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Week 34:
Billy Joel
Artist Introduction
Billy Joel needs no introduction, so I’ll recount some facts, dispel a myth or two, and sprinkle a little personal flavor along the way! Although widely identified as from Long Island, Billy was born in Da Bronx 77 years ago. He grew up in Levittown, a neighborhood in Hicksville, in the City of Oyster Bay. He is a High School drop out. His father was a piano player of some renown, and at age 4 Billy’s mother insisted he take piano lessons- which he didn’t wanna do. Billy was an amateur boxer but quit the sport after having his nose broken! His first studio album (he made only 12), was 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor, not Piano Man. CSH was a commercial failure, causing him to leave Long Island to escape his contractual obligations to his first record label. He re-invented himself as Bill Martin (his middle name) in LA, playing in piano bars. The song that he wrote about that experience topped out at #25 on the Billboard Chart. Altho he had received some critical acclaim and did some touring, it wasn’t until his 5th album, The Stranger in 1977, that he became a huge commercial success. After that album, his first 4 records got a lot of sales and even more listens- As a freshman in College, I jumped onto that bandwagon. Still on it!
Having seen Joel perform live 16 times through the 80s and into the 90s, I can tell you that he did the most ad-libbing on stage that I ever saw. The crowd banter, the jokes, the interactions with the Band, were never the same as a previous show or tour. Billy used sessions musicians on his first 3 albums but finally settled on some longtime familiar players from LI: Liberty Devito (drums) and Doug Stegmeyer (bass). Along with Russell Javors (guitar) and multi-instrumentalist Richie Cannata, they became the heart of his touring and recording Band. I mention these guys because I had a particular fondness for all 4 of them!
I could make a Greatest Hits Album of Billy songs and NOT include the 9 tunes presented here: Allentown, Still Rock n Roll, NY State of Mind, and on and on. A few songs from the Streetlife Serenade: The Entertainer and Root Beer Rag and from Turnstiles: Say Goodbye to Hollywood, Summer Highland Falls and I’ve Loved These Days are among his best, in my opinion.
Enjoy!
Uncle Vin Cascella
Most Popular
Piano Man
Joel’s anthem, he also plays harmonica. His piano work, vocals and storytelling lyrics are a “singing at the local bar” staple. It’s also a truly American classic tune. I never, ever, get tired of this song.
Uptown Girl
Although I’m not a fan of this song, I must respect the structure of the Club- to use the most popular tunes in the first 3-block. It has a ton of old school harmonies and structure- and is a sweetly sickening Pop song. The individual band players and backing vocals are really fine. As a hetero American male in my mid-sixties, I applaud the fact that Billy married and went on a honeymoon with his trophy wife, Christie Brinkley! ‘Nuff said!
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Other than its length, this is an absolutely perfect Pop song. Cannata’s work is beyond beautiful; Devitto’s is iconic. Joel’s storytelling about Brenda and Eddie kind of defies description and adjectives- the lyrics are insanely clever and simple. This song cements Billy’s place as a generationally talented songsmith. Performed live, Scenes murders the audience. Btw- when asked recently for his top 5 Billy Joel tunes, Billy claimed this song as his favorite!
Personal Favorites
Prelude/ Angry Young Man
So…. the Club has an active question about who is the better piano player: Billy or Elton. My answer, as a former piano player, was Joel- and I cited this tune. The really cool sounding piano work here becomes a WTF moment when you see Joel do it live. Please- go to the video- his hands are a freaking blur! The other piano work is really smart, the band is tight, and the production is wonderful. The lyrics are straight, honest and inspired. Also- it’s an awesomely structured song- so many sections that work well together.. F’ing Wow folks!
Miami 2017 (Live MSG, 1980)
A really cool version of this song. Again, storyteller Joel creates a song unlike any other- and his Band absolutely smokes it, producing what I consider to be Billy’s finest RnR tune. Fun Fact Time: I was in a Band with a Billy look alike/sound alike! Mark Garni enabled our band to do stuff that no other band in the early 1980s was doing- and we did it really well! We got a bunch of gigs because we did Joel stuff- and it was awesome! We did Miami in our 1st set and again towards the end of the night!
