Billy Joel album-by-album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by PhilipB, Apr 14, 2017.

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  1. CirculationUnderflow

    CirculationUnderflow Well-Known Member

    Location:
    florida
    WOW sorry Im behind in this thread. Only one mention of Stiletto (52nd) and about a live version. COmeon that album version rocks. Snapping my fingers now

    Whats the hate with close to the boarderline. One Billys best hard rockers, all I know is DONT KNOW WHY IM STILL A NICE GUY BUT IM GETTING CLOSE TO THE BOARDERLINE

    sorry these albums smoke the stranger and all the others. but what can I say Im a rocker and Im just trying to get to 2nd base and Id steal it if she only gave the sign
     
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  2. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    I remember my Dad (who is only a few years older than Mr. Joel himself) just LOVED the "River of Dreams" single in the summer of 1993 and was constantly stopping by the record store in those pre-internet days to see if the album was out yet. He liked it because it took him back to the Motown/do-wop stuff of his youth and, quote, "Billy Joel does it so damn well."
     
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  3. Aphoristical

    Aphoristical Aphoristic Album Reviews

    I don't really like the modern rock sound Joel was going for on Storm Front and The River of Dreams - all of his Phil Ramone stuff sounded really good, although I guess he needed to stay contemporary. There are songs like 'A Minor Variation', 'When In Rome' and 'That's Not Her Style' that don't really work for me.

    On The River of Dreams I do really like the title track - it got lots of radio play too. Otherwise, all I really like about it are some big memorable choruses in 'The Great Wall of China', 'Shades of Grey', and 'All About Soul'.
     
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  4. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element


    "I've already been every place that I'm going." - Sounds like a man ready to retire
     
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  5. Huntigula

    Huntigula Idiot Savant

    Location:
    Brighton, MI
    Billy Joel never really got his due in my house growing up. But, as I wanted to know all there was to know about the classics, I decided to check out some of his stuff. I grew up with We Didn't Start the Fire and River of Dreams, so I just worked my way back from there. I fell in love with Glass Houses, and just recently scooped up a copy of vinyl and cassette. Side note: the phone number dialed in the beginning of "Sometimes a Fantasy" is different on my tape and record than on the CD. Therefore, I rank GH as my number one BJ album as a whole. I follow that one up with 52nd Street, the The Bridge (sue me!), and Nylon Curtain and The Stranger round out my top five.

    I believe that his singles were always great, and there were always a couple of clunkers per album. But GH is perfect to me, start to finish.
     
  6. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...


    Whether you like "All About Soul" or not (I do), it was a big improvement over this!
     
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  7. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Is there a boxset of his albums available or planned? (CD or vinyl)
     
  8. JamesRR

    JamesRR Trashcan Dream

    Location:
    NYC
    A few years ago a complete albums collection was released on CD, with each album packaged mini-LP style. Went all the way to the classical album. Many of his earlier albums have been released by Mobile Fidelity over the last few years, and Friday music did a release of his catalog as well on vinyl.
     
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  9. PhilipB

    PhilipB Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Apologies for the delay in doing this last post, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So I'm going to do two albums:

    Greatest Hits Volume III (1997)

    [​IMG]

    Released: 19 August 1997

    The Greatest Hits Volume III album includes hits from 1983 to 1997. Two previously unreleased studio tracks are included, "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl", while the third new track, "Light as the Breeze", was originally recorded for a Leonard Cohen tribute album known as Tower of Song in 1995. All three tracks are newly recorded covers (a rare occurrence in his catalogue).

    Chronologically, Greatest Hits Volume III overlaps slightly with Volume II, as the first two tracks, "Keeping the Faith" and "An Innocent Man", first appeared on his album An Innocent Man.

    "To Make You Feel My Love"
    "Hey Girl"
    "Light as a Breeze"

    "To Make You Feel My Love" Music Video
    "Hey Girl" Music Video"


    Fantasies & Delusions (2001) [classical album]

    [​IMG]

    Fantasies & Delusions is the thirteenth and final studio album released by Billy Joel and it is the first (and so far only) album of his classical compositions, released in 2001. It is also (as of 2017) the last album featuring any original material by Joel. The pieces were performed by Richard Joo, who has been a long-time friend of Joel. The album was originally recorded at Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York with help from long time production coordinator Bill Zampino and Richie Cannata. The album was re-recorded in Vienna, Austria for final release.

    It was Joel's 19th album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #83 in October 2001.

    In 2003, pianist Jeffrey Biegel approached Joel about a commission for a piano concerto. As an alternative, Joel suggested that Biegel create a piano concerto using pieces from Fantasies and Delusions. Biegel did so, using four of the pieces: "Fantasy (Film Noir)", "Sorbetto", "Reverie (Villa d'Este)", and "Nunley's Carousel Waltz". After Biegel had written the piano part, Nashville composer Philip Keveren composed the orchestral parts. The work, titled "Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and Orchestra", premiered on June 24, 2006 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Biegel was the pianist, accompanied by the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra led by Stuart Malina.
     
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  10. candyflip69

    candyflip69 What's good?!

    Location:
    Melb, AUSTRALIA
    Thanks OP :righton:
    It's been....real.
     
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  11. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    Despite having almost all of Joel's releases, I've never felt compelled to buy Fantasies & Delusions. It's not that I dislike classical music, not at all. But I've been disappointed in Macca's attempts at classical compositions, and absolutely hated Joe Jackson's stabs at it. Does anyone have an opinion on F&D?
     
  12. JamesRR

    JamesRR Trashcan Dream

    Location:
    NYC
    I really like F&D. Mind you, at times it feels like a reworking of the great Romantic era music, rather than being extremely unique. You can tell Billy listened to classical and we all know he's heavily influenced by it. But it feels like an homage rather than someone carving out his own musical identity within the genre.

