "You're My Home" are also very nice. "Somewhere Along The Line" is the weakest tune, but still has a lot of energy and grace to it. An enjoyable and big improvement over Cold Spring Harbour because this album already shows what Mr. Joel is all about.
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COMMENTS
Agree with your rating..the best song to me ( actually in his entire catalogue) is Captain Jack..brilliant mood, the almost angry piano playing (notice the playing at "and that's too long")...though I believe its a cover of come obscure original.....The Title Track and "The Ballad.." are pretty cool too...
Incidentally, Billy Joel is my favorite "easy listening" performer..he has a certain relaxing feel about his songs...Of course, he does'nt challenge the greats, but he's a nice change from the heavy stuff...
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Unlike its predecessor, Streetlife Serenader only contains one hit which is called "The Entertainer". This is a great tune with some effective synthesizer going along to it, but unfortunately this is probably the best song on here, as the rest of the record is fairly dull and unmemorable. A big drop in quality from Piano Man as the songs are less convincing and dramatic, with most of the tunes being on the same par as the worst of on that album. I'm meaning to say that most of the songs are of the same quality as "Somewhere Along The Line", which is the just OK song from Piano Man. "The Great Suburban Showdown", "Last Of The Big Time Spenders", and "Souvenir" are not as good as their titles suggest, and are probably among the weakest on the set. Some of the songs have their moments and are halfway decent such as the title track which sets the tone for the album, and "Los Angelenos" holds up enough interest. Elsewhere we have "Root Beer Rag" is a fast piano ditty and is one of the better tunes, "Roberta" a ballad that shows future promise, "Weekend Song" which is one of the only rocking tunes, and the closer "The Mexican Connection" which is decent. A pretty forgettable selection of tunes though, and no really prime Joel cuts on here as there are on many of his other releases.
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COMMENTS
This happens to be my favourite Billy Joel Album so you don't know what you're talking about; dull and unmemorable it ain't.
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Turnstiles is a noticeable improvement over the previous album because there are actually some memorable tunes on this one. The best tune here is the showstopper "Prelude/Angry Man" which is the only fast song on the whole set (although "Miami 2017" does rock out a little). Quick and impressive piano playing, plus bombastic instrumentation make this song a good contender for best early Joel song. It's dramatic production and effective fast-pased verses are exciting and is a relief to hear after sitting through five fairly slow tunes. They aren't boring because they are rather lively sounding and easy to listen to, its just that by "James" the tone of the album seems to get somewhat dull.
Anyway, some of them are excellent like "Say Goodbye To Hollywood", which is backed up by some relaxing orchestration, and the fun, reggae-tinged "All You Wanna Do Is Dance". The latter song is a simple tune with some aquatic keyboard that I find to be a gem on this set. "New York State Of Mind" is a fine ballad with some light sax playing, and is considered a 'classic', but I find it a little insipid to agree with that. The mood is pretty mellow and smooth overall. Joel's delicate piano playing is nice on "Summer Highland Falls" and "I've Loved These Days", a ballad in which you can hear echos of the mood he would try to create on later ballads. This album is smooth sounding and would sound good as background casual music. From now on Joel would be considered the 'piano man' king as Elton John's popularity plummeted around this time.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Billy Joel returned in 1977 with The Stranger, which was his real commercial breakthrough, and one of those albums in which you've heard almost every song on the radio before. This time every tune is memorable with top-notch vocals and lyrics by the man himself, and is also his most consistently satisfying album. "Movin' Out(Anthony's Song)" is the album opener; a hardhitting melodic song in which Joel stutters the last word of each verse to great effect. This excellent tune, which ends with the sound of a car driving away, is one of the many enjoyable songs on here. "Only The Good Die Young" rocks out vigorously with style, "The Stranger" starts off with a great whistling intro, and then turns into a classic song about the 'masks' people hide behind, and "Vienna" is another gem, that starts off with a melodic piano introduction, and showcases the smooth transitions of Joels vocal range.
