Billy Joel's Retirement from Pop/Rock

I always thought James Dean and Marylin Monroe were on to something.

 

I'd liken what I would like Billy to do (well, without the dying thing ya know) is what Bowie did in his latter years. Bowie put out so much work between 1967-2004 that it was easy to take him for granted. He bowed out of touring after health issues and vanished for a long time, but when he did come back with two more albums, both albums were of the top quality one could expect of an old vet with nothing more to prove and I could argue he literally went out on top of his game and the last two albums were both stellar.

Billy's days of expecting hits and owing Columbia another album every year or two were long gone but it would've been nice for him to just taken some time away and then came back refreshed and rejuvenated like Bowie did, instead of just going out there and playing the same tired songs.

 

I think the last song on a River of Dreams had the lyric “I have ve nothing left to say”. I think that about says it. If Billy feels a burning desire to return to public life with a new album, he will. I know lyrics were always the most difficult task for him which is interesting because he clearly worked exceptionally hard on them. For his best material, his lyrical content can be up there with the best of them. My fav albums remain The Nylon Curtain, 52nd Street (where he demonstrates himself to be a master of style and substance) and Piano Man which, despite some lyrical flaws ona couple of tracks, holds up amazingly well.

 

I'm surprised he's never bothered with a covers album. I know a lot of people tire of those, but it would give him some new songs to sing - songs he presumably would love - without burdening him with the "Pressure" of writing new material.

 

Sometimes you have to make the dodgy albums to get to the good ones, though. I doubt that Neil Young would have gotten to Freedom and Ragged Glory without the Geffen years-- same goes for Elton and Macca's later resurgences, or name any other longrunning artist you like. Cheap Trick made bad albums for 10 years and are now having a long run of good ones.

 

I think Billy said everything he thought he was going to say and said it well. There’s no shame in retirement and, frankly, he still performs. I think he just got tired of the songwriting part. It’s not easy even to those who seem to exude if from every pour like Paul McCartney or Elton John.

 

Indeed. I hate sports analogies but sometimes you have to have your off games to truly shine and not suffer burn out. They just want to get this stuff out of their system and, frankly, the artist is often the worst judge of their material after completing it.

 

The problem for many with covers albums is that is difficult to reinvent many of these songs and they do take an intense amount of effort to make them sound unique but still work. For example, Paul’s done two covers albums and the one informed by his wife’s death is fricking brilliant because there’s raw emotional loss in it.

 

I agree, but I have to say that there are probably a lot of Billy Joel fans--not all, but certainly a majority--who are content to hear him do the the same songs over and over again. He appears happy to oblige.
I've come to the conclusion that the majority of fans of all classic rock artists who are still recording really don't care about new music by their favorite artists. Those of us on this forum get a skewed viewpoint because most of us here are more serious than the average listener so while there are people here who clamor for new music from McCartney or The Stones, most of their more casual fans don't.

 

For him, only he knows.

For us, we can't really know - but it strikes me as very unlikely that he lacked the talent to create enough really good songs to make at least one, or maybe several, more excellent albums. In terms of output his decision obviously became a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I think creative work is so precious that, if you can do it so well, you should never put a stop to it artificially. Keep doing it, but just be more vigilant as an editor. There's no obligation to actually put it out in the world. But keep doing what you're good at and see what happens.

 

I think its great how he's done it. I am a hardcore Billy Joel fan and LOVE every of his records except river of dreams which I find boring beyond believe.
Better this way round then another 12 albums that scratch his legacy.

 

good decision instead of forcing out albums

 

I feel bad for the guy. He came along in an era where his gifts, appreciated by the masses, were not appreciated by critics (I'm not saying everything the guy did was spotless, but it's better than my perception of the sum of his reviews).......and those critics can help preserve or corrode a legacy. I think it wears on him.

The Innocent Man album is a classic, imo.

I find it very hard to believe (a la Lennon) that he's not been writing songs all the while.

I don't think he enjoys doing the old songs.....he gets something out of it obviously but I don't think he's happy.

I'd be fascinated if he, McCartney did a show of mostly new stuff-----i don't think Macca's done a show that "spotlights" new material since 1993......he trickles in a few new ones......he been doing it long enough now to where he could mix it up more but nearing 80 it's a bit much to ask!

