•
Rating:
It's very serious that on this site no one has yet thought of reviewing an album by Billy Joel, an artist perhaps too underrated...
Often defined as the American Elton John, Joel is less transgressive and eccentric than his colleague, but he is an artist of great and refined musical sensitivity. His passion for classical music is easily inferred from his repertoire, where it blends with folk, country, rock, etc. Let's say that Joel is the opposite of Lou Reed, the other face of New York. Sure, Reed definitely has more depth, but Billy Joel is a romantic piano genius, a former nightclub pianoman who even dabbled in boxing before becoming one of the artists most beloved by the American public.
"The Stranger" is perhaps, along with "Piano Man", his best album. It is the first album that launched him into the world of absolute commercial success, a work where the classical-romantic vocation mixes with the more fashionable folk-rock.
The album opens with "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", a direct and slightly tragic song, which tells the story of Anthony precisely. A start that quickly moves on to open the curtain to a light, romantic album which, without revolutionary elements, can be defined as perfect, balanced, everything fits ideally.
The second track, "The Stranger", is announced by a melancholic piano work, and Joel's solitary whistling, this overture of great poetry immediately gives way to an aggressive song (always in the artist's style though), and after about 5 minutes, it falls back into the melancholy with which it began.
"Just The Way You Are", is perhaps the artist's most famous piece, a soft ballad, of immense romanticism, fit for a candlelight evening. Billy's beautiful voice is accompanied by the light instrumentation and the feline sax interventions, delighting us towards the end of the piece with a sweet and polished solo.
The fourth piece is one of the most beautiful songs on the album, a long piece full of atmosphere as its title suggests, "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant". A long song, divided into three parts with very different rhythms. From the autumn sunset atmosphere, it moves to a municipal orchestra rhythm and so on... to then enjoy the artist's piano strumming.
"Vienna", a city Joel loves especially for its musical history, is the title of the next piece, once again a melancholic piano ballad, less slow, but atmospherically intense like the others. The accordion and the piano flirt with the sweet voice of the artist.
"Only The Good Die Young" was accused of anti-Christianity, and Joel was threatened at the St. Louis concert and advised not to perform it, he naturally ignored any threat and played the piece twice. This is a cheerful song compared to the others, with a pleasant rhythm and a very engaging sax interlude.
The seventh song is beautiful, "She's Always A Woman" is the quintessential Joel piece, romantic and melancholic, with that beautiful voice floating over the piano notes. A love song that will bring tears to those who have something to remember...
After the sweetness of seven, at eight the semi-rock rhythms return. "Get It Right The First Time" is a lightweight piece, light but very pleasant, with Billy's humming delighting the ear. The journey in the Joel-era New York has been romantic and sensual, it ends worthily, with a smooth and soft piece "Everybody Has A Dream", accompanied by an almost Gospel choir, a typical farewell. Everything is slow, the piano, the voice, the rhythm.
Then the music fades and the melancholic whistling of "The Stranger" returns, fading away towards the sunset...
Billy Joel is a masterful author, he certainly hasn't revolutionized rock, but he knows his stuff. Furthermore, he is one of the best rock pianists ever, and also a great live performer. Those who believe that rock is only endless guitar solos, and people dying from overdoses, are greatly mistaken. Rock is pure emotion, and this album gives plenty of them...
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 The Stranger (05:12)
Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin, some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on
CHORUS
Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover
See the stranger in yourself?
Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now,
You've been there yourself
Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
Though I pressed her for a reason,
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes
REPEAT CHORUS
You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions,
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along
04 Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (07:38)
A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I, face to face oooh
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant.
Things are okay with me these days
Got a good job, got a good office
Got a new wife, got a new life
And the family is fine
Oh, we lost touch long ago
You lost weight, I did not know
You could ever look so nice after so much time!
Do you remember those days hanging out at the village green?
Engineer boots, leather jackets,and tight blue jeans
Oh, you'd drop a dime in the box play a song
About New Orleans
Cold beer, hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights
Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies
And the king and the queen at the prom
Riding around with the car top down
And the radio on
Nobody looked any finer or was more of a hit at the Parkway Diner
We never knew we could want more than that out of life
Surely Brenda and Eddie would always know how to survive
Brenda and Eddie were still going steady in the summer of '75
When they decided the marriage would be at the end of July
Everyone said they were crazy
Brenda you know that you're much too lazy
And Eddie could never afford to live that kind of life
But there we were waving Brenda and Eddie goodbye.
They got an apartment with deep pile carpet
And a couple of paintings from Sears
A big waterbed that they bought with the bread
They had saved for a couple of years
But they started to fight when the money got tight
And they just didn't count on the tears
Well they lived for a while in a very nice style
But it's always the same in the end
They got a divorce as a matter of course
And they parted the closest of friends
Then the king and the queen went back to the green
But you can never go back there again.
Brenda and Eddie had had it already
By the summer of '75
From the high to the low to the end of the show
For the rest of their lives
They couldn't go back to the greasers
The best they could do was pick up their pieces
But we always knew they would both find a way to get by
Oh, that's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie
Can't tell you more cause I told you already
And here we are waving Brenda and Eddie goodbye.
A bottle of red, and bottle of white
Whatever kind of mood you're in tonight
I'll meet you anytime you want
In our Italian Restaurant
05 Vienna (03:35)
Slow down, you crazy child.
You're so ambitious for a juvenile.
But then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?
Where's the fire? What's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out.
You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day.
But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old.
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through.
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?
Slow down, you're doing fine.
You can't be everything you wanna be before your time,
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight.
Too bad, but it's the life you lead.
You're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need.
Though you can see when you're wrong,
You know, you can't always see when you're right.
You've got your passion. You've got your pride,
But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true.
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?
Slow down, you crazy child.
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while.
It's all right you can afford to lose a day or two.
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?
You know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old.
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through.
Why don't you realize Vienna waits for you?
When will you realize Vienna waits for you?
06 Only the Good Die Young (03:56)
Come out, Virginia. Don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
Oh, but sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one.
Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray.
They built you a temple and locked you away,
Oh, but they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done.
Only the good die young.
That's what I said
Only the good die young
Only the good die young
You might've heard I run with a dangerous crowd.
We ain't too pretty. We ain't too proud.
We might be laughing a bit too loud,
Oh, but that never hurt no one.
So come on, Virginia, show me a sign,
Send up a signal. I'll throw you a line.
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun,
Darlin' only the good die young
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young
You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation.
You got a brand new soul
Mmmmm, and a cross of gold,
But, Virginia, they didn't give you quite enough information.
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary.
Oh oh ooh
They say there's a heaven for those who will wait.
Some say it's better but I say it ain't.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
The sinners are much more fun,
Ya know that only the good die young
Oh oh oh, baby
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young
You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation.
Oh, she never cared for me,
But did she ever say a prayer for me?
Oh oh oh
Come out, come out, come out Virginia, don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
But sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one
You know that only the good die young
Tell ya baby
You know that only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the good
Only the good die young
Woo-oo-oo, hoo, hoo
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By simo ghelli
The Stranger, it’s understood immediately, only pretends to be listened to because simply it is beautiful.
She’s Always A Woman of which I think writing any words is unnecessary: A MASTERPIECE.
