The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch #5

Album: ‘The Stranger‘
Year: 1977

Without apology, I will say that I love this album. For me, it’s a Top 5 album. I get some weird looks about that when I bring it up in conversation because, while it is a very good album, not a lot of people seem to remember it as a whole. They should, though. What other album could a single performer put out where two-thirds of the songs would end up as hits? But, for me personally, it was the album that made me a fan, and it wasn’t just because of the hits.

I own–literally own–five copies of this album: two on vinyl and three on CD. It was an album that was destined to be in my life in one form or another. But, it was hearing “Vienna” for the first time after years of being a fan, I felt a connection to this album and Billy’s music in general that I had never had before. Here was an album track that, to me, was greater than any of the other songs on the album. That had never happened to me before and it hasn’t really happened since. Singles and hits are produced methodically and, as I have mentioned so many times in the past, they are often the songs the artist and producers put the most time and effort into.

With this album, the feeling was that time, effort, and love was given to every track on this very personal, very revealing album. But the simplicity of the song and its cut-to-the-bone backstory really tied everything together to show that, while we all may wear masks and spend our lives trying to define who we are in very peculiar and often disingenuous ways, we can take the time to finally be ourselves if we allow.

Let’s hear it from the man himself! Freakin’ guitar players, man …

Track of Distinction: “Vienna” beats out a host of career-defining hits for Billy, including “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” and “Only the Good Die Young” which I still sing like my giddy 17 year-old self who just got his first taste of pop-culture heresy.

The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch #4

Album: ‘Turnstiles‘
Year: 1976

This album really feels like Billy’s first really great, cohesive album of his catalogue. He spent time trying to find himself, honing everything and then, with this album, putting it all together. And while ‘Streetlife Serenade’ had a very West Coast vibe to it–very light and cheeky–this album plays out like a New York kids back to talk shit about everyone and remind himself that this is where he really belongs. This is perfectly encapsulated by his timeless tribute to the city, “New York State of Mind.”

But it’s the deeper cuts that really make this album shine. “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” was good because, like most of the other tracks on the album, it had great backing orchestration to help sell the message. I even found the symth-organ led “James“–a relatively unknown album cut–to be enchanting because it reminds me of all the times I have found a picture of an old friend and wondered what became of them. Social media removes some mystery, but still.

Let’s hear it from the man himself! The bit about the album cover is very interesting.

Track of Distinction: “Summer, Highland Falls” might be Billy’s high-water mark when it comes to lyrics allowing them to take the center stage in a song that is also ungodly beautiful. This edges out the sappy but still engaging, “I Loved These Days.”

The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch #3

Album: ‘Streetlife Serenade‘
Year: 1974

This is the first of Billy’s albums that really sounds like a pop album. Sure, he allows himself a couple of opportunities to explore some of his musical tangents, but this is really the first time he’s giving himself a chance to make this whole pop recording artist thing an earnest try instead of some kind of manic passion project.

And it pay dividends because of those musical tendencies he honed and found resonated with the audience. The wry cynical voice he gave “Captain Jack” really resonated in “Los Angelinos” and definitely in “The Entertainer” while he also acknowledged his duties as a pop artist to make the likes of “Roberta,” his ode to a working girl with a heart. This album showed Billy was starting to put things together to make a serious go at being a bonafide star of his own.

Let’s hear it from the man himself!

Track of Distinction: “The Great Suburban Showdown,” the barroom lament of a guy who has been consigned to his life in suburbia, gets the nod because it hits really close to home for me. That might not be a good thing. This edges out another favorite of mine, “Souvenir.”

The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch #2

Album: ‘Piano Man‘
Year: 1973

As someone who seemed to be determined to write songs for other people, Billy certainly put his all into his sophomore album. Perhaps he was trying to show his range to perspective clients and accidentally made himself a pop icon in the process. But listening to this album for the zillionth time now sounds very different knowing that tidbit of information. This was Billy’s resume.

Think about it: he had his Dylan-esque folk song, his Kristofferson-esque contemporary country ballad, his try at a shitty all-too-70s calypso club song, his sappy love song, his blues waltz, and his barn-burner of a bohemian pop song all in one album. History will see it as an eclectic mix from an artist still trying to find himself but I see it for what it likely was: his plea for modicum of attention from the big names of the day.

