Billy Joel - An extremely popular artist, and deservedly so. Im watching him on T.V. get some sort of lifetime award of one sort or another. And younger Rock Contouriers out there may not realize how great a record The Stranger is. Oh, Billy had a seminal hit, The Piano Man, before that record, and he had a ton of hits afterward. But he never hit the artistic achievement of The Stranger again. The follow up, 52nd Street, was very, very good... but it wasnt at the same level as The Stranger. And nothing that followed, for all his successes, came close to those two records. It seems funny to say this, but he never sounded as much like Billy Joel as he did on The Stranger. And what I mean by that is that this record has a sound that is uniquely his - doesnt sound like anyone else. Lots of records have obvious reference points, but if this one does I couldnt tell you what it is. Just listen to all the textures and movements to his classic Scenes From An Italian Restaurant. Who writes like that today? The craftsmanship that goes into making something that intricate and that sounds so wonderful. My big test with music is repeatability. Can a song be listened to over and over ago and still stay fresh and compelling? Do you just have to listen to it again? Despite an eviction notice, does it simply refuse to leave your head? What is that magic do you think? Can you bottle it? Can you break it down into a formula? Whatever that ingredient is, it seems the Billy added it to every single song on The Stranger. Double dollops for some of them, be damned with the health consequences. So live large and do yourself a favour and acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with this record. https://youtube/watch?v=JUz48xw_OiM
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 03:24:52 +0000
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