Billy Joel Appreciation

[KevShmev]

I did the ranking engine for fun with his songs and came out with this top 25.  Looks about right. 

1   Allentown
2   Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
3   Prelude/Angry Young Man
4   Pressure
5   Captain Jack
6   New York State of Mind
7   Piano Man
8   Uptown Girl
9   Tell Her About It
10   The Entertainer
11   The Stranger
12   The Downeaster Alexa
13   The Longest Time
14   Zanzibar
15   Vienna
16   Don't Ask Me Why
17   She's Right On Time
18   Only the Good Die Young
19   Say Goodbye to Hollywood
20   Miami 2017
21   Goodnight Siagon
22   Movin' Out
23   She's Always a Woman
24   All for Aleyna
25   I Go to Extremes

[Trav86]

My Life isn’t top 25?

[Kwyjibo]

Billy Joel has so many great songs, I couldn't pick one song for best song. But a lot of good ones have been mentioned.

[Kram]

I did the ranking engine for fun with his songs and came out with this top 25.  Looks about right. 

1   Allentown
2   Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
3   Prelude/Angry Young Man
4   Pressure
5   Captain Jack
6   New York State of Mind
7   Piano Man
8   Uptown Girl
9   Tell Her About It
10   The Entertainer
11   The Stranger
12   The Downeaster Alexa
13   The Longest Time
14   Zanzibar
15   Vienna
16   Don't Ask Me Why
17   She's Right On Time
18   Only the Good Die Young
19   Say Goodbye to Hollywood
20   Miami 2017
21   Goodnight Siagon
22   Movin' Out
23   She's Always a Woman
24   All for Aleyna
25   I Go to Extremes

Allentown would definitely not be my number one though.

[KevShmev]

My Life isn’t top 25?

Do you see it listed?

Allentown would definitely not be my number one though.

Then your list is a fail. 

[Lupton]

Summer. Highland. Falls.

Shit, the whole Turnstiles album. So many great albums. So many great songs.

[DTA]

Billy's got such a weird bug up his ass about Tell Her About It. He refuses to play it live for some reason even though it was a pretty big song of his.

I Don't Want To Be Alone and Leave A Tender Moment Alone are two songs of his that really fly under everyone's radar but I think they're outstanding.

[cfmoran13]

My Number 1 would probably be Miami 2017 (from Songs In The Attic).  It has so much more energy than the original.  My Number 2 would probably be The Ballad Of Billy The Kid (also from Songs In The Attic).

As far as songs flying under the radar...  Until The Night from 52nd Street is fantastic.  Such a beautiful and moody song.  C'était Toi from Glass Houses is another one.

[KevShmev]

Billy's got such a weird bug up his ass about Tell Her About It. He refuses to play it live for some reason even though it was a pretty big song of his.

 

Hmmm, I cannot remember if he played that the one time I saw him in 1999, but I know that was when he still wasn't playing Uptown Girl.  The thing is though, he has so many hits that he can leave off a few and the set list will still be really heavy on the hits.  Tom Petty was that way the one time I saw him as well.  He left off a few big hits, but it didn't matter cause the set list still had a zillion other hits.

[Orbert]

Uptown Girl and Tell Her About it are both from 1983, same album (An Innocent Man).  Billy was red hot, banging Elle Macpherson and then Christie Brinkley.  I wouldn't be surprised if Billy avoids those songs now.  If I was banging supermodels at some point in my life (yeah right), I wouldn't want to sing songs that remind me how I used to bang supermodels, especially when I've got so many other songs.

[Kram]

Uptown Girl and Tell Her About it are both from 1983, same album (An Innocent Man).  Billy was red hot, banging Elle Macpherson and then Christie Brinkley.  I wouldn't be surprised if Billy avoids those songs now.  If I was banging supermodels at some point in my life (yeah right), I wouldn't want to sing songs that remind me how I used to bang supermodels, especially when I've got so many other songs.

I believe I read once somewhere that it did have something to do with Christie Brinkley.  That was a long time ago though.

[KevShmev]

Uptown Girl is definitely about Christine Brinkley.  Heck, she is even heavily featured in the video! I forgot about him dating Elle, so it might be about her, too.  My memory is a little fuzzy. 

[SoundscapeMN]

Bosom Buddies with Billy Joel

[Stadler]

I did the ranking engine for fun with his songs and came out with this top 25.  Looks about right. 

1   Allentown
2   Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
3   Prelude/Angry Young Man
4   Pressure
5   Captain Jack
6   New York State of Mind
7   Piano Man
8   Uptown Girl
9   Tell Her About It
10   The Entertainer
11   The Stranger
12   The Downeaster Alexa
13   The Longest Time
14   Zanzibar
15   Vienna
16   Don't Ask Me Why
17   She's Right On Time
18   Only the Good Die Young
19   Say Goodbye to Hollywood
20   Miami 2017
21   Goodnight Siagon
22   Movin' Out
23   She's Always a Woman
24   All for Aleyna
25   I Go to Extremes

I'm traveling this week... this might be something for the down time.

