Great Billy Joel profile in the New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/thirty-three-hit-wonder

Like a lot of these things, it's a little long, and a lot full of [itself], but I thought it was really interesting. I don't know how accurate Billy thinks it might be, but I feel I came away with a sense of the guy. Definitely worth the (long) time to read it....

 

That it is. And I'm not really a fan, although I did some Spotifying afterwards.

 

One of the best articles I have ever read. Brilliant.

 

Interesting read. And at the end, a tantalizing glimpse of potential new Billy Joel music.

"As he moved from one song to the next, he referred a couple of times to something called “The Scrimshaw Pieces,” and it emerged that he had already imagined all of these as a cycle of songs—“tone poems,” he called them. The playing, now and then halting as he tried to remember certain passages, was mostly prodigious and lush, evocative of familiar things. In between pieces, he began to explain that these were variations on a motif and that they were telling the story of the history of Long Island, from its pastoral beginnings to the arrival of the Europeans—“I’m imagining the prow of a ship, and a Puritan hymn”—and then the bustle of the nineteenth century. Farming, fishing, the railroad. “Getting busy on Long Island,” he said. “This one’s almost Coplandesque, with big open fifths.” We were a long way from Brenda and Eddie. He played intently as the room went dark.

Later, in the kitchen, over a glass of wine, Joel mentioned to Ruggles that he was starting to forget some of the stuff he’d been working on and that they had better get it down on tape."

 

What a life. Helicopter to Manhattan once a month and back in his mansion a million bucks richer with his latest half-his-age girlfriend a few hours later.

 

Thank You!!. I have always been a Billy Joel fan. This is recommended reading.

 

Billy, I still think get It Right the First Time is a great song. Easily in the top 5 of my favorite BJ songs. The bridge is excellent and Liberty's drumming is perfect. I can't understand why he detests the song so much.

 

I consider myself a fan, and saw many his shows in the mid-70's in the Philadelphia area and he was great, as was his band. Saw him recently in Florida, ok show, mostly hits, but he was very detached and seemed to be going through the motions...which this article reinforced. He seemed more into the little bits of music he did between songs than the setlist (the night I saw it was mostly snippets from the Godfather). He lost his mojo 20 years ago, but I guess the money and fringe benefits are worth leaving the mansion once a month.

Really makes you appreciate Bruce, who still appears to be having fun and pouring his heart into the music.

 

Spot on. Bruce is an 8/9 on the 10 scale & Joel is about a 4/5. I saw a few of those great shows in Philly in the 70's, too. His famous Botton Line show broadcast over FM stations was stellar, a hallmark for that era, almost as great as Springsteen radio broadcasts of the same time frame. The last release of his worth having was Turnstiles. Sure, I liked The Stranger at the time, but it does not hold up well.

I still say Joel never got over Brinkley. He'd trade that 20-something for His Uptown girl in a flash. Perfect case of money & fame not equaling happiness.

 

Glad to see love for Turnstiles. That was the lp that really hit the mark for me. Angry Young Man stayed on my wall at college for 3 years. I own the Stranger of course, but that was it for me. At college, they played the Stranger start to finish right before it came out. My friend and I looked at each other and said that Billy was now going to be huge, it was obvious that Only The Good Die Young and Just the Way You Are were going to be big hits. I was very taken with the title track that night and still like that song the best. Oh yea, and that night long ago, I didn't like that 'ack ack ack' song and I still don't.

 

No, The Nylon Curtain is worth having, assuredly. If I could only have three BJ albums, they'd be Cold Spring Harbor, Turnstiles, and The Nylon Curtain. Those are IMHO easily his three best.

 

Interesting list. I haven't heard all of 52nd Street but am aware it has two songs I like a lot ("My Life" and "Rosalinda's Eyes") and one of my least favorites I've heard from him ("Honesty").

 

+1

 

Nice article. Yes, a must read for anyone interested in Joel.

 

Nice to see him mention Gordon Lightfoot as a favorite songwriter but come on NO mention of his best song, IMO, New York State of Mind???? Maybe I missed it.

 

"She [Christie Brinkley] also knew “New York State of Mind,” but assumed it was a Ray Charles song."

 

All while identifying intellectually with his leftist uncle!

I don't begrudge him his success. Unlike so many other rich folks, Joel has earned his wealth. I'm guessing that when he dies, he'll donate most of it to charitable causes.

 

Geez, I was going to print that off here at work as I'm nearing the end of the day and I don't want to forget it over the weekend. 48 pages LO! I'll make a note of it to return to this thread because it looks very interesting.

 

I'd say that the section of that article discussion Joel's current drinking and his past issues is not entirely encouraging...

 

thanks but that's not much.

 

I strongly disagree with both of these statements. I loved The Stranger when it came out, and I love it today.

 

Lots of good stuff in here.

One quote that made me chuckle was: "If I put out an album now, it would probably sell pretty well". He might be able to deliver an album that will go to #1, but it sounds like he pays as much attention to current sales figures as he does to Radiohead and Wilco.

 

Thanks to the OP for sharing this article. I was born in the early 70's and one of the very first records I ever purchased was Billy Joel's 52nd Street. I must have been 8 years old at the time. Big Shot was a such a killer opener. On par with my other favorite album first track from that time.....Start me Up by the Stones.

Have always been a fan of his semi-schmaltzy east coast vernacular song writing. Lived in Seattle for a while and I don't think I ever heard a Joel or Springsteen song played out there the entire time? Strange. Must be a lost in translation thing between east and west coasts??

Anyhow, count me super psyched to hear Billy is still playing his songs, having fun and bringing joy to people after all these crazy years. Hope to see him live someday soon.....

 

At the Hurricane Sandy relief concert at the Garden, in December, 2012, he and the band went out, rusty, and delivered a muscular mini-set. Watching on TV, I realized that I hadn’t really thought much about Joel in years, yet here he was on a bill with the Stones, the Who, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney, and, on this occasion, anyway, and with respect, he was better than all of them.

Good article. Addressed the criticisms & rumors with the sort of glib practicality that I suspect would closely reflect Billy's own sensibilities.

I still like Billy Joel. His music was ubiquitous when I was growing up, all over every family party or my dad painting the house, etc. I never fully embraced his music as my own like I did Dylan or the Beatles, but hearing a Billy Joel song is like hearing a Christmas song, it's just ingrained from my childhood. If you grew up in the tri state area in the 70s & 80s, Billy was bigger than Santa Claus.