The ballads are at his most melodic and sweetest too; "Just The Way You Are", is a beautiful song that is probably his most romantic one, and "She's Always A Woman" is a cozy and poppy tune that resembles something Paul McCartney would write. The best song though, is the seven minute "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" which could be considered the masterpeice of his career. Starting off as a waltzy ballad, it becomes a fast tune (not unlike the style "Angry Young Man" on the album before) with great lyrics to match, and goes through a classic piano solo section where Billy pounds away at the keys quickly and gracefully, before coming back to the main theme that ends the tune dramatically. The last two songs on the album, "Get It Right The First Time", a good song which contains a weak bridge, and the hopeful "Everybody Has A Dream" don't quite match the quality of the others, but are still nice. Billy Joel soon found himself in a boatload of success, that would continue for the rest of the 70's and into the early 80's. Some of these following albums come close in quality to this excellent release, but in terms of consistency none of them come close.
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COMMENTS
I dont have this---but man do i love the middle section of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". That rhythmic piano/drumkit interplay just gets my foot tappin' every time. Too bad the slow intro with such cheezy, irrelevant lyrics like "Bottle of Red/Bottle of White" or whatever the hell he's saying sucks so bad. Oh well. I dont hate Billy at all, except for saturating us with that super-crappy pop song called "River of Dreams", but you gotta admit, sometimes the guy could get too damn sappy and bombastic for his songs' own good. Killer piano player though.
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Billy Joel rocks out a little more than in earlier releases here, but only in parts of the album. Their are some more classic cuts on this release that match the ones on The Stranger such as "Big Shot", the loud and snotty opener, and "My Life" which is a lightweight melodic tune, with a danceable backbeat and pleasing melody. The main problem though lies in the consistency of the album; the first half has an excellent batch of tunes, but most of the second half is much weaker in comparison. Side one contains the two before-mentioned hits, plus "Honesty", which is an emotionally and powerfully sung ballad, and "Zanzibar", which is a top highlight on here. "Zanzibar" is a jazzy tune with an exciting melody and harsh chorus, that contains two captivating horn solo sections, one which fades the song out, and is defintely great to my ears.
This is about the last great thing you hear on 52nd Street, but their are still five songs to go! Out of them, only "Stiletto", a sharp tune with another one of those fun piano solos, is the only good one. "Rosalinda's Eyes" which has a marimba in it is only halfway good, while "Half A Mile Away" which has a big horn sound has a lack of melody and hooks, "Until The Night" is dull and horribly sung, and the title track is a weak souless closer. More annoying vocals on that one too. A worthy album though, because it contains a few absolutely great tracks and some very good ones. The jazzy and lounge-like edge to some of the songs is also kind of interesting.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
In the midst of New Wave and Punk Joel came up with Glass Houses, which has a fair share of snotty rock n' roll and elegant, clear ballads. "You May Be Right" kicks off the album with a crash, literally, and is a straightforward rocker with roughed-up, but fun vocals. A popular song, but the major hit was "It's Only Rock And Roll To Me", which is Joel's response to punk and how nothing really changed. The tune carries a somewhat punkish, snotty attitude and sparse beat on the verses, with a chorus that rocks a little with some added sax. Billy comes up with a well-rounded consistent set this time around, with a lot of good and comfortable tracks in its short length of 35 minutes. "Sometimes A Fantasy" has a punky beat with 50ish styled vocals in the verses, and an incredible chorus with some wonderful 'o-o-oh's'. That and "All For Lenya", which has some high piano and another neat chorus, are a couple highlights on here.
Elsewhere we also have "I Don't Want To Be Alone", which has a great groove, and "Sleeping With The Television On" which are two good midtempo poppy rock songs. The ballads are more lightweight than usual, but not any worse. "Don't Ask Me Why" is a beautifully paced acoustic ballad, "Through The Long Night" is a lovely and highly melodic closer, and "C'e Tait Toi(You Were The One)" goes along in the same vein as the other ballads, even if it isn't as good as them. Oh, and there is also "Close To The Borderline" which is the hardest rocking tune on here, that is as good as anything else on Glass Houses. Basically, this is a good and direct album with no apparent weak cuts, and is also one of his more consistent sets.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (John Schlegel)
Billy Joel is definitely more reputable as a hit-maker than he is for cutting great records, but I rather enjoy this outing. The consistency here is unprecedented for Joel, and Glass Houses doesn't really contain any bad songs. "You May Be Right," "Sometimes a Fantasy," "I Don't Want to Be Alone," and the humorous "All For Leyna" are all classics. And THEN there's the beautiful, mariachi-spiked ballad "Don't Ask Me Why," which is so phenomenal I am mentioning it separate from the other standouts--easily one of the strongest, most melodically rich songs in Joel's entire canon, and that's saying a lot, considering how many great singles the man produced over two decades. "It's Still Rock N' Roll to Me" and "Sleeping with the Television on" sound a little corny today, but they're still good too. (I do admit that "Weird Al" Yankovic's old one-verse, tour-medley segment, "It's Still Billy Joel to Me," an abrasive take on the monotony of Joel's songwriting, is a hilarious revelation of the truth.) But, in spite of all this album's high points, it still doesn't really rise above 7 status, and all the Billy Joel a person really needs can be found on his two-volume greatest hits set (the older one!). With that last lowly statement, I suppose I just defeated the purpose of writing all these comments. Interesting . . .