You Maybe Right
Ok, I’ll admit it: although I’m not a big fan of Karaoke, I have occasionally done this one! It’s a fun song! Great beat, fun lyrics- really good Pop tune! So….. Liberty Devitto is a tremendous drummer, and contributed some awesome beats and accents to Billy’s songs- I love Liberty! But… he sued Billy for millions, claiming co-writing credits years after the released materials! I know people who used to hang with Lib- cool dude! But: total A-hole to sue Joel! You played drums bro!!
Unique Songs
Vienna
I always had a jones for the Stranger album- this tune is kinda cool. I love the production, Billy’s lyrics and vocal performance and Stegmeyer’s bass work.
The Longest Time
I put this one in the set list because it’s definitely different! While I’m not a huge fan of this one, Joel and his team do a really wonderful job of showing respect for the “Doo-Wop” genre. I knew a bunch of guys who did Doo-Wop back in the day and I’ve always appreciated how it influenced my love of music and harmonies- along with probably millions of others! They used to do a really nice job of this one in their live shows!
Goodnight Saigon
Billy’s song, describing the scenario and feelings from a US Marine Corp point of view during the Vietnam War, is, in my opinion, an absolutely brilliant musical composition, with insanely poignant lyrics, which he performs with powerful emotions. It’s an example of the fact that Joel is more than just a Pop artist- and can also write socially aware tunes that can make a listener ponder. Although he doesn’t often go that way- like, oh, say Bruce Springsteen, Joel does have a number of these types of tunes.
Conclusions
As I said in the Artist Intro, I could easily have mixed in eight different Billy songs and still had a great representation of his life’s work. Maybe in some future list, if the Club allows repeat artists, I’ll do just that. For now, Billy Joel gets a solid 9.3.
Cascella Family Reviews
Vin Cascella
I’m really looking forward to this review. Billy Joel is one of those artists that I know a ton of his music but have never really dove that deep. Here are my thoughts up front before really getting into it. Billy Joel is in a small league of fantastic story-driven songwriters accompanied by theatrical piano. Him and Elton John are probably the two biggest names in this field and since we have already reviewed Elton, I’m looking forward to comparing my old review with this one. Going into this I think I prefer Joel, but this should be a good test of who the true Piano Man is!
Piano Man: Right into it! His namesake, I think this is truly a great song. This song and Scenes From An Italian Restaurant can go up against any song of this genre. It’s got me thinking already… What’s the best narrative singer-songwriter track? Could be Paradise by the Dashboard Light? Maybe Tiny Dancer? It’s not Alice’s Restaurant. After some consideration I’ve decided that Don McLean’s American Pie is the greatest “Folk Rock” song of all time. But yea this is just a great song with a solid story and cool instrumentals throughout. Bing Bang Boom.
Uptown Girl: Shoutout Olivia Rodrigo for putting this song on the map! *sarcasm* This song is fine but not as great as others on the list. This could be a Frankie Vallie song. Is Billy Joel just the New York (and obviously better) version of Bruce Springsteen? Have I been so busy comparing him to Elton that I forgot about THE BOSS? Being a Jersey resident for over a decade now (yikes) I should be way more into Bruce but he’s just never stuck for me. He’s fine but not my favorite. Got side-tracked. This song is fine but I could take it or leave it.
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant: Now we’re talking! This is a tough song to review. There is just so much going on, it’s a whole giant production. I mean I love it but I don’t even know where to start. It’s just a highly entertaining track that although is almost 8 minutes long does not feel like it drags at all. Even the wiki breakdown of the song is broken into five distinct sections. All the extra instruments have a place and they all work.
Prelude/Angry Young Man: To compare it to the Elton John track this would be the “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” of this selection and I actually like Elton’s track better. Opening an album with Funeral for a Friend is such a wild decision and I love it so much. This one instrumentally in the beginning is cool but not as fun. Oh shit…. Keytar solo! Yea this song is fine, the drums are really cool but it’s not my favorite. Hmmm I thought I was all for Billy Joel over Elton John but maybe I was mistaken.