Let’s hear about this one from the man himself! I’m kinda proud I nailed the whole 6/8 time waltz thing. Makes me feel like I might know what the fuck I’m talking about.

Track of Distinction: I’ve always had a spot in my heart for “Stop In Nevada,” a song about a woman leaving everything behind to make a new start somewhere warmer and without the east-coast cynicism. This becomes a running theme in his early work.

The Billy Joel Catalog, Dispatch #1

No, I haven’t started the “B” albums again (yet). The other night, my friend, Nick asked me to join him on a discography journey for one of our favorite artists: Billy Joel. Seeing as how he introduced me to Joel’s music back in high school, and it became a huge influence on my opinion of pop music, I could not refuse. In fact, I accepted with the kind of giddy joy that should usually only come from being offered a free steak or a three-way.

He and I agreed to go through an album a day and share our thoughts. I am going to record my thoughts here through a series of posts. You can be assured I am sharing my thoughts and not his because his would be very well-thought out while mine are the standard DERP! HE’S THE PIANO MAN BECAUSE HE PLAYS A PIANO HUR HUR HUR! See, there’s a difference.

With 12 studio albums, two live ones (I’m treating myself to those), and one single from a few years back, this is going to be fun. I’ve heard all of them before (many, many times) but, like visiting with an old friend whose stories you already know by heart, it’s still fun just to be in the same room. My original goal was to do my recaps in the old catch-up style so you’re not reading for days but, after the third album, I found that I had more to say about these than I thought, hence the dispatch treatment.. I guess that’s not a bad thing. To make it up to you, I will also include a ToD for each album and I might just be kind enough to put out a special TTIHH Billy Joel mix at the end. WHO KNOWS?!?

Anyway, away we go!

Album: ‘Cold Spring Harbor‘
Year: 1971

Is Billy Joel a misogynist? Probably not, but if I were going by the tone of “Everybody Loves You Now,” you might think he had an axe to grind with some pretty young thing that either rejected him on her way to some sort of fame or he felt was undeserving of her stature in the entertainment business. Deconstructing this song (and “Falling of the Rain” now to think of it) shows a dark side of Billy that never came out as much as his unabashed lover of women.

And Billy’s first album is quite often forgotten and it’s kind of a shame. It’s solid as first efforts go. He’s really looking to make a big splash and he takes some huge swings here. You can really hear his Beatles influence in a track like “You Can Make Me Free” where his unabashed youthful arrogance obviously made him feel like he could pull that off. It’s also the same arrogance that led him to sign an awful deal with Family Productions after this album was recorded too fast and he wanted out. Talk about a start for the history books!

Oh, and Nick found a series of videos from when Billy released his complete box set of albums. Each is a quick reflection of each album from the man himself and, though very succinct, very interesting. Here’s what he had to say about this one.

Track of Distinction: “Tomorrow Is Today,” his dark-yet-optimistic suicidal dirge based on an actual suicide note he penned before he recorded this album is as haunting as it is intriguing.

Various Artists, Part 3

Album: ‘Catch the Throne‘ and ‘Catch the Throne II‘
Years: 2014 and 2015 (respectively)

It might be peak-nerd to release an album of songs about a fantasy television series, but when the mix is rap songs about Game of Thrones–arguably the most popular show on television, preconceptions are pretty much booted out the window. HBO did a good job with this mix despite its obvious pandering to the African-American community and youth culture as a whole. There is nothing tongue-in-cheek about the tracks, which would have been an easy cop-out for many of the big names they got to record here.

Track of Distinction: Dominik Omega kills it with “Arya’s Prayer” both with some of the best lyrics offered and the best hook.

Album: ‘The Classic Chillout Album‘
Year: 2002

Before EDM really took off, there was this sub-sect of electronic music that was both innovative enough for young ears but also inoffensive enough for their parents. It was New Age music and its affect on youth culture didn’t last long. Before most people caught on, this mix was released wide in every Target store I ever set foot in and, I admit, it intrigued me. And while some of the music is solid–thanks to Massive Attack and Moby–most of the rest is just dreck. There’s even a selection from the Titanic soundtrack on here! Was this supposed to be marketed exclusively to middle-aged women?