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
This was another big album, and turned out to be more diverse than most Joel records, yet largely inconsistent because all the good songs are either concentrated at the beginning or end of the album. The monster hits come early in the album; they are "Allentown", a classic tune about the steel factories shutting down, and "Pressure", a fast, driving song that is dominated by synthesizer, and has a poppy bridge sung in slow geeky vocals. "Laura" is sandwhiched between them and is an excellent pop song with desperate lyrics, that makes it come off as an ambitious tune. Then there is the seven minute anthem "Goodnight Saigon", which is probably the first song dedicated to the Vietnam veterans. The two middle songs "She's Right On Time" and "A Room Of Our Own" are pretty ordinary sounding and forgettable, and the latter is especially lame and lifeless.
Now for the last three songs. This where things get a little strange, as "Surprises" starts off with some mellow and weird piano, and contains an interesting and melodic bridge. Next, is arguably the greatest unknown Joel track of his career; "Scandinavian Skies" is a Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatlesque sounding tune with military drums and cellos, that comes as a surprise to the album. The lyrics may be a little trite, but that doesn't matter since the tune is so melodically ambitious and great, and also contains a few musical twists within it. Last but not least is the 'orchestrated' ballad "Where's The Orchestra?" which ends Billy Joel's weirdest album. I would have given it an 8 but I dropped a point because of the a few of the tracks being forgettable, and the sequence of the songs appears to be a little out of whack.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: An Innocent Man, The Longest Time, Tell Her About It... and maybe Keeping The Faith. LOW POINTS: Christie Lee.
After a lengthy string of major hit albums (all of which contain a massive amount of singles), Billy Joel continued that streak with the slightly funky and 50's-flaired set An Innocent Man. Billy Joel seems to take a dive into his youth (though he's actually a bit too young to have lived through the doo-wop age as a teenager) and write an album full of soulful and slick songs that carry a very cool vibe. Definitely a good idea, as no less than five singles were taken from this ten-song set, most of which are the strongest cuts to be found. The obvious centerpiece here is the soulful title track, a song where Joel's vocals reach soaring heights during the majestic chorus (ie. I aaaaaam... an innocent maaahn... oh yes I ammmmm), and which are deeper during the calmer sparse-sounding verses. A great climaxing song from its' verse-to-chorus buildup.
Another single, and easily the second best song on here, "The Longest Time" features just Billy Joel singing over some Doo-wop vocals in the background, but oh what they do with these vocals here! You don't need instrumentation on this song since the excellent vocal melodies of Joel and his gang of cahoots (which are featured on the back cover) carry the song greatly, offering tons of little hooks along the way. I think the song captures the spirt of the late 50's/early 60's era of music very well, and the accompanying video of the song is definitely a hoot as well. Go check it out one day. Next, the up-tempo single "Tell Her About It" carries a good romance lesson that guys should really try to follow and an ultra-catchy melody with charged saxes and a pumping R 'n' B rhythm.
