Few public figures have fallen farther and faster than Billy Joel. A platinum-selling, super model-marrying superstar in the 70′s and 80′s, he’s become an easy punch line and the poster boy for drunk driving in the 90′s and 00′s. But bad jokes and DUI’s aside, how does Billy Joel’s music hold up?
To find the answer, let’s take a look at The Stranger – a multi-multi-multi-multi-multi-multi-multi platinum success and perhaps the best album of his up and down career…
THUMBS UP: I don’t mean this sarcastically – the best thing about Billy Joel’s songs might be that nobody ever plays them any more. Really, when was the last time you heard any of his stuff? Because it’s been hermetically sealed, and hasn’t been appropriated for commercials, movies, etc, his music retains the power to take you back in time. And believe it or not, much of The Stranger actually sounds great. Crappy ballads aside, it’s much more tough and world-wise than what I remember. ‘Scenes From An Italian Restaurant’ is one of the very best songs of its era, and an epic slice of musical storytelling. The Stranger isn’t perfect, but it’s easily good enough to offset the understandable embarrassment that comes with dropping the needle on a Billy Joel album.
THUMBS DOWN: The Stranger contains two of the most atrocious songs of all-time – ‘She’s Always A Woman’ and ‘Just The Way You Are’. Lines like “I said I love you and that’s forever/And this I promise from the heart/I could not love you any better/I love you just the way you are” are bad enough to induce uncontrollable cringing, but were good enough to win the Grammy for song of the year in 1978 – go figure. Throw in the lesser-known but equally horrible and sappy ‘Everybody Has A Dream’ and you’ve got a trifecta of tripe that would pull even the greatest album into the sewer. Like a microcosm of Joel’s entire career, this LP has a few very memorable moments, followed by some really embarrassing stuff that leaves a lingering bad taste. But hey, the whistling is pretty cool…
[The real question is, will anybody stick up for Billy Joel? Can a piano man get some love in the 21st century?]
Album info:
Release date
September 1977
Producer
Phil Ramone
Label
Columbia
Side One
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
The Stranger
Just The Way You Are
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
Side Two
Vienna
Only The Good Die Young
She’s Always A Woman
Get It Right The First Time
Everybody Has A Dream
Tags: Billy Joel, The Stranger
28 April 2008 at 2:09 pm |
Never a fan at all, but I sort of feel like this album has its legitimacy to those who believe. That said, I don’t own it and I never will.
28 April 2008 at 2:14 pm |
Sorry, dk, count me out on this one. There’s a reason the only time Billy Joel appears relevant these days is when drunken softball teams cap their post-game gatherings with a teary-eyed rendition of “Piano Man.”
I’d rather attend a Naked Brothers concert than endure the ironically titled “Get It Right the First Time” even one more time. The Stranger has its share of heartfelt songwriting, perhaps, but that plunky piano-driven sound is as dated as a Whitesnake video.
28 April 2008 at 2:25 pm |
Strange you say that we may have not thought of him lately. The office iPod is playing his crap right now and I had to put my personal headphones on to block it. Seems like someone here likes him a lot because I am constantly inundated with his hackneyed, overplayed New York blech.
I am not familiar with this album and have no plans to try. I would have similar opinions of Bob Seger and Elton John. Billy is somewhere in between those two.
28 April 2008 at 2:50 pm |
la da did di da da.
la da did di dah dah dah..
Those 13 syllables have run through my head more often than anything else… yes, probably even more than the ABC’s.
I guess you could call Billy Joel a guilty pleasure for me, though I’m never afraid to admit my love. My older sister fell in love with him first. I do believe Glass Houses was her first purchased album. So I could never admit my fan-hood, lest she think she was cool or something. In the end, BJ grew to be a part of my musical vocabulary.
The Stranger doesn’t contain my favorite BJ songs, but I do like Movin’ Out, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, and Only the Good Die Young. All solid songs in my book.
My favorites from the BJ library are: Big Shot, It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me (one of my proudest moments the day I learned ALL the words), New York State of Mind, Piano Man, and You May be Right.
He’s fallen from grace, that’s for sure, but it’s not at the same disgusting level as Michael Jackson. At least I don’t feel like I need to take a shower when I hear his name.
While Billy Joel’s music doesn’t break any ground, it’s catchy, it’s fun, and the lyrics always seem to tell a story that everyone can relate to.
28 April 2008 at 2:54 pm |
Good timing for me too – I heard ‘Movin’ Out’ this morning in the locker room and thought “there’s a great song I never hear anymore”.
Thumbs way up for me. Ballads never seem to age well so those are easy to take shots at (seriously dk – I can find dopier lyrics for you), but there is a lot of substance here. Billy Joel isn’t prominent in my record collection, but I love this and Glass Houses – a nice flashback to my youth.
28 April 2008 at 2:55 pm |
Uptown girl indeed
Long-legged Christy Brinkley
The short guy scores big.
