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Billy Joel

Jazz Kat

By Jazz Kat
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JSngry Grand Master

JSngry

Posted
Posted

The songs (which are often enough interesting from a melodic/harmonic standpoint) should be allowed to have a life away from the songwriter/performer (who has always struck me as, if not lame, sorta...uh...unpleasant).

Then we could tell for sure.

Maybe.

Hot Ptah Newbie

Hot Ptah

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In 1979, I saw Oscar Peterson play a solo piano concert, and he played "I Love You Just The Way You Are", introducing it as "one of the best songs of the Seventies." That is the only good version of a Billy Joel song I have heard played by another, to date.

Jazz Kat Newbie

Jazz Kat

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In 1979, I saw Oscar Peterson play a solo piano concert, and he played "I Love You Just The Way You Are", introducing it as "one of the best songs of the Seventies." That is the only good version of a Billy Joel song I have heard played by another, to date.

Shelly Berg does a nice version of She's Always a Women.

jazzbo Grand Master

jazzbo

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I really don't like that annoying guy at all or his songs.

I do have one cd that is a Billy Joel cd that I think is really good, it's his classical piano pieces performed by Richard Joo and recorded in magnificent sound. Really the pianist and the sound bring out the fantastical elements.

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JSngry Grand Master

JSngry

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As good or BETTER THAN fucking Springsteen. You can't deny Billy Joel the tunesmith & occasionally as a writer... as hot as the best Elton/Bernie? Probably not. As obnoxious/portentous/bloated/jive as the worst Springsteen? No. Better than Paul McCartney post-'68? Of course. Do I "care" about any of this?

Hell fucking no.

Exactly. And I don't care about Elton/Bernie either (except for extreme dislike), having seen them help me turn my generation into mushbrains.

Especially the dudes.

Alexander Newbie

Alexander

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I grew up listening to his music because my parents liked him. Since, along with the Beatles, this was the first music I ever heard, I have a certain nostalgia for it. The one Joel album I really like (and own on CD) is called "Turnstiles." It contains a wonderful song called "Summer Highland Falls" that ranks as one of my all time favorite pop tunes. I recommend checking it out. "Turnstiles" was the album Joel recorded before "The Stranger" made him into a big star, and for me it's like "Revolver" to "Sgt. Pepper": It's not as well known or celebrated, but it's actually the better album.

Joe G Newbie

Joe G

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And I don't care about Elton/Bernie either (except for extreme dislike), having seen them help me turn my generation into mushbrains.

Especially the dudes.

Well. Aren't you the ungrateful one. :beee:

Jazz Kat Newbie

Jazz Kat

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I grew up listening to his music because my parents liked him. Since, along with the Beatles, this was the first music I ever heard, I have a certain nostalgia for it. The one Joel album I really like (and own on CD) is called "Turnstiles." It contains a wonderful song called "Summer Highland Falls" that ranks as one of my all time favorite pop tunes. I recommend checking it out. "Turnstiles" was the album Joel recorded before "The Stranger" made him into a big star, and for me it's like "Revolver" to "Sgt. Pepper": It's not as well known or celebrated, but it's actually the better album.

I have every BJ album ever made on cd. My mom won a contest and got all of his cd's in the mail. I wanted to sell them, but she wouldn't let me. :rolleyes:

I have listened to Turnstiles. Say Goodbye to Hollywood and James, and there's another track on it, that has some good arrangements. I think it's number 7. Don't know the name. I was just listening to it this morning.

Edited by Jazz Kat
JSngry Grand Master

JSngry

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And I don't care about Elton/Bernie either (except for extreme dislike), having seen them help me turn my generation into mushbrains.

Especially the dudes.

Well. Aren't you the ungrateful one. :beee:

OOPS! :blush: I take no credit whatsoever!

Nah man, I saw a whole generation of guys turn into clueless pseudo "sensitive" types thanks to Elton, only to have their hormonal chain simultaneously yanked by Grand Funk. Garbage on both ends, and it showed as the years passed.

