Billy Joel

[El_Jeffe]

everyone loves the piano man haha. he's penned so many cleverly constructed pop gems. he's been pumping out quality tunes since the 70's yet his material always sounds fresh & relevant to the time period, can't think of too many artists can bridge the generations like that. on the piano he covers a great range of styles, more than most people give him credit for i recon. his piano lines go from flamboyant pop styles to more classical sounds & everything else in between. as a vocalist & songwriter he's very aware of the diversity of sound in pop music & often pulls in other genres to create his sound (eg. his almost doo-wop number 'the longest time' to the waltzy 'piano man' etc), he has such a great vocal sense & range. my favourite albums in rough order: the stranger, turnstiles, glass houses, 52nd street, an innocent man

any fans, share some love & discussion?

[Smash Adams]

my mom's a huge fan, I really like him but don't love him

[Nimrod5]

he's very good i enjoy his music

[christinamorgan]

i'm a fan. i've caught him on tour a few times, but as the years pass his talent seems to diminish.

[dejaxentendu]

three words

RIVER OF DREAMS

[CellarGhosts]

hahaha, huge guilty pleasure right here....

he has some really good tunes, but some are just too...produced(?) for me...
but he is a good songwriter, no doubt.

[El_Jeffe]

my mom's a huge fan, I really like him but don't love him

the more ya listen the more you enjoy. most people know & sort of enjoy the known singles, but he's written some great albums too

he's very good i enjoy his music

yea good man, how can ya not enjoy it with classic like scenes from an italian restaurant, just so good haha
i'm a fan. i've caught him on tour a few times, but as the years pass his talent seems to diminish.

heard he's quite the entertainer live, i'd love to catch him

three words

RIVER OF DREAMS

great great song, lovin' it. ladysmith black mambazo (an african vocal harmony group) covered that tune a few years back, their version is wonderful too

hahaha, huge guilty pleasure right here....

he has some really good tunes, but some are just too...produced(?) for me...
but he is a good songwriter, no doubt.

haha what's there to be guilty about? he's a bloody talented man. yea i usually crave that raw sound too, but i find his work to be too polished, sounds sweet haha

i think sometimes people get put off because of that 'pop title' haha when did pop based music become hated or classed as being 'not good.' some of it is very well crafted & written so wonderfully. as i was saying in another thread, anyone can write a pop song, but it takes a very clever mind to write it well, joel (along with costello, the finn boys, terry hall, david byrne, lennon & macca, morrissey, stevie wonder, robert smith, & so many more) do it so well. i say bugger the titles & let's all just enjoy some quality jams

[ThisIsNotDan]

Piano Man and Turnstiles are great albums. i haven't heard much else though.

[RiCCioLi]

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE!!

Storm Front was an amazing album. I used to rock out to that when I was like 5

[ohthethrill]

i could listen to only the good die young on repeat for days hahaha i love him

[theguy77]

everyone loves the piano man haha. he's penned so many cleverly constructed pop gems. he's been pumping out quality tunes since the 70's yet his material always sounds fresh & relevant to the time period, can't think of too many artists can bridge the generations like that. on the piano he covers a great range of styles, more than most people give him credit for i recon. his piano lines go from flamboyant pop styles to more classical sounds & everything else in between. as a vocalist & songwriter he's very aware of the diversity of sound in pop music & often pulls in other genres to create his sound (eg. his almost doo-wop number 'the longest time' to the waltzy 'piano man' etc), he has such a great vocal sense & range. my favourite albums in rough order: the stranger, turnstiles, glass houses, 52nd street, an innocent man

any fans, share some love & discussion?

i feel so loved :) haha

[El_Jeffe]

Piano Man and Turnstiles are great albums. i haven't heard much else though.

yea great disks, some i mentioned in the first post might of interest to ya if you're looking at checking more albums mate

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE!!

Storm Front was an amazing album. I used to rock out to that when I was like 5

great jam. little brag - i know every single word & sing that song write through haha. too many nights on the piss i think mate

i could listen to only the good die young on repeat for days hahaha i love him

great jam! always gets me singing along too

i feel so loved :) haha

haha good on ya, much love to all the billy joel fans!

[stacymichelle]

three words

RIVER OF DREAMS



oh man. what a good song.





i saw him for the first time on my 8th birthday or something with elton john. shit was SO GOOD.

[stacymichelle]

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE!!