Bob Pollard tries.....he flat out said he's bored with the old live standards......and because he was engaged, the new material was engaging live----majority of the set i saw was newer stuff.

 

He might do better with a live covers disc

 

I mean... how do you not write songs for 25 years... how many times can you perform Piano Man. It is all so very stale... reminds me or Peter Gabriel. I will give Joel credit for not teasing his fans with statements that he is working on an album.

I have to think his battle with alcoholism played a role in his retirement.

 

Although time does not prove my point so far, I think there will come a time when he will write/ or has written and will release another album. Especially if the set of songs are really good in his opinion. I just don’t think you can turn that kind of talent off

 

IMO, if you are still playing live consistently, you're not retired.

Having said that, I am a fan of Billy Joel and I support his decision to cease recording pop/rock. It's far better than the usual has-been claiming that his latest album "is the best thing I've ever done!"

 

Very true. The last lines on his final album are:

These are the last words I have to say
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
Ain't that the story of my life

 

I agree, in principle, that it is wise of him not to be consistently turning sub-par material, just to play the industry's game.

However, considering his gift for melody and the fact that his forte is not the kind of music that is driven by youth energy, I've always had the impression that he could have created a couple of nice latter-day records if he had put his mind into it.

 

Good point.

 

there is a great argument for keeping that almost spotless studio string intact. can't think of too many artists that have that other than the groups that broke up at their peak.
understand completely why he stopped. had major falling out with integral band members and was burdened with the "it's cool to hate billy joel" period of his career.
he has come out the other side of that now. so i think a new release could be judged a lot fairer now without the earlier baggage. even phil collins is getting some much needed love now.

but always felt he hated the hypocritical nature of celebrity. seeing it close up with the paparazzi when he was married to brinkley. if he released a new studio album all the baggage of his dui's, past marriages, daughters musical endeavors, doug's suicide, managerial rip-off's etc. would be dredged up. he hasn't written an autobiography for the same reasons i assume.

 

He didn't completely retire from the studio. Here's a list of some scattered tracks he's recorded through the years since "retiring" (even thought theyre almost all covers):

All Shook Up
Heartbreak Hotel (both from "Honeymoon in Vegas")
Hey Girl
To Make You Feel My Love ( both from "Greatest Hits, Vol. 3)
Light As a Breeze (from "Tower of Song: Tribute to Leonard Cohen")
Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day) (from "Runaway Bride")
Maybe I'm Amazed
Live And Let Die (both from "The Art of McCartney")
All My Life (single release)
Christmas in Fallujah (single release in Australia only)
The Good Life (with Tony Bennett) (from "Tony Bennett's Duets")

I omitted "Live" covers and unreleased songs from the "My Lives" box set and stuck strictly studio tracks.

 

44 is kind of young to have "bowed out" though. There are artists now who are that age and I couldn't imagine them just saying they're a spent force

I could've gotten it is Billy had been 65 and doing it for 40 years and finally go "this is it", but Billy's actually been a nostalgia jukebox touring act longer than he was a current recording artist at this point. There were some good albums we likely missed out on because he was afraid of flooding the market ala Rod or Elton.

 

Never been more than a casual fan of the Piano Man.
But I have great respect for his decision, whatever his motivation(s).
Wish more of his so-called "classic rock" brethren had followed suit!

 

The desire many routinely express 'round here to have their favorite artists retire in their 40s (or even 30s) says as much, if not more, about fans than it does about artists and their art. "The minute [insert name here] makes an album I don't like, he/she/they should retire." Rock is only about rebellion, pissing off your parents, blah, blah blah, and there's no way it can ever be about anything else.

Knee-jerk reactive sports talk radio mentality. Obsession with lists, what an artist's "peak" period was/is, jealousy over how much money some musicians make. Seems to me that all of that would take the joy and fascination out of listening.

An artist's legacy is what it is. As good as David Crosby's work has been over the last 5 years, it doesn't make his earlier stuff even better.

I couldn't care less about Billy Joel. He wrote two or three tunes I actually like. But if you're a fan of Billy's, I don't understand how his decision not to record new stuff anymore would affect your appreciation of his previous work. I understand being disappointed that he stopped, but that's different. At least he still plays concerts.