Miami 2017 (Live version, MSG, June 1980): And we’re back! We’re so fucking back. What an absolutely wild song premise. An apocalypse of New York City so we’re just gonna move on down to Miami hahaha. But even if the City falls apart the New Yorkers will carry on. Man I get hyped about Billy Joel listing New York landmarks. It’s so cheesy but I love it. Maybe I am just as bad as a Jersey native Bruce fan. I regret not seeing Joel play one of his millions of shows at MSG. Man I’m just a sucker for nostalgia and this song nails it. This is not a compliment at all but this song actually reminds me of a super popular song from college, “Closer” by the Chainsmokers. The song stinks but they just list things that millennial college kids can relate to and the song was a huge hit. “From your roommate back in Boulder, we ain't ever gettin' older” “Stay and play that blink-182 song That we beat to death in Tucson” Just list popular places and bands and you got a banger.
You Maybe Right: Yea I love this song too. Maybe because I’m young I’ve never really pictured Billy Joel as the “badass” that he portrays himself as in this song but it's a fun loving rockish song. And once again name dropping neighborhoods of New York will earn you points with me. But shit, is this better than Elton John, who is the true piano man? I’m more conflicted than ever!
Vienna: Lyrically this might be the strongest song so far. I really like the message of slowing down and enjoying life, and it juxtaposes a lot of his faster paced rat-race style music. You don’t need to figure out everything in your 20s and 30s, you have time and there’s no need to rush into things. And I like the idea of just retiring out in some countryside and enjoying life while drinking shitty wine. I know I always have Greece in my back pocket. Portugal would be a top pick. Never been to Austria so can’t say about Vienna.
The Longest Time: Hey doo-wop Frankie Vallie is back. I know this song but never realized it was Billy Joel. I’ve known every song on this list so my opinion hasn’t changed too much. He’s highly entertaining, I don’t really have anything bad to say about any of these songs. Some of them are a little cheesy but I like the cheese. This song is one of the shortest on this list at just 3:43 and it feels like it drags.
Goodnight Saigon: There’s a song, “Hero of War” by Rise Against that this song really reminds me of. That’s a huge compliment to Rise Against whose story-telling is nowhere near that of Billy Joel’s. I obviously wasn’t even a thought when this song was released so I don’t know what the sentiment towards this anti-war anthem was when it was released so I’ll just speak towards the song itself and the lyrics. I like it, it has strong story-telling and you can feel the emotion in his vocals. The echo-ey voice thing he does is a little cheesy but there’s been more than a few cheesy moments in his music. I also actually really like the group chorus vocals, it fits the song really well. I dig it.
Hmmmm. I have so many thoughts. So I went into this knowing every song but I guess I never really paid a whole lot of attention to some of them. I went into this selection strongly believing that I preferred Billy Joel to Elton John. Now I know that I don’t NEED to choose a favorite but it’s more fun to have a little debate and controversy. So now, after listening to Billy Joel for the past week here are my opinions. As a casual listening experience I prefer Joel to Elton, his music is just more fun and entertaining in my opinion. That being said, some of his lyrics are cheesy as fuck, as well as some of his musical choices. So if you’re REALLY digging in I think Elton’s music and lyrics might be better. But Elton doesn’t write his own lyrics, while Billy does. So is Bernie Taupin the true hero of this battle!? Alrighty I think I’m ready to make my decision. For me personally I just enjoy the music of Billy Joel more but by more of a razor’s edge than I had anticipated. Fun music, great lyrics and story-telling and a nostalgic flair for New York that I just find so endearing. 8.0
Dad Cascella
Billy Joel. Never been a big fan. I was stuck listening to many of his songs throughout the 80’s and 90’s during FM radio listening days. Always found him to be o.k., kinda rockish, kinda popish, kinda boring. I know 8 of these 9 selections. Let’s see if I can be swayed with the deep dive.
PIANO MAN- ok Vin, lead us off with a classic, classic song. Reminds me of everyone singing this song in the Kings Row (Cascella boys bar of choice) in Midland Beach. Top 5 bar anthem song of all time. Fun music with really good piano playing and with harmonica thrown in, a big yup. And it tells a great story. You can visualize the characters as Billy sings about them. “Yes they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it’s better than drinking alone”. Great line, great start.