Storm Front was an amazing album. I used to rock out to that when I was like 5



no we didnt light it, but we tried to fight it

[CellarGhosts]

haha what's there to be guilty about? he's a bloody talented man. yea i usually crave that raw sound too, but i find his work to be too polished, sounds sweet haha

i think sometimes people get put off because of that 'pop title' haha when did pop based music become hated or classed as being 'not good.' some of it is very well crafted & written so wonderfully. as i was saying in another thread, anyone can write a pop song, but it takes a very clever mind to write it well, joel (along with costello, the finn boys, terry hall, david byrne, lennon & macca, morrissey, stevie wonder, robert smith, & so many more) do it so well. i say bugger the titles & let's all just enjoy some quality jams
haha, not much I guess...but for some reason I've always felt a little embarassed to admit I dig Billy Joel's music haha. but you're right, he can write some damn good pop songs, plus his duet with Ray Charles is really good too.

[CellarGhosts]

haha "We Didn't Start the Fire"
love that song

[Shatter590]

sleeping with the television on has to be one of my favorite joel songs of all time. when i saw him at 12 gardens, he played it and i almost lost me cool lol

[El_Jeffe]

haha, not much I guess...but for some reason I've always felt a little embarassed to admit I dig Billy Joel's music haha. but you're right, he can write some damn good pop songs, plus his duet with Ray Charles is really good too.

pop music is the same as many other genres, it's become saturated with...crap haha. but there's still fantastic bands/artists out there doing something special. & agreed on baby grand the duet with brother ray. i love that tune. two boys on their pianos & nothing else but great vocals, good stuff haha

sleeping with the television on has to be one of my favorite joel songs of all time. when i saw him at 12 gardens, he played it and i almost lost me cool lol

great jam. did he play on the revolving piano when ya saw him? that sounds pretty awesome haha, one hell of an entertainer

[lindZ629]

I love Billy Joel
It doesn't get much better than The Stranger for me and Scenes is one of my all-time favorite songs

[lew_1987]

we didn't start the fire!!! that's my favourite song by him, even though the lyrics are basically just reeling off a load of newspaper headlines. and i always get mixed up between him and billy ocean... hmm

[Dr. Acula]

I love me some BJ.

[The Revisionist]

Ohhhh man I do enjoy some Billy Joel.

I just wrote a song entitled "Billy Joel", actually.

[El_Jeffe]

I love Billy Joel
It doesn't get much better than The Stranger for me and Scenes is one of my all-time favorite songs

that's one of my absolute favourite jams as well, 7 & a half minutes...of awesome haha


Ohhhh man I do enjoy some Billy Joel.

I just wrote a song entitled "Billy Joel", actually.

tribute song? sounds pretty sweet

[CellarGhosts]

I love me some BJ.
me too, bj's are awesome. love 'em.


oh wait...what? oh okay.

I'm listening to Billy Joel right now and felt like bumping this thread in style haha.

[micahistheballs]

I've read Klosterman's essays on him which sparked my interest, but I still haven't listened to anything more than the singles. What album should I start with?

[El_Jeffe]

me too, bj's are awesome. love 'em.


oh wait...what? oh okay.

I'm listening to Billy Joel right now and felt like bumping this thread in style haha.

haha what have ya been jamming to?

I've read Klosterman's essays on him which sparked my interest, but I still haven't listened to anything more than the singles. What album should I start with?

the stranger is my favourite album & features probably the best song joel ever wrote, "scenes from an italian restaurant". glass houses is another goodie for new fans

[CellarGhosts]

haha what have ya been jamming to?



the stranger is my favourite album & features probably the best song joel ever wrote, "scenes from an italian restaurant". glass houses is another goodie for new fans
ha, i've just been listening to the Essential Billy Joel. alot of good stuff on there.

[micahistheballs]

haha what have ya been jamming to?



the stranger is my favourite album & features probably the best song joel ever wrote, "scenes from an italian restaurant". glass houses is another goodie for new fans
Alright, i may have to look into that Craig.

[El_Jeffe]

ha, i've just been listening to the Essential Billy Joel. alot of good stuff on there.

i just looked that up, no "scenes from an italian restaurant"?! but it seems a decent mix. "baby grand" with brother ray is sooo good. there was a full album begging to be made there, bugger it never happened

Alright, i may have to look into that Craig.

sweet as, hope you enjoy it mate, & if you do, come back & brag how good "scenes from italian restaurants" is to chris haha

[CellarGhosts]

i just looked that up, no "scenes from an italian restaurant"?! but it seems a decent mix. "baby grand" with brother ray is sooo good. there was a full album begging to be made there, bugger it never happened



sweet as, hope you enjoy it mate, & if you do, come back & brag how good "scenes from italian restaurants" is to chris haha
definitely is. Ray Charles has his share of sweet tunes as well haha.