It's a great side closer, as is "Keeping the Faith", a tune that works on a slower relaxin' tempo with slick lyrics and the occasional saxophone. The ever-popular, but least favorite single of mine would have to be "Uptown Girl" then, a track which gets slightly tiring, but packs quite a punch anyway with its' stomping up-tempo beat and good vocal harmonies. As for the best non-single tracks, "Easy Night" is a fine funky sax-laden album-opener with an infectious chorus, and "This Night" is a fine, fine song with an excellent romantic chorus. The rest (which is found on the second half) is really no slouch either, save for the just-ok straightforward 50'is rock n' roller "Christie Lee", as "Careless Talk" is made worthwhile by the weird vocal thing Joel does during parts of the verses, and "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" is soulful and very well-done to say the least. An Innocent Man shows Joel continuing his golden streak, as this is only a shade less good in quality than The Nylon Curtain, which I can say is a great album now, though a bit diversely uneven. This one is just consistent and very enjoyable.
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(reviewed by John Schlegel)
HIGH POINTS: A Matter Of Trust, Big Man On Mulberry Street, Running On Ice, Code Of Silence. LOW POINTS: None.
After a three-year hiatus, Billy Joel returns with The Bridge. Some fans consider this outing to be something of a dropoff coming after his albums of the late '70s and early '80s, a view that is understood. On here, the composer no longer has a unifying "theme," if you will (i.e., '50s doo-wop on An Innocent Man, New Wave on Glass Houses), merely settling on schlocky, ultra-commercial production that now sounds dated. Not surprisingly, Joel is also compelled to brandish his ever-growing star-stature by performing duets with big names like Ray Charles and Cindy Lauper. So, the record is a stinker, right? Well, not exactly. Maybe the first couple times you listen to it. But once you get past all the cheesy synthesizers and sleazy blues guitar licks (check out "This Is The Time" to see what I mean), The Bridge reveals the same infectious melodies and impressive compositions found in the majority of Joel's work. In other words, the production isn't that good, but the songwriting is as strong as ever, making this about as pleasing as any requisite Billy Joel record.
"Running On Ice" is a definite highlight of side one, and the perfect opener - Joel builds tension during the verses with continuous piano-tapping, then explodes into a fast-paced, melodic refrain. Better yet is "A Matter Of Trust," a super-catchy pop rock song that I'm sure you've all heard. I had a bad karaoke experience with this tune, but I can still proclaim its excellence. The rest of side one is sort of plain, but still reasonably melodic. The romantic ballad "This Is The Time" is one of the weaker cuts on the album, with production that gives it a cheap, television soundtrack feel (as I alluded to earlier); I'd put it on the "Low Points" list if it weren't for that lovely chorus. "Modern Woman" is an average, synth-driven tune performed in that bouncy Billy Joel fashion. "Baby Grand," the famous duet with Ray Charles, is a fairly bland blues ballad, but it's rescued by wonderful piano and vocal work by both stars.
The second half bursts open with "Big Man On Mulberry Street," which successfully creates the majesty of a Broadway-style musical number. I guess this is the album's typical, epic centerpiece, like "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," "Goodnight Saigon," etc. It's a real standout, featuring some warmly sung verses and jarring, big band horn breaks. "Code Of Silence" is a beautifully written pop song with nice back-up singing by Cindy Lauper; "Getting Closer" ends the record on a fittingly optimistic note. The one weak track on side two is "Temptation." Oh, I don't recall it being BAD or anything; I'll just call it unmemorable, because I just listened to this album earlier tonight, and I can't remember how it goes. Thing is, if you listen to The Bridge only, say, twice, you won't remember most of these songs. But if you give it five or six chances, you will. Not Billy Joel's masterpiece by any means, but if you like his music, then you'll like this: more inoffensive, user-friendly pop.
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(reviewed by John Schlegel)
HIGH POINTS: The Downeaster "Alexa," Leningrad, I Go To Extremes. LOW POINTS: State Of Grace, When In Rome.
On this album, Billy Joel begins to show some age, it seems - he throws his occasionally playful, humorous tendencies out the window, coming off deadly serious this time. He also throws out his backing band (excepting drum god Liberty Devitto), hires ex-Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones to produce, and belts out a big, ultra-professional stadium rock showcase. Most of Joel's album's before this had slick production, but this is just overkill. The bombastic, too-finely-crafted mix here renders some of this a little unsettling (the title track, an otherwise fine pseudo-soul rave-up) and other songs even more faceless than they need be (the pretty, but scant, "And So It Goes"). Still, my biggest problem with this production is that they add a terribly obnoxious dose of "twang" to a couple of these songs - the opener "That's Not Her Style" is upbeat and catchy, but it sounds almost like Toby Keith for fuck sake, and it's no surprise that Garth Brooks covered "Shameless," a half-decent power ballad that mixes country with Gospel. I might not whine about the sound quite as much, except for it's just that Joel's songwriting chops are also in decline. The Bridge had lousy production too, but none of the songs were as piss poor as the dreary "State Of Grace" (this crap sounds like Michael Bolton) or "When In Rome" (a less-successful soul endeavor), both of which pad out the record's dismal second half.
