Music fans around the world have had Billy Joel on their minds in the last few weeks as he battles a serious medical condition. Within his songs, Joel has always managed to come across as a voice of the people because of his willingness to tell it like it is.
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That sometimes means getting his ire up a bit about people or scenarios. Here are five songs where Billy Joel delivered the unvarnished truth with a little bit of bite.
“Everybody Loves You Now” from ‘Cold Spring Harbor’ (1971)
Joel’s first album, Cold Spring Harbor, infamously came adorned with a mix that sped up his vocals. On a song like “Everybody Loves You Now”, that mistake actually hurts the song a bit. It takes some of the edge out of the vocal performance. Nonetheless, these lyrics are perhaps the first to give fans a taste of Joel’s acerbic side. On the surface, he’s praising the person that he’s addressing. Give it a closer listen, and you’ll hear the obvious sarcasm in lines like “You can turn your back on what you do.” And you’ll detect more disgust than admiration.
“Prelude/Angry Young Man” from ‘Turnstiles’ (1976)
Coming from Turnstiles, Joel’s most underrated album, “Prelude/Angry Young Man” features a clever arrangement. Breathless verses give way to a stately, melodic middle eight. Joel also shines with his synthesizer work throughout the song, and that’s only after a thrilling piano opening inspired by the 60s classic “Wipeout”. As for the lyrics, Joel takes aim at a righteous type who only sees the world in unbending black and white. It ultimately leads to unbearable self-seriousness. “But his honor is pure and his courage as well,” Joel sings. “And he’s fair and he’s true and he’s boring as hell.”
“Big Shot” from ’52nd Street’ (1978)
Of all Joel’s big hit singles, “Big Shot” stands as his fiercest takedown. The rock swagger of the track fits well with the relentlessness of the lyrics. Legend has it that Joel came up with it after hearing Mick Jagger tell a story about his then-wife Bianca’s partying ways. Even if the song did come from a second-hand experience, Joel certainly finds the words to make it sound like it’s something through which he lived. Not only does the protagonist have to deal with her hangover, but she also must come to terms with the notion that her drunken behavior might have done lasting damage.
“Laura” from ‘The Nylon Curtain’ (1982)
On the whole, The Nylon Curtain, brilliant as it is, is a pretty dark album. Joel was dealing with a divorce, and he suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident while making the record. Those events seemed to filter into the overall vibe. “Laura” stands out as one of the most vicious sets of lyrics he ever wrote. Cloaked in a Beatlesque musical package are some withering putdowns of a hanger-on that the narrator just can’t shake, try as he might. Although Joel has never come out and admitted as much, the common theory is that the title character was a stand-in for his mother.
“No Man’s Land” from ‘River Of Dreams’ (1993)
At the time, nobody knew that River Of Dreams was going to be Joel’s last studio album. It’s likely that Joel didn’t know himself. He admitted later that he was frustrated by the lack of airplay for some of the songs. In any case, it was a strong way for him to leave his pop/rock recording career behind. It’s interesting that he chose “No Man’s Land” as a lead single, because it’s the bleakest song on the album. The song feels like a state of the world address by someone who can see through the façade of just about everything he surveys. Rugged rock and roll united with an unsparing set of lyrics.
Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
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