    And not that there's anything wrong with that. I love instrumental music, and from time to time I'll put this on as I appreciate Billy's efforts (particularly his admission that he himself wasn't skilled enough to play this music). I find it more enjoyable than McCartney's Working Classical, and it's probably because I'm classically trained and the music speaks more to me.
     
  13. tonyc

    tonyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I like "Light As A Breeze" the best among the new songs on "Greatest Hits Volume III". I like that it went back to cover a couple of hits from "An Innocent Man". Despite his hatred for "Modern Woman" it belongs over six songs from "Storm Front".

    I recommend the 4 CD "Complete Hits Collection 1973-1997" longbox for album versions of all songs and the bonus disc for extras like the making of "Vienna".
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2017
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  14. GubGub

    GubGub Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sussex
    Have been off the grid for a while and am now catching up so I'll deal with the last few records in one go. I like about half of Storm Front & River Of Dreams. The former contains some of my favourites of his songs. Leningrad and The Downeaster Alexa in particular. River of Dreams was a pretty big album in the UK so Billy's retirement came as a shock to us. It is an album of two halves and it is the second half that I like. The run of songs from All About Soul to Famous Last Words is as strong as almost anything else in BJ's back catalogue.

    The new tracks on GH3 I thought were disposable. I think this was the first time I heard Dylan's To Make You Feel My Love but it is a pretty stodgy performance and the least satisfying of the many covers that have subsequently become familiar. Dylan's own rendition remains my personal favourite.
     
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  15. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I've listened to it once or twice via streaming, and you aren't missing much. I think if he did a classical piece for full orchestra, I'd be much more interested in exploring it and giving it some repeated listens. At the time of F&D's release, I kind of thought that was where he was going to go...Billy is much more pragmatic than Macca, he started with some very modest solo piano sonatas, rather than going full-on into his own Liverpool Oratorio from the start, but obviously that never happened. It's not that Joel's sonatas are bad, but they sound like the kind of thing a music student would write for a senior thesis; nothing wrong with that, but as there's nothing tying it to Joel's popular works, there's no reason to listen to it over, say, any of Beehoven's solo piano works. (According to wikipedia, a few F&D pieces were later orchestrated by others, with Joel's approval but not his input)

    Thinking about songs like "Until The Night", assuming we're never going to get another pop album from Billy Joel, it's almost a shame his classical ambitions sort of ended with this release...a full symphony could be interesting. Lord knows many pop musicians have dabbled in such things, but his could be more interesting than most, if he ever decided to do it.
     
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  16. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    They were reeeeeeallly stretching with that release.
     
  17. JamesRR

    JamesRR Trashcan Dream

    Location:
    NYC
    This is a very good analysis of F&D. Joel has said he's continued to write instrumental music, but it's almost as if he's too lazy to actually develop it into something. He's very influenced by classical music so it's a shame he hasn't done more.
     
  18. Hep Alien

    Hep Alien Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    This is fantastic thread; thank you PhilipB. :wave:
    I am still trying to narrow down the start and end month/year for each member of the Billy Joel Band that joined from 1971-1982. Please chime in if you have information.
    What month did David Brown leave the 1986-1987 tour (he appears in footage from October 1986 in Philadelphia, but may have been replaced by Kevin Dukes by the time they reached England in July 1987) and what month in 1988 (because he plays on 9 of the songs on the album) did the Storm Front recording sessions begin?
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2017
  19. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Just notified this thread bumped.

    Think this is the damn thread that cost me a load of $ .....MOFI discs a few mths ago.

    I'll be seeing him in December. The mofi reissues all sound pretty killer to me. Forgot how good some of these records (CDs) were: Turnstiles, Nylon Curtain, etc...great albums.
     
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  20. My whole life,
    I never knew this (I'm 50, and Jewish, albeit non-religious).
    I thought he was Catholic. And Italian, Catholic man!
     
  21. AKA

    AKA Senior Member

    I grew up with Billy's records all over my house, and I used to think he was Italian, too. Mama Leone, Mr. Cacciatore and the back cover of The Stranger didn't help deter these assumptions.
     
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  22. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Panama
    But the fro...look at the jew from from the 70s...
     
  23. PhilipB

    PhilipB Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I'm glad people are still finding the thread interesting after it finished. While I was running it, it didn't feel like there was much interest, so it's good to see.
     
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  24. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Panama
    One of the best threads around. Love BJ's body work.
     
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  25. Hep Alien

    Hep Alien Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    With regards to Mr. Joel's catalog of studio originals, since he is a big baseball fan, I break it down like a batting average: [excluding non-album demos issued on the My Lives boxed set]
    121 original songs: 96 hits; 25 outs; .793 batting average

    If this helps push along responses, this is what I have so far:
    Personally, I am not interested in live band members added since 1990:
    bass: Larry Russell August 1971-June 1972, Patrick McDonald November 1973-September 1974, Doug Stegmeyer October 1974-November 1987, Schuyler Deale June 1988-1992
    drums: Rhys Clark August 1971-October 1975, Liberty DeVitto January 1976-? 2005 [what was the month of Liberty's last concert with Billy]
    guitar: Al Hertzberg August 1971-1972, Don Evans November 1973-October 1975, Howie Emerson January 1976-June 1977, Russell Javors January 1976-November 1987, David Brown September 1978-March 1991, Kevin Dukes 1987
    saxophone plus: Johnny Almond [keyboards] November 1973-October 1975, Richie Cannata [organ, flute] January 1976-May 1981, Mark Rivera [guitar, piano] October 1982-present

    Corrections and additions welcome! :help:
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2017
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