Rock, Metal

Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973)

2012-06-12T18:29:21Z

Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973)


01. Travelin' Prayer – 4:10
02. Piano Man – 5:36
03. Ain't No Crime – 3:15
04. You're My Home – 3:08
05. The Ballad Of Billy The Kid – 5:39
06. Worse Comes To Worst – 3:12
07. Stop In Nevada – 3:50
08. If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You) – 3:29
09. Somewhere Along The Line – 3:19
10. Captain Jack – 7:15

Personnel:
- Billy Joel – harmonica, keyboards, vocals
- Laura Creamer, Mark Creamer, Susan Steward – vocals
- Dean Parks, Larry Carlton, Richard Bennett – guitar
- Eric Weissberg, Fred Heilbrun – banjo
- Billy Armstrong – fiddle
- Wilton Felder, Emory Gordy Jr. – bass
- Michael Omartian – accordion, arranger
- Ronnie Tutt – drums (01-09)
- Rhys Clark – drums (10)
- Michael Stewart – producer

Embittered by legal disputes with his label and an endless tour to support a debut that was dead in the water, Billy Joel hunkered down in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, spending six months as a lounge singer at a club. He didn't abandon his dreams -- he continued to write songs, including "Piano Man," a fictionalized account of his weeks as a lounge singer. Through a combination of touring and constant hustling, he landed a contract with Columbia and recorded his second album in 1973. Clearly inspired by Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection, not only musically but lyrically, as well as James Taylor, Joel expands the vision and sound of Cold Spring Harbor, abandoning introspective numbers (apart from "You're My Home," a love letter to his wife) for character sketches and epics. Even the title track, a breakthrough hit based on his weeks as a saloon singer, focuses on the colorful patrons, not the singer. If his narratives are occasionally awkward or incomplete, he compensates with music that gives the songs a sweeping sense of purpose -- they feel complete, thanks to his indelible melodies and savvy stylistic repurposing. He may have borrowed his basic blueprint from Tumbleweed Connection, particularly with its Western imagery and bluesy gospel flourishes, but he makes it his own, largely due to his melodic flair, which is in greater evidence than on Cold Spring Harbor. Piano Man is where he suggests his potential as a musical craftsman. He may have weaknesses as a lyricist -- such mishaps as the "instant pleasuredome" line in "You're My Home" illustrate that he doesn't have an ear for words -- but Piano Man makes it clear that his skills as a melodicist can dazzle. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

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Billy Joel – River Of Dreams (1993)

2014-04-03T15:49:45Z

Billy Joel – River Of Dreams (1993)

01. No Man’s Land – 4:48
02. The Great Wall Of China – 5:47
03. Blonde Over Blue – 4:55
04. A Minor Variation – 5:36
05. Shades Of Grey – 4:11
06. All About Soul – 6:01
07. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) – 3:34
08. The River Of Dreams – 4:07
09. Two Thousand Years – 5:20
10. Famous Last Words – 4:59

Billy Joel: Vocals, Piano, Clavinet, Organs, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Background Vocals
Zachary Alford: Drums
Phillip Ballou: Choir, Chorus
Katreese Barnes: Choir, Chorus
Tommy Byrnes: Guitar
Richie Cannata: Tenor Sax
Dennis Collins: Choir, Chorus
Schuyler Deale: Bass
Lew Del Gatto: Orchestra Manager
Liberty DeVitto: Drums
Will Downing: Choir, Chorus
Laurence Etkin: Trumpet
Wrecia Ford: Vocals
Diane Garisto: Choir, Chorus
Arno Hecht: Baritone Sax
Lonnie Hillyer: Bass
Jeff Jacobs: Synthesizer
Stephanie James: Choir, Chorus
Color Me Badd: Backing Vocals on 'All About Soul'
Devora Johnson: Choir, Chorus
Jef Lee Johnson: Bass
Steve Jordan: Drums
Curtis Rance King, Jr.: Choir Conductor, Choir Contractor
Doug Kleeger Technical Support
Danny Kortchmar: Guitar
Andy Kravitz: Percussion
Osvaldo Melindez: Trombone
Ira Newborn: Orchestration
Jim Saporito: Percussion
Marlon Saunders: Choir, Chorus, Vocals
Frank Simms: Background Vocals
George Simms: Background Vocals
T.M. Stevens: Bass
Crystal Taliefero: Vocal Arrangement, Vocals
Chuck Treece: Bass
Mike Tyler: Guitar
Leslie West: Guitar
Brenda White-King: Choir, Chorus
B. David Witworth: Vocals