I'll listen to "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" sometime.

[Until The Bombs]

For a year's time when I was about 15-16 I bought every Billy Joel album and listened to nothing else.

[SLoT]

I'm a fan. Wonderful songwriter.

[MDPSKSK]

Back in 7th grade I had the song "Scenes From an Italian Resturant" on repeat for about three weeks. That song is just so wonderful!

[stayforawhile]

Ah I love Billy Joel, I wish he was touring near me.

[Dr. Acula]

Spinning The Stranger right now. Such a great album.

[Dr. Acula]

Bump because this thread should have more replies.

[StreetSpirit76]

The Stranger is indeed great. I could've seen him on his tour with Elton had I had the money at the time.

[Dr. Acula]

I missed it too! :-( They played 2 nights at Wrigley Field of all places. I suck at life.

[StreetSpirit76]

Haha, I know three people who went and each said it was amazing. Big fan of both so needless to say I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get to see them.

[Dr. Acula]

Extremely jealous of them! Have a favorite BJ record?

[PoweredbyPJ]

whenever I went on family car trips as a kid and my dad wasnt playing reggae he'd play billy joel music. i have so many good memories tied to almost all of his songs :)

plus I mean hes just a beast in general too

[StreetSpirit76]

Extremely jealous of them! Have a favorite BJ record?
Turnstiles and 52nd Street are both pretty damn good, but I gotta give it to The Stranger just for "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant". My favorite Billy Joel song.

[narcoleptic953]

Stranger and Turnstiles are both great albums. I'm a big fan.

[Dr. Acula]

I've got a soft spot in my heart for "The Nylon Curtain"

[StreetSpirit76]

I've got a soft spot in my heart for "The Nylon Curtain"
Great album. "Allentown" was my favorite Joel song as a kid.

[Dr. Acula]

Great album. "Allentown" was my favorite Joel song as a kid.

Totally. I feel that album is way underrated in terms of his discography.

"Allentown" reminds me of being a kid too. My dad loved BJ and I can remember watching the music video with him when I was a youngin.

[StreetSpirit76]

Speaking of videos, this one is amazing haha:

2F-nt7aC_JQ

[Dr. Acula]

Hahahah. I love the part in that video when they are singing into the wrenches. Classic.

[StreetSpirit76]

Hahahah. I love the part in that video when they are singing into the wrenches. Classic.
Haha I was going to mention this. Gotta love cheesy 80's music videos.

[Dr. Acula]

My god. Look at this fucking setlist.

The Elton John/Billy Joel set list at Wrigley Field


John/Joel (solo)

1. “Your Song”

2. “Just the Way You Are”

John/Joel with bands

3. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”

4. “My Life”

Elton John set

5. “Funeral for a Friend”

6. “Love Lies Bleeding”

7. “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”

8. “Levon”

9. “Madman Across the Water”

10. “Tiny Dancer”

11. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

12. “Daniel”

13. “Rocket Man”

14. “Philadelphia Freedom”

15. “I’m Still Standing”

16. “Crocodile Rock”

Billy Joel set

17. “Prelude”

18. “Angry Young Man”

19. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”

20. “Allentown”

21. “Zanzibar”

22. “Don’t Ask Me Why”

23. “She’s Always a Woman”

24. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant”

25. “River of Dreams”

26. “We Didn’t Start the Fire”

27. “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”

28. “Only the Good Die Young”

John/Joel (with bands)

29. “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues”

30. “Uptown Girl”

31. “The Bitch is Back”

32. “You May be Right”

33. “Bennie and the Jets”

John/Joel (solo)

34. “Candle in the Wind”

35. “Piano Man”

[narcoleptic953]

Holy shit.

[Dr. Acula]

:sadangel:

[StreetSpirit76]

JSvySdxP1No

[Dr. Acula]

Great video! I hate myself so much right now for missing this.

[StreetSpirit76]

Those vocal harmonies are incredible.

[cshadows2887]

Bump for my favorite artist.

Anyone else embarassed that Billy couldn't remember the words to "Born to Run" at that R&R Hall of Fame concert?

[KatieKutthroat.]

My god. Look at this fucking setlist.

