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Rating:
In 1976, after the enormous success achieved with the album "Piano Man" in 1973, Billy Joel manages once more to "coagulate" his piano talent with the production of tracks with a very smooth album entitled "Turnstiles". This LP provides eight pieces that are connected yet at the same time autonomous; Billy Joel optimally divides the tracks based on rhythms and sounds. The cover already indicates the American taste present in this LP ("Say Goodbye To Hollywood", "NY State Of Mind", "Miami 2017").
The opening track of this album is titled "Say Goodbye To Hollywood", one of the most famous pieces of this album; it is a pleasant piece, even if it does not fully attract the listener, but "Summer Highland Falls" handles this. The second song is much more thought out, and the piano arpeggios create a backdrop for a truly remarkable melody. The dance resumes with "All You Wanna Do is Dance", the most spontaneous and perhaps the least successful track on the album, also because many consider it too banal. A song with strong tones reminiscent of blues sounds is instead "New York State Of Mind", whose lyrics describe daily life within New York. "James" is the sweetest song on the album, which could almost be a second part of Elton John's "Daniel", something we cannot say for the subsequent "Prelude (Angry Young Man)," in which Billy Joel demonstrates his piano talents with the use of the repeated note, perhaps the most energetic song. The next is "I've Loved These Days", one of Billy Joel's most successful ballads, especially on an emotional level. The cherry on top is certainly "Miami 2017", with a fantastic piano introduction and lyrics about a concert held in Brooklyn where, despite numerous setbacks, the musicians continue to play as if nothing happened.
In short, together with "The Stranger", "Piano Man", "Glass Houses", and many others, this is, in my opinion, a fundamental album in Billy Joel's career.
SONG RATINGS: "Say Goodbye To Hollywood" 7.5/10; "Summer Highland Falls" 10/10; "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" 7/10; "New York State Of Mind" 9.5/10; "James" 9/10; "Prelude" 10/10; "I've Loved These Days" 10/10; "Miami 2017" 10/10
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Say Goodbye to Hollywood (04:36)
Bobby's driving through the city tonight
Through the lights in a hot new rent-a-car
He joins the lovers in his heavy machine
It's a scene down on Sunset Boulevard
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Johnny's taking care of things for a while
And his style is so right for troubadours
They got him sitting with his back to the door
Now he won't be my fast gun anymore
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Moving on is a chance that you take
Anytime you try to stay together
Whoa
Say a word out of line
And you'll find out that the friends that you had
Are gone forever
Forever
So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last
Some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Moving on is a chance that you take
Anytime you try to stay together
Whoa
Say a word out of line
And you'll find out that the friends that you had
Are gone forever
Forever
So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last
Some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Say Goodbye to my baby
04 New York State of Mind (05:59)
Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind
I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind
It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News
It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind
It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News
It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind
I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line
'Cause I'm in a New York state of mind
05 James (03:54)
James... we were always friends,
From our childhood days
And we made our plans,
And we had to go our seperate ways.
I went on the road
You pursued an education.
James... do you like your life,
Can you find release,
And will you ever change
Will you ever write your masterpiece.
Are you still in school
Living up to expectations... James...
You were so relied upon, everybody knows how hard you tried
Hey... just look at what a job you've done,
Carrying the weight of family pride.
James... you've been well behaved,
You've been working so hard
But will you always stay
Someone else's dream of who you are.
Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody... James.
I went on the road
You pursued an education... James...
How you gonna know for sure-everything was so well organized.
Hey...now everything is so secure,
and everybody else is satisfied.
James... do you like your life,
Can you find release
And will you ever change,
When will you write your masterpiece.
Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody... James...
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