You can blame the worst of 1970s Heartland American Young White Male Behavior of the 70s (which is to say almost of of it) almost entirely on Elton John & Grand Funk Railroad.

And if there's anything left over, add Gary Muledeer to the list. :g

jazzbo Grand Master

jazzbo

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Hmmm. . . .seems I can't blame my behavioral problems on either Elton John or Grand Funk Railroad as I refused to listen to either willingly. And I didn't unwillingly hear enough to mar or scar me I don't think.

It's probably all John Lee Hooker and Joe Zawinul and Jack DeJohnette and Jimi Hendrix's fault.

Dan Gould Mentor

Dan Gould

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I remember when The Stranger exploded all over pop/AOR radio and since I'm a bit older than Alexander, I can cop to actually owning the album, which is in fact a true classic, IMO. Subsequent albums revealed too much of his latent sensitive singer-songwriter side as well as a super-sized ego. I grew less and less interested post-The Stranger until my brother came home from college with an album titled Songs From The Attic which takes the best of his pre-Stranger songs and presents them in various live settings from small club to big arena. This led me to explore his earlier albums, none of which are as consistently satisfying as Songs From The Attic.

Having established that there are Billy Joel songs and albums that I enjoy, I must also say that there has got to be a toasty place in hell waiting ever since he wrote "We Didn't Start The Fire". :bad:

Quincy Newbie

Quincy

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If his name ever came up when talking with friends, it was always Billy Fucking Joel, never ever just Billy Joel.

When doing solo shows in '84 Elvis Costello used to make jokes in-between songs about "this next one is a Billy Joel number" just to scare the audience. Can't remember the song but one of his did start very similar to "Just The Way You Are."

Never thought I'd see Love mentioned in a Billy Joel thread, but yes JazzKat, listen to Clementine!

Alexander Newbie

Alexander

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I enjoy Love's albums as much as the next guy, but I don't understand this "either/or" mentality. Why can't one like both? Clem seems to imply that once one listens to Love he/she will lose any desire to hear Billy Joel (he has made similar statements on other threads regarding other artists). I don't get it. "Forever Changes" IS a great album. So is "Turnstiles." I have both. I enjoy both.

I guess I've just become sick and tired of hating. I really don't hate anything anymore. I try to find something worthwhile in everything I hear. If I don't find anything, I don't hate it, I just don't like it. For me I guess it's become something of a quest to become open to everything. And it's working. I've bought things I NEVER thought I'd listen to a few years ago. I feel that nothing good ever came from ignorance. And if you haven't sat down and digested an album, that's what you're speaking from: Ignorance.

Chuck Nessa Mentor

Chuck Nessa

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In 1973, while a CBS/Columbia Records employee, all the NYC honchos brought BJ to Boston as an introduction. It was a private party at a hotel (25 or so guests) and BJ played piano/sang stuff from the first lp. It was an interesting sociological study. Chris might be able to shed more light on the mentality of the day.

Dan Gould Mentor

Dan Gould

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In 1973, while a CBS/Columbia Records employee, all the NYC honchos brought BJ to Boston as an introduction. It was a private party at a hotel (25 or so guests) and BJ played piano/sang stuff from the first lp. It was an interesting sociological study. Chris might be able to shed more light on the mentality of the day.

I don't understand the point of this remembrance. What made it an "interesting sociological study"? For that matter, what did you think of him?

Chuck Nessa Mentor

Chuck Nessa

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Huge corp pushing a singer/songwriter by spending huge bucks and bringing all the head honchos to Boston really intrigued me. The list of "invitees" (press, bookers, wholesale customers, etc) was very interesting. Add to that the pressure on the "artist" to impress these folks. The "machine" at the top of it's game.

Guess you'd have to know the industry from the inside to understand. Maybe Chris A could explain.

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