[Harmony]

Summer. Highland. Falls.

Shit, the whole Turnstiles album. So many great albums. So many great songs.

Oh hell YES 

[KevShmev]

I did the ranking engine for fun with his songs and came out with this top 25.  Looks about right. 

1   Allentown
2   Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
3   Prelude/Angry Young Man
4   Pressure
5   Captain Jack
6   New York State of Mind
7   Piano Man
8   Uptown Girl
9   Tell Her About It
10   The Entertainer
11   The Stranger
12   The Downeaster Alexa
13   The Longest Time
14   Zanzibar
15   Vienna
16   Don't Ask Me Why
17   She's Right On Time
18   Only the Good Die Young
19   Say Goodbye to Hollywood
20   Miami 2017
21   Goodnight Siagon
22   Movin' Out
23   She's Always a Woman
24   All for Aleyna
25   I Go to Extremes

I'm traveling this week... this might be something for the down time.

Still waiting for your list.

(I listened to a lot of Billy Joel yesterday, so I have him on the brain)

[Samsara]

I'm such a huge Billy Joel fan. My mom remembers at him at some parties back in the early 70s (we're from Long Island and she grew up not too far from him). One of the first records I remember from back in the late-70s was my parents' copy of 52nd Street on vinyl.

There's another thread somewhere that talks about how where an artist is from, particularly those from the 70s and 80s, gets into the music and you just hear the location. Billy, aside from the lyrical references...his tunes are totally Long Island. They've got a way about them. I don't know what it is...

[KevShmev]

I'm such a huge Billy Joel fan. My mom remembers at him at some parties back in the early 70s (we're from Long Island and she grew up not too far from him). One of the first records I remember from back in the late-70s was my parents' copy of 52nd Street on vinyl.

There's another thread somewhere that talks about how where an artist is from, particularly those from the 70s and 80s, gets into the music and you just hear the location. Billy, aside from the lyrical references...his tunes are totally Long Island. They've got a way about them. I don't know what it is...

Rumor has it that he has a New York state of mind.

[Samsara]

And he's seen the lights go out on Broadway...

[KevShmev]

 

I'd actually love do a quick top 25 countdown for him (like the Maiden, Rush, Queensryche, etc. ones), but not sure if we'd be able to get enough contributors to make it worthwhile.

[Samsara]

It would likely be tough. But if you ever did, I'd be in!

[DTA]

I'd definitely be down

[Kram]

I'd actually love do a quick top 25 countdown for him (like the Maiden, Rush, Queensryche, etc. ones), but not sure if we'd be able to get enough contributors to make it worthwhile.

I'm in if you do a top 25.  I never do these list things, as quite frankly I don't really have the time to mess with it (trying to figure out a top 100 for Rush or top 75 for PT would be excruciating for me), but I was a huge Billy Joel fan growing up, so put me in for a top 25 if it helps you guys out.

[Stadler]

I'm in for that, but I'm struggling to just do a top 25.  He's one of "those" artists for me; I almost never consider him one of my three or four favorites, but I can go on a Billy Joel kick and just listen to him for DAYS.  The Stranger is a perfect album, top to bottom, and one of my favorites since I was a little kid.

"Slow down, you crazy child..." 

[KevShmev]

It's crazy how Vienna went from being just a deep cut on his most popular album to being one of his most popular songs now.  Go look at the streaming numbers.  It's now in the same stratosphere as Uptown Girl and Piano Man. There is no way anyone could have predicted that.

[Kram]

It's crazy how Vienna went from being just a deep cut on his most popular album to being one of his most popular songs now.  Go look at the streaming numbers.  It's now in the same stratosphere as Uptown Girl and Piano Man. There is no way anyone could have predicted that.

Always loved that song.

[KevShmev]

I never think about him when I think of favorite lyricists, but I probably should. Most of my favorites are ones whose lyrics I notice in a positive way on a regular basis, and he definitely falls into that category.

[Stadler]

I never think about him when I think of favorite lyricists, but I probably should. Most of my favorites are ones whose lyrics I notice in a positive way on a regular basis, and he definitely falls into that category.

Good call!

I think too, we should note that he's still a productive, powerful musician - he sells out MSG regularly - but has completely - I think there might be ONE single in the intervening time - walked away from the grind of "studio production".  His last album was, if memory serves, 1993, and he has zero intention of ever doing another one again.  I admire that, deeply.

[Samsara]

It's crazy how Vienna went from being just a deep cut on his most popular album to being one of his most popular songs now.  Go look at the streaming numbers.  It's now in the same stratosphere as Uptown Girl and Piano Man. There is no way anyone could have predicted that.