28 April 2008 at 3:01 pm |
Few performers have fallen farther and faster than Billy Joel??? You call 12 sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, 2 sold out shows at Shea Stadium (in 45 minutes), record breaking multiple concerts in dozens of major cities and the most downloaded record catalogue of any artist on Columbia Records a fall??? He is MORE popular now than he was in his heyday. What planet are you living on??
28 April 2008 at 3:15 pm |
It’s a huge stretch to say that Billy Joel is more popular now than he was in his heyday. The guy was a ubiquitous hit machine in the late 70′s/early 80′s – a high grossing tour and a bunch of downloads can’t eclipse that.
And it’s impossible to deny that his drunken escapades have overshadowed his music in the last decade. I have to think the man himself would admit that the last 15 years have been a rough stretch, both personally and professionally.
But big ups for your passion… always appreciated!
28 April 2008 at 6:46 pm |
F.Y.I. Billy Joel has never been accused of, charged with arrested for, or convicted of D.W.I. He hasn’t released a new album in 15 years yet he IS selling more concert tickets than he ever did when he was putting out records. That is no stretch – that’s pure Box Office. Name another artist who can do that. One stint in rehab does not destroy a lifetime of quality work. And being the top -selling catalogue artist on a record label like Columbia is not merely “a bunch of downloads”. This is the same record company that markets Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Billy Joel outsells all their other legacy artists – COMBINED. Methinks you are another gullible victim of the tabloids. Do a little research before you post stuff like that.
28 April 2008 at 7:15 pm |
The Stranger helped shape my childhood. His name was Jim. And I think of him fondly and often.
28 April 2008 at 7:59 pm |
Regarding Joel’s drinking and driving, you’re correct Bob – he’s never been convicted of a DUI. However, he has been involved in three serious car crashes, one of which led directly to him checking into rehab for alcohol abuse. A few of the websites I looked at before writing this actually referred to him as “the king of drunk driving”.
If you thought my intro was harsh, check out the lead graph of this story:
http://www.jetstreaker.com/2006/09/28/international-acts-coming-to-south-africa-billy-joel-live-will-young/
Equally funny, but totally unrelated to drunk driving:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2005/4/27black.html
Believe it or not, my point in bringing up the (alleged) drunk driving was not to slam his music, but to mention some of the factors that have helped overshadow it in the public eye. For me personally, the only time I’ve heard his name mentioned in the last 10 years has been in relation to drunken shenanigans. If that makes me a ‘gullible victim of the tabloids’ then so be it, but I’m not creating the general perception of him, I’m only reflecting it here.
I’ve obviously offended you by questioning the relevance of Billy Joel’s music, so let me apologize for that. My intention in writing these ‘on the fence’ pieces is not to get a big hate on for popular artists of the 70′s and 80′s. Actually quite the opposite: the albums here are generally things that I really liked at one time in the past, but have gradually phased out of my life. Usually I’m trying to do my level best here to understand why that’s happened, and often comments and stories from other people have helped me to get an idea of why certain albums have fallen out of favor with my ears. So I hope you’ll take all of this in the spirit it’s intended – not an attack on Billy Joel, but rather an inquiry into why a particular album has dropped from my regular rotation.
Thanks again for getting involved in the conversation. I genuinely appreciate when passionate music fans drop in to share their opinion – even when they don’t agree with me…
28 April 2008 at 9:23 pm |
Billy Joel is a drunk. That’s a fact.
Drunks buy a lot of concert tix. Another fact.
This will never change.
$10 he’s DUI right now.
28 April 2008 at 10:52 pm |
dk – Look, even Billy Joel would agree with you about ‘Just The Way You Are’. He has said himself that he didn’t even want to keep it on the album, but Linda Ronstadt talked him into it. I happen to think it’s a wonderful song with a very endearing sentiment, but that’s just my opinion. I didn’t think you were attacking his musical gifts. But I still find it unfair to condemn the man’s legacy for what is a very common human weakness. He went through a rough two year period where he admitted he drank too much and then he did something about it. He did NOT have 3 serious car crashes. Only one was serious. The others were minor incidents that were blown out of proportion by the tabloid press. I also find it hard to believe that in 10 years all you heard about him was “drunken shenanigans”. He has toured constantly with and without Elton John during those years, wrote and released an album of piano compositions, had a Tony Award-winning hit musical on Broadway that is still being produced on the road, wrote an anti-war song for a new young artist, donated much time and money to numerous good causes, and done an extensive tour of colleges around the world speaking to students of music and music business. He even designed a boat which has become a successful business in itself. And despite what those like World B. Furr post, he is not a ‘drunk’. ( I suspect Mr. Furr is still inebriated himself ) Our passion for certain things may wane as we grow older, but substantive music never fades. Only we do. Thanks for your time.
29 April 2008 at 7:41 am |
i’m more of a “glass houses” kinda guy….
