Let’s face it: Billy Joel’s diehard fans, of which there are many, know all of his albums inside and out. We’re addressing this list to those casual fans who might only know his biggest hits and most famous albums.
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Even on LPs that some would consider a bit inferior to his standouts (which set an extremely high standard), Joel still cranked out memorable songs. These four tracks provide great evidence of that.
“Everybody Loves You Now” from ‘Cold Spring Harbor’ (1971)
Joel’s debut album faltered due to the fact that his producer mixed the album poorly. It resulted in the singer’s voice sounding thin and higher than its normal register. Once you get by that bizarre circumstance, you can obviously hear the talent from Joel brimming on Cold Spring Harbor. It even features one of his first great songs filled with sarcasm and contempt, a precursor to future classics like “Big Shot” and “Laura”. “Everybody Loves You Now” offers some nimble piano work and Joel’s subtle takedown of a girl who seems to have forgotten her origins. Instead, she’s riding high in the big time. Only the narrator knows from whence she came, and he isn’t afraid to remind her.
“The Entertainer” from ‘Streetlife Serenade’ (1974)
Streetlife Serenade found Billy Joel somewhat lost in mellow singer-songwriter mode, perhaps because that style was all the rage back then. It was also his last album before he returned from the West Coast to New York to record the artistically, but not commercially, triumphant Turnstiles. Nonetheless, the lead single from Streetlife Serenade provides some of the bite that the rest of the album is lacking. Maybe too much bite, because Joel has admitted his criticism of record company and radio practices within “The Entertainer” didn’t exactly endear him to the gatekeepers in the industry. Nonetheless, it features some thrillingly high-drama music and a bunch of one-liners that still hit hard.
“Baby Grand” from ‘The Bridge’ (1986)
Billy Joel has always dealt with the quality of his work with refreshing candor. And he’s never been very shy about his disdain for The Bridge. After such an incredible string of albums preceding it, Joel felt like it was a case of been there, done that with this LP, and perhaps the effort wasn’t there. However, the presence of his musical hero, Ray Charles, in the studio with him inspired him to raise his game for “Baby Grand”. Think of how many ways a pairing like this could have gone in a hokey direction, and then you can truly appreciate what Joel pulled off with the song. The ease with which the two legends interact, both on piano and vocals, is infectious. And the topic couldn’t have been more apropos.
“And So It Goes” from ‘Storm Front’ (1989)
Storm Front hit No. 1 on the album charts, so it might seem silly to call it an unheralded album. Reputation-wise, it perhaps ranks towards the bottom of Billy Joel’s catalog these days, perhaps because some of the radio songs felt a bit too calculated as attention-grabbers. But when you burrow a little bit further into this record, you’ll find several underrated beauties. “And So It Goes”, for instance, stands out as one of Joel’s finest album-closing tracks. The song details how his relationship with model Elle Macpherson, whom Joel dated before Christie Brinkley, slowly petered out. Joel’s love of classical music informs the beautiful melody. And his lyrics stand out for the resigned heartbreak they project.
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