Billy Joel- Talented Performer or Schlockmeister?

[djcraig]

In my opinion...

Billy Joel's 1978 "The Stranger" album showed so much promise. It's pop feel and gritty, dark edges deftly maneuvered the boundaries between rock, pop and easy listening.

"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" was a Springsteenian epic about a marital breakup, complete with a Clarence Clemmons like sax solo. "The Stranger", "Moving Out" and "Only The Good Die Young" were appealing, upbeat rockers while "She's Always A Woman" and "Just the Way You Are" demonstrated that Billy knew his way around a heartfelt ballad.

Unfortunately, Billy was never able to live up to the potential of that breakthrough album. He followed up with a series of lightweight pop songs such as "My Life", "You May Be Right", It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" and was never taken as seriously again.

As his career continued, occasional glimpses of brilliance on songs like like "Allentown" and "Pressure" were consistently mixed with embarrassing tripe like "Uptown Girl", "The Longest Time" and "Tell Her About It". One step forward, two steps back.

Make no mistake, Billy's music has been a huge commercial success. But it always bothered me that he could have been so much more.

Seeing someone with the potential gravitas of a Tom Petty morph into something closer to Shaun Cassidy is disturbing and shakes the faith we have in all our Rock Heroes.

[ghosty]

[quote]Originally posted by djcraig
[br]In my opinion...

Billy Joel's 1978 "The Stranger" album showed so much promise. It's pop feel and gritty, dark edges deftly maneuvered the boundaries between rock, pop and easy listening.

"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" was a Springsteenian epic about a marital breakup, complete with a Clarence Clemmons like sax solo. "The Stranger", "Moving Out" and "Only The Good Die Young" were appealing, upbeat rockers while "She's Always A Woman" and "Just the Way You Are" demonstrated that Billy knew his way around a heartfelt ballad.

Unfortunately, Billy was never able to live up to the potential of that breakthrough album. He followed up with a series of lightweight pop songs such as "My Life", "You May Be Right", It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" and was never taken as seriously again.

As his career continued, occasional glimpses of brilliance on songs like like "Allentown" and "Pressure" were consistently mixed with embarrassing tripe like "Uptown Girl", "The Longest Time" and "Tell Her About It". One step forward, two steps back.

Make no mistake, Billy's music has been a huge commercial success. But it always bothered me that he could have been so much more.

Seeing someone with the potential gravitas of a Tom Petty morph into something closer to Shaun Cassidy is disturbing and shakes the faith we have in all our Rock Heroes.
[/quote]

I actually have most of Billy Joel's albums. His music always reminds me of going to pizza parlors in Passaic New Jersey at dusk when I was a little kid in the 70's. I disagree with "Tell her About It" and "Uptown Girl", as they were tracks from Billy's "An Innocent Man" album which was a tribute to early pre-Beatles 60's doo-wop and would have been terribly inauthentic if it had been lyrically "deep".
Joel's major flaw in my opinion is that he once had his own style in the mid-70's and then abandoned it in favor of imitating other acts (Ray Charles, Sting, The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Stones). To his credit, he quit the music biz about 15 years ago when even HE must've realised that he'd run out of ideas.
I think he made decent Lite-FM pop through about 1983 and was pretty good at marrying pleasant music to blunt and ugly lyrics. I mean, I'd rather listen to Billy Joel than The Carpenters or Bread if I was hankering for some easy listening 70's pop.
Things fell apart around "The Bridge" album in 1986. The two records after that are just horrible. Not so much like Shaun Cassidy but more like David Hasselhoff!! Billy Joel is best served with a Greatest Hits package. Probably all you'd really want or need to hear.
Of course when it comes to playing piano he can outplay basically anyone I've ever heard.

[2Nu]

Being a Long Islander, I can surely attest to the popularity of <a href="http://billyjoel.8k.com/albums.htm" target="blank">Billy Joel's music.</a> He has always struck me as a humble and guileless individual despite his much publicized relationship/ breakup with Christie Brinkley, his spate of driving mishaps and visits to rehab.

'The Stranger' was truly a watershed album IMO and it was the motivation to take in my first live concert (for his 52nd St album) at Madison Sq. Garden back in 1979. 'Stiletto' and 'Rosalindas Eyes' are still my faves from the latter album.

His broad appeal draws from his ability to weave together catchy musical (keyboard & guitar) hooks with lyrical content that is neither too heady, preachy nor too inane or insipid. Yes, he has his share of clunkers too. Despite this I do recall reading somewhere that he earned the respect of legendary <a href="http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=929006613" target="blank">singer songwriter Mel Torme.</a>

Obviously, churning out such a plethora of top 40 hits is bound to garner a deep seated dislike for his music in many quarters.

