Billy Joel

[dreambear]

I ashamed to tell you, but I have just seriously discovered Billy Joel. I always thought of him as a kind of "B-Elton John", but how wrong I was. I have started from scratch and we have bought his first 3 albums and my holy God. They are brilliant. By the way: Ronnie Tutt play drums on the Piano man album.

[keninlincs]

Billy is a great artist .you have a wealth of good music to catch up on

[Mike Eder]

Cold Spring Harbor (the original mix with the long You Can Make Me Free) is the one I like most. Hassals first LP is cool too.

[greystoke]

Billy Joel is a favourite of mine, too -- he's a marvellous musician, a splendid songwriter and a fine singer. The Stranger and Piano Man are among my favourite albums -- do seek out the terrific Legacy Editions of these. An Innocent Man is also very good, as is Turnstiles. But there's a wealth of fine albums and great music to discover from Joel.

[dreambear]

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

[greystoke]

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

[dreambear]

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

[Mike Eder]

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

Again don't miss out on his pre Piano Man stuff, a lot of it is really cool if unknown generally.

[keninlincs]

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

[Mike Eder]

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

It has a real nice edgey sixties feel. Both of their albums are pretty cool.

[keninlincs]

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

It has a real nice edgey sixties feel. Both of their albums are pretty cool.

I agree Mike

[rjm]

I've been unfair to him, too. His catalogue has quite some depth that you don't necessarily hear on the radio.

rjm

[dreambear]

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

Again don't miss out on his pre Piano Man stuff, a lot of it is really cool if unknown generally.

Cold Spring Harbor was the first album I bought it made me a real fan. Have I missed other recordings before Piano man?

[Robt]

Hey Billy Joel fans,

Have a Look at this one. LOL Doesn't he Look a lot like Al Pacino ?

[drjohncarpenter]

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

[Robt]

I always thought Glass Houses was a classic, in particular "All for Leyna" "Just a Fantasy" and "Don't Ask me Why". Too each their own, I guess Johnno check out "The Entertainer" from the above England 1978 gig.

[Robt]

Here's another Billy Joel concert I found on YT. At Wembly in 1984 this time -

[Robt]

The Billy Joel concerts on Ytube are coming thru thick and fast! Will be definetly downloading these over the Xmas holidays -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNnkq6PhWM


From the same concert but edited out from the special. Great spontaneous duel of B&TJ by the Piano Men on this -

[dreambear]

"The Stranger" is on it´s way!!!! Can hardy wait!

[TJ]

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

Yes he did. You can really hear McCartney on a track like "Don't Ask Me Why" but some of Joel's more raucous moments also seem to be a nod in that direction.

I've always felt that Joel slips out of his own voice on occasion, when a song arrangement/mood reminds him of another artist. The example above is one, but I also detect some Jagger in "You May Be Right" and even some Neil Diamond in "All About Soul".

[drjohncarpenter]

I always thought Glass Houses was a classic ...

No surprise there.

... check out "The Entertainer" from the above England 1978 gig.

No need. I know the BBC1 "Old Grey Whistle Test" performance from March 14, 1978, as it was issued on DVD.

`

[Robt]

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

Yes he did. You can really hear McCartney on a track like "Don't Ask Me Why" but some of Joel's more raucous moments also seem to be a nod in that direction.

I've always felt that Joel slips out of his own voice on occasion, when a song arrangement/mood reminds him of another artist. The example above is one, but I also detect some Jagger in "You May Be Right" and even some Neil Diamond in "All About Soul".

Interesting point. Back in 1980 when the record was on release, I remember hearing "Through the Long Night" on radio and thought it was Paul only to hear the announcer stating it was from Joel's Glass House record.

[Robt]

Live cut of a song from the Piano Man record. Anyone here know or like this song ?

[dreambear]

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

I listened to "52nd street" on my way to work today. The third track on the album, "My life", has a part that sounds extremely like Paul McCartney. It´s probably "With a little luck" from "London town" I´m thinking of: Listen at 1:14-1:29 (My life): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghGuw6E7Vfg

Then listen to Wings at 0:50-1:25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XViNAoCq-k

"With a little luck" was released march 20 1978. "My life" was released in october 1978, so it isn´t impossible that Billy listetend and got inspired by Wings´ US no 1 hit. "My life" reached no 2, by the way.

"52nd street" is a bit mor "jazzy" than his previous records. Nice listening!

[r&b]

His voice makes me cringe especially when tries to pretend rock as someone mentioned. He has some nice songs, but Ive seen better singers in a lounge. If I ever hear My Life while driving, I may veer off the road! What an annoying song.