29 April 2008 at 7:50 am |
…and I thought I would be the most passionate Billy Joel fan here…
29 April 2008 at 9:26 am |
Bj’s music will forever remind me of a cross-dressing tom hanks
29 April 2008 at 12:00 pm |
Me? Inebriated?
You may be wrong but you may be right.
29 April 2008 at 12:09 pm |
Wow, I want three of whatever Bob’s drinking. Good show, man. And how delightful to see earnest back and forth without either party resorting to name-calling. (BTW, Bob, it was two stints in rehab, not one, but who’s counting?) While I still maintain that box office draw is hardly a measure of artistic merit (or “substantive music”), Billy Joel is lucky to have admirers like Bob.
29 April 2008 at 12:36 pm |
my money is on World B. Furr…. being inebriated
29 April 2008 at 1:37 pm |
wow of all the artists/albums discussed on this site this is the last one I thought would deliver such energy. Not going to judge his taste in women or need for self medication. He had some good licks in his hay day, several of them mentioned above. He may again rise to the top of the bill board but it seems like he is off in other musical directions in terms of “creating” – sold out concerts not with standing. This was not my favorite album of his, in fact I suspect I would have a hard time completing an album with the few songs that I consider good.
29 April 2008 at 1:39 pm |
When people say they hate Billy Joel, it’s one of those things that people say that they don’t really mean, like “Gee, you look nice today” and “I love you.” People may scoff the piano man these days, but it’s only for fear of looking like a musical fucktard. I admit it, I’m guilty of recent Billy J mockery myself. But alone, in my car, when Piano Man comes on? Fuck yeah, shit yeah, I turn that shit way on up and belt it out at the top of my lungs.
Okay yeah, some of his shit sucks. But for every “I Don’t Know Why I Go to Extremes” there’s a “Big Shot.” For every “We Didn’t Start the Fire” there’s a “My Life.”
I dunno, my parents owned all of his ’70s albums and my high school boyfriend, who was three years older than I was, owned all his ’80s stuff. I grew up with him so, like it or not, he will always be someone that makes me turn up the radio and sing off key.
Oh and Springsteen’s BTR? Are you fucking kidding me?!?! I will fucking come to your house and burn it down for even questioning the power and validity of that album. I know where you live, dk.
29 April 2008 at 1:47 pm |
Oh and I forgot to even mention his Broadway show comprising all of his own songs woven together into an inventive and crazy tale. On that merit alone, he ranks right up there with ABBA.
That was said in an utter deadpan voice, BTW.
And I just reread my last post. I have a potty mouth. You should ban me from your fucking site, man.
29 April 2008 at 1:53 pm |
Cussing is cool.
You’re good here… as long as you don’t burn down my house…
3 May 2008 at 9:15 pm |
thumbs down. this LP has too much filler to be remotely considered a classic.
to me, he wound up selling less, but proving more, on 52nd street & glass houses.
despite my absolute disgust with the song ‘piano man’ and ‘tell her about it’ and ‘uptown girl’ and just about anything post ‘baby grand’ (his duet with ray charles), he was okay for a radio king. nonetheless, the billy joels of the world will never make amends for their pivotal roles in dominating radio airwaves to the exclusion of countless potentially superior, definitely more interesting artists.
1 July 2008 at 4:57 pm |
DK: Many thanks for bringing this important thread to my attention last nite (on the roof of Villa 1259 – FurrBurger and Lee sorely missed). I’ve spent my entire life knowing Billy Joel is lame but thanks to these informative postings here I am a changed man. I now like “BJ” and must call my mom to let her know and to apologize for being so critical and wrong from 1976 thru yesterday. I now also like Dan Fogelberg, Kenny Loggins & Barry Manilow. After all, Captain Jack will get you high tonight…
27 August 2008 at 11:38 pm |
[...] Verdict: Thumbs up. Bob’s comments convinced [...]
17 June 2009 at 5:48 pm |
Poor Billy. Poor Bob.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/17/billy.joel.separation/index.html
7 September 2010 at 7:14 am |
Alright, I gotta hash this post back up…
Seems to me like music organises itself and the people who appreciate it on the basis of bias, personality and intelligence. For every Tom Waite’s fan there’s a Billy Joel fan. Neither get the other but that doesn’t detract from the validity of either.
I’m mad, bad, sad or just plain old enough to admit I love The Stranger as much as I love Small Change.
D.H.
9 September 2010 at 5:19 pm |
I’m glad you brought this up, because I haven’t ever considered Billy Joel and Tom Waits in together. It’s actually pretty easy for me to see how someone could like both artists – they came out of the same Tin Pan Alley, piano man tradition, even if they went in completely opposite directions with the sound. Billy Joel ended up living in the Top 40 and Tom Waits became a critical darling with a madhouse sound, but if you lay 52nd Street against The Heart Of Saturday Night it’s not too difficult to see those two as kindred spirits. Thanks for the comment…