Personally, I am partial to his earlier pre 80's material:
I highly recommend his exellent 1981 'Songs In The Attic' compilation of live renditions of his lesser known album tracks. Miami 2107, Say Goodby To Hollywood, Captain Jack, You're My Home, and The Ballad Of Billy The Kid are versions that IMO are superior to their studio counterparts.

As for his 80's - 90's material only a few held any staying power for me: Sometimes A Fantasy, Pressure, A Matter of Trust, I Go To Extremes.





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[BHols]

Always hated Billy Joel for saying dismissive shit about Eurythmics after Sweet Dreams broke. It was so sour grapes & it put me off him forever.

Fast forward to 2004 where Annie Lennox wins an Oscar & he only makes the news for plowing his drunken ass into the side of some 94 year old lady's house, in Bayville. The best part was she had no idea who Billy Joel was.

Also, I went to Hicksville HS and all of that fake fandom/pride really made me want to barf. I knew none of those people actually listened to his crappy music but they pretended they did for some reason. So bizarre.

[schwenko]

Definitely schlockmeister[V]
Plus, like a cat though he seems to have 9 lives.
I'm always cognizant of his driving "skills" whenever I enter Nassau or Suffolk counties. He actually plowed into a house down the block from my friends house a few years ago. Luckily nobody was hurt,

[Frau_Blucher]

I guess he must have some "talent" to write all these songs and stick around for so long, but I can't stand anything he's done. It's like he's been given the Force but uses it for nothing but pure evil.

[KYYX4ever]

"Allentown" is the only song I like by him. I've no problem with him, but it's not my style of music.

[DayGloJo]

I was one of Joel's biggest fans in the 70s but he lost me after "Glass Houses." It was a total piece of crap compared to what else was out there at the time.

DayGloJo

[Bitter Almonds]

The 70s stuff was alright. I still give it a spin and talk about it with friends. The 80s stuff I keep in a closet and never mention to anyone[:I]

[fritzb]

I've always like Billy Joel. Perhaps it's because I'm a big fan of piano/keyboards oriented music, but I really like the way his songs are constructed, particularly his bridges. I too am partial to his earlier works rather than his later pop material and I like many of his album cuts more than his pop hits.

I am also impressed with his demeanor. For an artist with his level of success, I've always found him to be quite down to earth and grounded. If you ever get a chance to see his interview on the Inside The Actor's Studio, I think you will see what I mean.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

Billy's one of those guys that has a handful of songs I absolutely love. Back when I was managing a cd store, I bought a copy of his first boxset off some crackhead for 10 bucks. I've only listened to it once so it's hard to say whether or not I got a great deal. [?]

[marie3]

I like some of his music. I think he is talented.
I remember listening to The Stranger" album over and over when I was younger.
I always like the lyrics for "We didn't Start the Fire".

He grew up down the block from my parents house. Virgina from "Only the good Die Young" lived a house away from me in Hicksville.
Like BHols, I went to the same high school as Billy Joel and he was looked up to there.
My friend lived next door to the house he grew up in and once he came by and gave us autographs. ( I must have been 12 or 13) I don't have anything bad to say about him except he needs to hire a driver when he drinks!

[NuWaveRx]

I've only got his greatest hits stuff, so I'm not what you'd call a big fan. That being said I do think he is a good songwriter. As craig mentioned, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a great piece of songwriting. And some of his earlier hits I certainly like--up through The Nylon Curtain, I'd say. Plus I have to give credit to the only guy in the history of pop music to have a hit with the word Thalidomide in it.

As far as "lightweight" pop songs etc. He certainly has written his fair share of them--but he wouldn't be the first songwriter to have tailored his music to generate hits and money (that he promptly blew)

Phil Collins, anyone?

[Moparmark]

Billy Joel as well as Tom Petty are definitely two artists who seem to have been around for ever.I almost feel like I grew up with them.
To me Billy Joel is best heard on the radio at work or driving where
you don,t really have to pay attention to him.I don,t like or dislike
Billy Joel he,s kinda like the guy who has worked at the hardware store for 30 years you kind of get used to him.I do agree after The
Stranger it was a slow decent into blandness.

[Grunch]

I've always liked his material, even the non-hits, up through about his first 6 releases. Thereafter, it was hit and miss on some of his 80s CD's. Still, the man wrote many excellent songs. I guess I don;t care a whole lot about his private life and what he says or does, otherwise many artists I really dig I would not buy if I judged them on that criteria. I just dig his music, he can crash all he wants as long as he doesn't injure innocent bystanders, etc.......and hey, he had some years with Christie Brinkley, no matter how you slice it, he had one great piece of pie for awhile.