The Elton John/Billy Joel set list at Wrigley Field


John/Joel (solo)

1. “Your Song”

2. “Just the Way You Are”

John/Joel with bands

3. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”

4. “My Life”

Elton John set

5. “Funeral for a Friend”

6. “Love Lies Bleeding”

7. “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”

8. “Levon”

9. “Madman Across the Water”

10. “Tiny Dancer”

11. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

12. “Daniel”

13. “Rocket Man”

14. “Philadelphia Freedom”

15. “I’m Still Standing”

16. “Crocodile Rock”

Billy Joel set

17. “Prelude”

18. “Angry Young Man”

19. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”

20. “Allentown”

21. “Zanzibar”

22. “Don’t Ask Me Why”

23. “She’s Always a Woman”

24. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant”

25. “River of Dreams”

26. “We Didn’t Start the Fire”

27. “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”

28. “Only the Good Die Young”

John/Joel (with bands)

29. “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues”

30. “Uptown Girl”

31. “The Bitch is Back”

32. “You May be Right”

33. “Bennie and the Jets”

John/Joel (solo)

34. “Candle in the Wind”

35. “Piano Man”

My god, this setlist is incredible! I really would love to catch these two on tour but haven't had the money. I have a friend who has gone backstage on a couple occasions and met both of them. Lucky kid.

[Dr. Acula]

My god, this setlist is incredible! I really would love to catch these two on tour but haven't had the money. I have a friend who has gone backstage on a couple occasions and met both of them. Lucky kid.

Yeah, they played Wrigley Field (!!) for two nights I believe but couldn't afford it at that time. Still kicking myself for not going.

[KatieKutthroat.]

Yeah, they played Wrigley Field (!!) for two nights I believe but couldn't afford it at that time. Still kicking myself for not going.

At Wrigley! Oh man! Have you ever seen either of them live?

Off topic, but still related...I saw Paul McCartney at Fenway....it was too much to handle! My favorite musician in my favorite place!

[Dr. Acula]

At Wrigley! Oh man! Have you ever seen either of them live?

Off topic, but still related...I saw Paul McCartney at Fenway....it was too much to handle! My favorite musician in my favorite place!

No, I haven't :-(

And that's awesome! I would love to see Paul. Did he play any Beatles tunes?

[KatieKutthroat.]

No, I haven't :-(

And that's awesome! I would love to see Paul. Did he play any Beatles tunes?

A ton. The setlist was great.

[ThisIsNotDan]

they say that theeeeese are not the best of times, but they're the only times I've ever knooooooooooown

[Dr. Acula]

A ton. The setlist was great.

Very, VERY jealous!

[cshadows2887]

they say that theeeeese are not the best of times, but they're the only times I've ever knooooooooooown

Nice. Best Billy song. And my #2 of all time.

[cshadows2887]

Bump for my favorite artist.

There are rumors that he and Elton are playing Fenway Park this year. I would sell my soul for tickets.

[cshadows2887]

Really been breaking out Streetlife Serenade a lot lately. It may not be his best song-for-song, but in terms of a cohesive mood, it might be his strongest. And "Roberta" is easily one of my favorite songs in his catalog.

[cshadows2887]

One bump a year for my favorite artist seems fair.

Love me some "Sleeping with the Television On" lately.

[irthesteve]

Hey Chris, did you know I love Billy Joel?

[cshadows2887]

Hey Chris, did you know I love Billy Joel?

I feel like :highfive: just doesn't cut it.

More like:

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs1/1148368_o.gif

[irthesteve]

For years I had Greatest Hits Vol 1/2 in my car's constant rotation, so I know all the hits like crazy. Only a few years ago did I get full albums but The Stranger is perfect and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is literal perfection

[cshadows2887]

52nd Street is, in my mind, one of the greatest albums ever made by anyone and in my personal top 5.

[irthesteve]

52nd Street is, in my mind, one of the greatest albums ever made by anyone and in my personal top 5.
I've only listened to that one 2-3 times all the way through, but I dig it. Need to get all his shit on CD so I can listen in my car

[cshadows2887]

I've only listened to that one 2-3 times all the way through, but I dig it. Need to get all his shit on CD so I can listen in my car

You really can't go wrong with any of his proper albums other than The Bridge. They all have a very distinct appeal.

[cshadows2887]

http://www.billyjoel.com/sites/billyjoel/files/imagecache/preview/photos/Billy_Joel_-_Grammy.gif