The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch $6

Album: ’52nd Street‘
Year: 1978

Coming off of an album like ‘The Stranger’ there’s a lot of really high expectations, and Billy found himself equal to the task. He had found a producer in Phil Ramone that “got” what he was trying to accomplish so he set out on the task to follow up a brilliant record with another. And, what tarted out good ended with kind of a plop. But it still garnered him the Grammy for “Album of the Year,” which seems kind of weird given the stiff competition that year.

The first side of the album is brilliant. The nice kind of yin-yang dichotomy of “Big Shot” and “My Life” on the same side wasn’t lost on me, the jazzy “Zanzibar” was an excellent chaser for the side, and the heart-aching but still too-early-on-the-record “Honesty” still kind of stings, but he makes it all work exceptionally well. It’s the second side where it falls apart with the lackluster “Rosalinda’s Eyes” and “Half a Mile Away” not really fitting the tone and mood he established on the first. Not even the ambitious “Until the Night” could save the album that ended up uneven and kind of flat on arrival. But, I guess it was good enough for the Grammy voters, so here we are.

Let’s hear it from the man himself! If I can be honest for a moment, I never noticed the trumpet in his hands until he called it out. I AM THE MASTER OF DETAILS!

Track of Distinction: There’s not enough love for “Zanzibar” in this world, so I’m going to give it some here. Go listen to it now if you haven’t had the pleasure. It’s kind of a weird ride but worth the price of admission.