Track of Distinction: Deep Forest’s “Sweet Lullaby,” despite almost lulling me to sleep whilst driving 60mph one night, get the nod for not playing too much to the New Age crowd. It bumps over Eva Cassidy’s enchanting cover of Sting’s “Fields of Gold” though maybe not out.

Album: ‘Cocktails with Cole Porter‘
Year: 2004

As with the Gershwins, it’s hard to believe that the source of so many iconic songs came from the mind and pen of so few. Cole Porter, the name everyone seems to know but only true aficionados can place, seemed to have written a generation’s worth of music. From “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to “Night and Day” to “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” Porter gave us classic after classic that are still known and covered today. I picked this up on a lark and it did not disappoint.

Track of Distinction: Ella Fitzgerald singing “It’s De-Lovely” still gives me chills.

Album: ‘The Concert for New York City‘
Year: 2001

Listening to this album 16 years after 9/11, it’s hard to ignore the blatant jingoistic tone of the entire event. Sure, it was necessary at the time but, with the current political climate and how some of the political players ended up after all this time (Adam Sandler’s Operaman openly fawning over Rudy Giuliani was especially sickening) it’s hard to listen to all of this and think this kind of America First message was ever widely acceptable. I guess tragedy will do that to a people.

Track of Distinction: Billy Joel singing “Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)” gives me chills because of the song’s message, when it was played, and his statement at the end.

Album: ‘Coolest Songs in the World, Vol. 3‘
Year: 2007

Who doesn’t love mixes established in hyperbole? And usually things like this don’t bother me so much but, for being the “coolest songs in the world” I have never heard any of them before. Some of them were cool, a couple we weird, and several others I don’t quite remember (which really doesn’t bode well for their cool rep), but none of these really resonated. I don’t even know how I got this mix. Was it part of a huge mass rip from someone’s old CD wallet? I doubt this came from any library. Well, whatever. It’s over.

Track of Distinction: Well shit, I can’t choose one of these faceless songs for this distinction, so I’ll choose one at random. How about, “C’mon Over to My Side” by The Mockers? Sound good to everyone?

Billy Joel

Album: ‘Live at Shea Stadium’
Year: 2011

The Beatles opened Shea Stadium’s long and storied history of hosting concerts, and Billy Joel ended it. Performed a few months before the final demolition of the Met’s old ball yard in Queens, this two-disc set captures the electricity and magic of that night with the Piano Man and a long, star-studded list of guest performers.

Like most live albums, every moment of the show is not captured. However, after seeing the full set list and compared it to the track list, what was left on the cutting room floor is nothing a Billy Joel fan couldn’t easily live without. What is included on the album is something special. Most notably are the tracks with those guest performers, including “Shameless,” performed mostly by Garth Brooks; “This is the Time,” with John Mayer on lead guitar; and the magical duet with Billy and Tony Bennett on “New York State of Mind.” However, unlike most artists, Billy has immense respect for the past and decided to ask Sir Paul McCartney to come and play during this live show. Through a miracle of miracles, Sir Paul was able to make the show in time to help close it with a stirring rendition of the Beatles’ classics, “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Let It Be,” with Billy on the piano. It truly brought everything full circle in this once in a lifetime concert event.

If you couldn’t tell I am a huge Billy Joel fan. As a fan, this is a wonderful live collection that rounds out my collection. The show touches on a lot of hits as well as some hidden gems only true fans would appreciate (“Summer, Highland Falls” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” to name a couple). However, this show does not distance itself from even casual fans who would like it for the stirring and unique renditions of classics like “Piano Man” and “Only the Good Die Young.” Undoubtedly, a wonderful acquisition for any music lover.

Track of Distinction: “New York State of Mind” (duet with Tony Bennett). Two artists that pretty much epitomize the New York sound of their respective eras performing the Big Apple’s unofficial anthem sends the crowd into a near riot. Bennett still has it.