Yeah, Vienna was a rarity for sure. He plays it all the time now. Love that song.

re: lyrics - what I love about Billy is that you can really relate to his lyrics. Early on, a lot of it was local stuff, which being a Long Islander, I recognized and loved. But as he got older, he got better and really writes the kind of realistic stuff - relationships, age, children, that I can appreciate and evolve with.

[Stadler]

It's crazy how Vienna went from being just a deep cut on his most popular album to being one of his most popular songs now.  Go look at the streaming numbers.  It's now in the same stratosphere as Uptown Girl and Piano Man. There is no way anyone could have predicted that.

Yeah, Vienna was a rarity for sure. He plays it all the time now. Love that song.

re: lyrics - what I love about Billy is that you can really relate to his lyrics. Early on, a lot of it was local stuff, which being a Long Islander, I recognized and loved. But as he got older, he got better and really writes the kind of realistic stuff - relationships, age, children, that I can appreciate and evolve with.

For a guy who even he will admit barely got out of high school, he's a VERY eloquent man, and has a real turn of phrase in some of his lyrics. 

[KevShmev]

I never think about him when I think of favorite lyricists, but I probably should. Most of my favorites are ones whose lyrics I notice in a positive way on a regular basis, and he definitely falls into that category.

Good call!

I think too, we should note that he's still a productive, powerful musician - he sells out MSG regularly - but has completely - I think there might be ONE single in the intervening time - walked away from the grind of "studio production".  His last album was, if memory serves, 1993, and he has zero intention of ever doing another one again.  I admire that, deeply.

I do as well.  Rather than being an aging musician who spit out a new record every few years just so he could say he had a new one, he pretty much said that he had nothing else new to say, and he seems to be enjoying his status as a legacy artist.

It's crazy how Vienna went from being just a deep cut on his most popular album to being one of his most popular songs now.  Go look at the streaming numbers.  It's now in the same stratosphere as Uptown Girl and Piano Man. There is no way anyone could have predicted that.

Yeah, Vienna was a rarity for sure. He plays it all the time now. Love that song.

re: lyrics - what I love about Billy is that you can really relate to his lyrics. Early on, a lot of it was local stuff, which being a Long Islander, I recognized and loved. But as he got older, he got better and really writes the kind of realistic stuff - relationships, age, children, that I can appreciate and evolve with.

For a guy who even he will admit barely got out of high school, he's a VERY eloquent man, and has a real turn of phrase in some of his lyrics.

For sure.  Hell, I am not a NY guy, or even an East Coast one, but there is something about the lyrics to New York State of Mind that resonates. And who doesn't love the story of Brenda and Eddie in Scenes...?! 

[Kram]

I never think about him when I think of favorite lyricists, but I probably should. Most of my favorites are ones whose lyrics I notice in a positive way on a regular basis, and he definitely falls into that category.

Good call!

I think too, we should note that he's still a productive, powerful musician - he sells out MSG regularly - but has completely - I think there might be ONE single in the intervening time - walked away from the grind of "studio production".  His last album was, if memory serves, 1993, and he has zero intention of ever doing another one again.  I admire that, deeply.

See, I admire this as well, if he feels he has nothing left to say musically, why just go through the motions of recording new music.  But at the same time, I find it hard to believe that a guy who was such a prolific songwriter, has had nothing to say in 30 years, you know?

[Samsara]

I'm sure he does have something to say. But if he doesn't feel the need to express it lyrically, all the more power to him, I guess. Billy has always struck me as someone who says things like he sees them. And in this day and age, that's difficult to do, unfortunately. I mean, who wants a 70-year-old pop rock star complaining or calling things out? He'd just get hammered on, ya know? And even if he just kept it relationship-based, what's he going to talk about - how much he loves being a rich old guy with grandkids?

So in some ways, I understand his silence. He can rock out to his old standards, where everyone in attendance is happy, and not have to think about writing new material that people can relate to.

Although I'll obviously never be as rich or famous as Billy Joel, I understand to a degree. Things I think about and say now, from my perspective, are that of a middle aged white dude from New York. The world is a lot more diverse and colorful than it was while I was growing up. So different. My "perspective" is outdated to a degree. (As much as I can't believe how much time has passed.) And if I were a songwriter, I'm not sure I could relate to folks a generation or two younger than me. And Billy would need to.

[cfmoran13]

He's one of those artists whose last song was absolutely perfect, "Famous Last Words".  He couldn't have chosen a more fitting song as the final song on his final studio album.  He definitely lost something when he fired off his band and went with almost all new people for River Of Dreams.  They just had a feel that was awesome.  But, he's someone whose music I've personally loved for over 40 years.

[KevShmev]

My joke for years has been that Rivers of Dreams being the most popular song off the album of the same name was a clear sign to Billy that the creative well had run dry, but my joke doesn't disguise the fact that I think that song sucks.