Okay, I've been perhaps a little too harsh so far, I confess. In the context of Billy Joel's work, yes, Storm Front is a letdown. But he's still Billy-Freakin'-Joel, and therefore still great, so long as you're not one of those who despises his music. And thankfully, the man can still unleash them hooks. Actually, a couple of the ballads here are splendid, with mature, moving lyrics (not really William's forte) to accompany his typically gorgeous compositions. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" is without a doubt the best song on here. This ballad has a skillful arrangement that creates the mood of a foggy New England town by the ocean (love that accordion), as the lyrics address the plight of impoverished fishermen and their families. "Leningrad" is also grand and sweeping, but what I really love is how Joel integrates the lyrics into the song - the lyrics tell a sad tale of a man growing up in The Soviet Union, while the chorus relays Joel's own experiences, with music that enhances the tension in America during the Cold War. As for the rockers, the hit single "I Go To Extremes" is objectively the best, because it shows the least pretense; it's just an average good anthem that you'd expect from Billy Joel. Oh, but then there's the highly controversial super-hit "We Didn't Start The Fire." A lame history lesson, in which Joel mutters a bunch of random, unrelated terms from the 20th Century and tries to pass it off as a great social statement. At the time of this writing, Blender Magazine had recently released its list of the 50 worst songs that were popular hits, including this one. I agree that it was thoughtless of Joel to reference a Chinese massacre and Michael Jackson selling Pepsi back-to-back, but overall, I take a middle ground with this song. The lyrics are stupid, so it doesn't make the "High Points" list, but the song itself is catchy, and I don't really mind when it's on. So, in the end, Storm Front still warrants a relatively high score because most of the songs are palatable, and a few of them are even great. But the overly-glossy production and a limp second side make this weaker than several of Joel's albums, and not really an essential buy.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: The Great Wall of China. LOW POINTS: none.. one or two come close.
This one is noted for the title track hit, a slice of soul-inflected pop that could be heard across the airwaves all through-out 1993-94, my seventh grade year. Yep, I remember it quite clearly. I also remember Billy Joel claiming that this would be his final Rock album as well, a thing that is becoming easier to believe since it has now been almost nine years since he said this; the only thing released under his name since then was a third greatest hits package, a greedy money-making compilation that the record company said was needed since he released so many albums' since the first two volumes (a whole two, or maybe three albums - I'm still unsure if The Bridge album from 1986 has hits on volume two or three).
In any case, this last album from the man doesn't fare too bad. The previously mentioned title track is a fine and catchy song with adequate back-ground vocals, traditional Joel piano-work, a light funk combo of drums and bass, and a touch of aural synth. It's not a great song, but its' a solid product that works quite well. From there you'll find plenty of more generic Billy Joel product ranging from the moderate rocker "No Man's Land", which has a pretty successful chorus, "Blonde Over Blue", a melodically-sung number with a haunting synth backdrop and slightly twangy chorus, "A Minor Variation", a typical blues-soul pop number, and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", a typical generic Billy Joel-styled piano ballad that is melodic enough to enjoy a little.
These songs aren't usually more than decent, but there is one truly excellent song to be found here in "The Great Wall of China", a string-drenched Beatlesque tune that brings back to mind his The Nylon Curtain days quite a bit. The soulish vibe given to the tune from the background vocals and slap-bass is a good touch too. While this is the only great song, there isn't really anything on the complete opposite side of the spectrum (nothing really weak, in other words). Instead you get a few average-to-decent numbers in "All About Soul" and "Shades of Grey"(a Cream rip-off if I ever heard one with those opening 'ba-ba, baba,ba ba ba' vocals), and two forgettable closers in "Two Thousand Years" and "Famous Last Words" to round out the album. The basic deal: If you like Billy Joel's back-catalog pretty well this album should be nice to listen to.
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