Billy Joel had never taken as much time to record an album as he did with River of Dreams, and its troubled birth is clear upon the first listen. Never before had he recorded an album that sounded so labored, as if it was a struggle for him to write and record the songs. With River of Dreams, he's surrounded himself with ace studio musicians and star producer Danny Kortchmar, all of whom have the effect of deadening an already self-consciously serious set of songs. There are no light moments on the album, either lyrically or musically -- all the songs are filled with middle-age dread, even the two best moments, the gospel-inflected title track and his song to his daughter, "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)." Those two songs have the strongest melodies, but they're not as natural as his best material. Everywhere he tries too hard -- the metaphors of "The Great Wall of China," the bizarre vocal intro to "Shades of Grey," minor-key melodies all over the place. He may be trying different things, but he doesn't sound comfortable with his detours, and by the end of the record, he sounds as exhausted as the listener feels. By that point, the closing track, "Famous Last Words," seems prophetic -- River of Dreams feels like a sad close to an otherwise strong career, and from all indications he's given in the press, Joel claims it is indeed the last pop album he'll ever make. It's an unworthy way to depart.

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Billy Joel – The Hits (2010)

2010-11-24T16:28:13Z

Billy Joel – The Hits (2010)


01 – Everybody Loves You Now              play
02 – Piano Man
03 – The Entertainer
04 – New York State Of Mind
05 – Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
06 – Only The Good Die Young
07 – My Life
08 – Big Shot
10 – It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me       play
11 – Say Goodbye To Hollywood (Live Attic Version)
12 – Allentown
13 – Pressure
14 – The Longest Time
15 – Tell Her About It
16 – A Matter Of Trust
17 – We Didn’t Start The Fire
18 – I Go To Extremes
19 – The River Of Dreams

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and claThe inaugural release in the Columbia/Legacy 2011 Billy Joel reissue series, The Hits is the first-ever U.S. single-disc overview of the piano man’s full career. Even his first compilation, 1986’s Greatest Hits, Vols. 1-2, was a double-LP set and so was 2001's The Essential, so just having a 19-track summation of Joel’s career is useful, but fortunately, The Hits accomplishes its job well. True, it bends the rules a little -- the opening “Everybody Loves You Now” never charted, nor did “New York State of Mind,” and there are some notable absences, chief among them his first Top Ten hit “Just the Way You Are” and “Uptown Girl,” along with the anthem “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” -- but what’s here constitutes Billy’s basic canon: “Piano Man,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Only the Good Die Young,” “My Life,” “You May Be Right,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Allentown,” “Pressure,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Those double-disc sets dig deeper, offering other hits and album tracks, but there’s always been a need for a single disc with most of Joel’s hits, and that’s what The Hits delivers. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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Billy Joel – Turnstiles (1976)

2012-06-14T17:21:40Z

Billy Joel – Turnstiles (1976)


01. Say Goodbye To Hollywood – 4:36
02. Summer, Highland Falls – 3:15
03. All You Wanna Do Is Dance – 3:41
04. New York State Of Mind – 5:58
05. James – 3:53
06. Prelude/Angry Young Man – 5:12
07. I've Loved These Days – 4:30
08. Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) – 5:14

Personnel:
- Billy Joel – keyboards, lead vocals, producer
- Doug Stegmeyer - bass
- Liberty DeVitto – drums
- Richie Cannata – saxophone
- Howie Emerson – electric and acoustic guitars
- Russell Javors – electric and acoustic guitars
- James Smith – acoustic guitar
- Mingo Lewis – percussion
- Ken Ascher – orchestral arrangements

There's a reason Turnstiles begins with the Spector-esque epic "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Shortly after Streetlife Serenade, Joel ditched California -- and, by implication, sensitive Californian soft rock from sensitive singer/songwriters -- for his hometown of New York. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" was a celebration of his move, a repudiation of his past, a fanfare for a new beginning, which is exactly what Turnstiles was. He still was a singer/songwriter -- indeed, "Summer, Highland Falls" was his best ballad to date, possibly his best ever -- but he decided to run with his musical talents, turning the record into a whirlwind tour of pop styles, from Sinatra to Springsteen. There's little question that the cinematic sprawl of Born to Run had an effect on Turnstiles, since it has a similar widescreen feel, even if it clocks in at only eight songs. The key to the record's success is variety, the way the album whips from the bouncy, McCartney-esque "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" to the saloon song "New York State of Mind"; the way the bitterly cynical "Angry Young Man" gives way to the beautiful "I've Loved These Days" and the surrealistic apocalyptic fantasy "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)." No matter how much stylistic ground Joel covers, he's kept on track by his backing group. He fought to have his touring band support him on Turnstiles, going to the lengths of firing his original producer, and it was clearly the right move, since they lend the album a cohesive feel. Turnstiles may not have been a hit, but it remains one of his most accomplished and satisfying records, clearly paving the way to his twin peaks of the late '70s, The Stranger and 52nd Street. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

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