UPTOWN GIRL- I thought I always hated this song about Christie Brinkley (and its cheesy video), but after several listens it’s actually o.k., and has some fairly clever lyrics. While I’m not crazy about the loud production music, the song has its fun moments. But how the hell did this sad-sacked face land Brinkley is impossible to fathom.
SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT- This one is long, and it took me almost 45 minutes to listen and write my ideas during multiple listens. Starting with piano chords and leading to another pop classic. The man most definitely knows how to tell a story. Good use of saxophone also. Ok, now onto the lyrics. He sings about experience (I assume), what he sees, what he knows. I like this. Again, you can picture these scenes and characters. I didn’t like the carnival-type music, but at 2:50 we get some real good music jam, led by his piano work. And then the story of Brenda and Eddie. Good stuff. And then another good jam led by sax and piano. And I liked the slow-down at the end. Like piano man, great song.
PRELUDE/ANGRY YOUNG MAN- quick piano with guitar power chords, then a little harmonica thrown in. Sound like a good warm-up preparing to play a concert. But when the song kicks in, it loses me. Standard pop. “He likes to be known as the angry young man” sung so very weakly. I think the vocal needed to be a little heavier. And the bridge change of momentum at 2:45, ugh!! Lyrics are good throughout. While we get a YES-like dream sequence at 3:30, it doesn’t work for me. And the whole song could have been cut by a minute and a half.
MIAMI 2017 (LIVE MSG JUNE 1980)- I understand why this live version was chosen, because anytime you get a reference of NYC in the lyrics, the Billy Joel faithful scream their heads off. First minute we get Pink Floyd’ish music leading into an Elton John piano instrumental. To me, this is the song Love Lies Bleeding set to NYC. I had to look it up. Love Lies Bleeding came first. Don’t get me wrong, while I see a blatant nipping of someone else’s music, I like the song. Fun listen.
YOU MAY BE RIGHT- I was afraid this one would make the list. Pop drivel that got a large amount of play on FM radio. This is the kind of Pop I hate. Musically, a boring song, in the same vain as a CARS song. Funny thing is he sings it with a little more edge in his vocals (Billy should have sung like this in Angry Young Man). He tries to rock a little in this song, but, Nope, it’s generic Pop poo-poo.
VIENNA- soft, lilting piano work to a song I was always thought was pretty good. But again, listen carefully. It’s Sweet Painted Lady, 1973, Elton. It’s remarkably similar. I’m guessing Elton is a huge influence on Mr.Joel. While the music is ok, it’s the lyrics once again that stand out. But I don’t find anything unique other than the accordion lead midway. Come on Billy, give me something different.
THE LONGEST TIME- I asked, I received. Now this is different. 1950’s doo-wop, and he sings it like Frankie Valli. With background vocals by the Four Seasons, this is a fun, nice, simple song done pretty good.
GOODNIGHT SAIGON- only song in these selections I didn’t know. Helicopter sound opening, that’s different. So this is a commentary song. Very good first three minutes, singing as if a Marine (Parris Island) preparing to go to and then being in Vietnam. Excellent lyric content set to light piano. But that chorus of “And we would all go down together”. UGH!! Really Billy, you took a soft, sentimental tune to Ugh. You couldn’t think of a different way to use a chorus? At 3:40 we get another minute and half of light piano and similar lyrics, again telling of a Marine experience. Then at 5:15, we get the UGH again. These lines absolutely ruin the overall effect of this song. Too bad. While it’s a statement song, I appreciate it doesn’t take a side, rare in the music world.
So that’s it for Billy Joel. I didn’t talk about other musicians or instrumentation that much in this review because this is the Billy Joel show. He’s the man, with others supporting his work. Watching live versions, the band he plays with appear good and look to be having fun and enjoying playing Billy’s music, but nothing really stood out. It’s Billy’s piano playing, remarkable at times, and his lyrical songs that I concentrated on. As previously stated, I am not a big Billy Joel fan. For me, much of his work is decent Pop, much of it generic, with a few exceptional stand-outs. But I have to admit, the listen, overall, was more enjoyable to me than I thought it would be. I’d love to talk a little more with the group about the nipping of Elton’s music from Billy, but that’s another time, another conversation. Billy’s got an extremely large catalogue of music, and has enjoyed a long career in the music business, so kudo’s to him. My score, 7.0
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