Why is it that Billy Joel\u2019s albums always feel lopsided to me? The first half always seems to be much better than the second. Maybe he feels that nobody will have the patience to sit through an entire album from beginning to end? As if it\u2019s better to have all the good songs up front to make the best first impression? <\/p>\n
Well, if that\u2019s the case, he slipped up just a bit with 52nd Street<\/i>. The best song doesn\u2019t come until No. 8, \u201cUntil The Night.\u201d As the longest song on the album, it is a grand, sweeping epic and comes replete with a scorching sax solo and Billy making use of his lower register. It\u2019s one of those songs that starts off slow and builds to an explosive climax. No doubt this was the song that won over voters when they selected 52nd Street<\/i> as the Album Of The Year at the 1979 Grammy Awards. \u201cUntil The Night\u201d should and could have been a hit single. <\/p>\n
The other songs on Side Two don\u2019t fare quite as well\u2026in other words, it\u2019s back to business as usual. A flute solo just doesn\u2019t salvage the dopey and ridiculous sounding love song \u201cRosalinda\u2019s Eyes.\u201d If Billy was trying to capture a Cuban sound, he fails miserably. And then there\u2019s the big and brassy sound of \u201cHalf A Mile Away,\u201d which is where I ran to after hearing what sounded to be a carbon copy of the theme music to the Grammy Awards telecast — I kid you not. Maybe that\u2019s how this album won Album Of The Year. Hmmm\u2026 <\/p>\n
Another tiresome aspect of Billy Joel\u2019s music is that far too many of his songs \u201ctell a story.\u201d I mean, if you have that many stories to tell, why didn\u2019t you become a country singer? Then again, it is doubtful that a song dripping in sarcasm like \u201cBig Shot\u201d would ever translate to the country market. <\/p>\n
My main complaint is that too many of Joel’s songs share the same themes and sound identical to one another. I challenge anyone to tell the difference between \u201cBig Shot,\u201d \u201cMy Life\u201d and \u201cMovin\u2019 Out” after hearing them for the first time. Hell, even the three photos of Billy Joel on the sleeve of 52nd Street<\/i> are identical! We know you are a trained musician, Billy. You don\u2019t need to pose with a trumpet to prove it. <\/p>\n
I guess that\u2019s why I prefer the Billy Joel of the 1980s, because at least he stretched himself into different types of music beyond the typical and predictable Piano Man persona. For example, \u201cPressure\u201d from 1981 was a refreshing change of scenery coming from him, incorporating synths into his overall sound and achieving a real sense of tension and paranoia in the process. And who could forget 1989\u2019s \u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start The Fire\u201d with its rapid-fire lyrical delivery and clever history lesson. Also, Glass Houses<\/i> proved that Billy could ride the New Wave with the best of them. That is the Joel album that should have won Album Of The Year, not this mediocre effort. <\/p>\n
There are some other bright moments to be found on 52nd Street<\/i>, however. Because of its straightforward simplicity, \u201cHonesty\u201d is one of Billy\u2019s very best slow songs. \u201cStiletto\u201d is a standout track that is a highlight of his live performances to this day. Complete with a memorable funky and frenetic piano riff, this finger-snapping ditty is essential listening for any aspiring musician. <\/p>\n
This is one album that is best appreciated in the moment, meaning that it is largely forgettable after the fact. It\u2019s among the most easily accessible and mainstream album of Billy Joel\u2019s career, but it is far from the best. <\/p>\n
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