Billy Joel

Submitted by rudolf55 on Wed, 11/29/2006 - 04:00
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  • Cold Spring Harbor (1971)


  • 1. She's Got A Way: 8.3
  • 2. You Can Make Me Free: 8.5
  • 3. Everybody Loves You Now: 5.8
  • 4. Why Judy Why: 9.0
  • 5. Falling Of The Rain: 8.9
  • 6. Turn Around: 7.8
  • 7. You Look So Good To Me: 6.8
  • 8. Tomorrow Is Today: 6.9
  • 9. Nocturne: 7.5
  • 10. Got To Begin Again: 6.7
  • Song Average: 7.6
  • Score: 73%
  • Comment: One great song, some good songs and a bunch of mediocre ones, but it never gets bad.

  • Piano Man (1973)


  • 1. Travelin' Prayer: 9.1
  • 2. Piano Man: 10
  • 3. Ain't No Crime: 8.1
  • 4. You're My Home: 9.2
  • 5. Ballad Of Billy The Kid: 8.7
  • 6. Worse Comes To Worst: 9.4
  • 7. Stop In Nevada: 8.8
  • 8. If I Only Had The Words: 9.0
  • 9. Somewhere Along The Line: 8.6
  • 10. Captain Jack: 7.9
  • Song Average: 8.8
  • Score: 85%
  • Comment: The album where Billy Joel really started finding himself. Piano Man is a landmark, but besides that, it has several great songs. He found his way pretty early in his carreer.

  • Streetlife Serenade (1974)


  • 1. Streelife Serenader: 9.1
  • 2. Los Angelenos: 6.7
  • 3. The Great Suburban Showdown: 7.1
  • 4. Root Beer Rag: 6.8
  • 5. Roberta: 7.8
  • 6. The Entertainer: 8.6
  • 7. Last Of The Big Time Spenders: 9.2
  • 8. Weekend Song: 7.7
  • 9. Souvenir: 8.7
  • 10. The Mexican Connection: 6.5
  • Song Average: 7.8
  • Score: 72%
  • Comment: A step backwards, and unfortunately, this is the way his carreer would go on.

  • Turnstiles (1976)


  • 1. Say Goodbye To Hollywood: 8.4
  • 2. Summer, Highland Falls: 9.0
  • 3. All You Wanna Do Is Dance: 6.8
  • 4. New York State Of Mind: 9.0
  • 5. James: 9.1
  • 6. Prelude/Angry Young Man: 6.5
  • 7. I've Loved These Days: 9.2
  • 8. Miami 2017: 8.3
  • Song Average: 8.2
  • Score: 79%
  • Comment: By now, it's become obvious Billy's strength lies in the individual songs and not in the albums. In general, they contain a lot of filler and usually, only half of the album is really worth the time. It's the same here, and seems the same on all his albums.

  • The Stranger (1977)


  • 1. Movin' Out: 9.4
  • 2. The Stranger: 9.0
  • 3. Just The Way You Are: 9.1
  • 4. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant: 9.5
  • 5. Vienna: 8.6
  • 6. Only The Good Die Young: 9.0
  • 7. She's Always A Woman: 10
  • 8. Get It Right The First Time: 8.9
  • 9. Everybody Has A Dream: 9.0
  • Song Average: 9.1
  • Score: 92%
  • Comment: The album where he breaks his own unwritten rule. Uniformely very strong, and Always A Woman is one of the best things he's ever made.

  • 52nd Street (1978)


  • 1. Big Shot: 9.8
  • 2. Honesty: 10
  • 3. My Life: 10
  • 4. Zanzibar: 8.5
  • 5. Stiletto: 7.8
  • 6. Rosalinda's Eyes: 9.1
  • 7. Half A Mile Away: 8.6
  • 8. Until The Night: 8.7
  • 9. 52nd Street: 8.0
  • Song Average: 8.9
  • Score: 88%
  • Comment: Wait, what's this? Another uniformely great album? Unfortunarely, no, since it weakens towards the end. Brilliant start, which showed the potential of this becoming his best album, but he couldn't keep the quality.

  • Glass Houses (1980)


  • 1. You May Be Right: 7.3
  • 2. Sometimes A Fantasy: 6.9
  • 3. Don't Ask Me Why: 8.6
  • 4. It's Still Rock & Roll To Me: 9.1
  • 5. All For Leyna: 8.8
  • 6. I Don't Want To Be Alone: 8.1
  • 7. Sleeping With The Television On: 7.9
  • 8. C'était Toi: 9.2
  • 9. Close To The Borderline: 7.4
  • 10. Through The Long Night: 9.3
  • Song Average: 8.3
  • Score: 80%
  • Comment: Continuing the old trend.

  • The Nylon Curtain (1982)


  • 1. Allentown: 9.4
  • 2. Laura: 8.8
  • 3. Pressure: 9.5
  • 4. Goodnight Saigon: 9.3
  • 5. She's Right On Time: 9.2
  • 6. A Room Of Our Own: 7.7
  • 7. Surprises: 9.0
  • 8. Scandinavian Skies: 7.9
  • 9. Where's The Orchestra?: 9.1
  • Song Average: 8.9
  • Score: 90%
  • Comment: And he broke the rule again. Unfortunately, for the last time.

  • An Innocent Man (1983)


  • 1. Easy Money: 7.6
  • 2. An Innocent Man: 8.7
  • 3. The Longest Time: 10
  • 4. This Night: 8.5
  • 5. Tell Her About It: 9.7
  • 6. Uptown Girl: 10
  • 7. Careless Talk: 7.7
  • 8. Christie Lee: 7.5
  • 9. Leave A Tender Moment Alone: 8.3
  • 10. Keeping The Faith: 8.1
  • Song Average: 8.6
  • Score: 79%
  • Comment: The sum of the songs doesn't equal the quality of the album. Not bad, but it's back to individual greatness.

  • The Bridge (1986)


  • 1. Running On Ice: 8.1
  • 2. This Is The Time: 9.3
  • 3. A Matter Of Trust: 6.4
  • 4. Modern Woman: 5.5
  • 5. Baby Grand: 6.0
  • 6. Big Man On Mulberry Street: 5.9
  • 7. Temptation: 8.2
  • 8. Code Of Silence: 8.0
  • 9. Getting Closer: 6.8
  • Song Average: 7.1
  • Score: 69%
  • Comment: And this is what you get when even the individual songs start getting weaker. Billy Joel was losing it - something had to be done.

  • Storm Front (1989)


  • 1. That's Not Her Style: 6.4
  • 2. We Didn't Start The Fire: 9.0
  • 3. The Downeaster Alexa: 6.7
  • 4. I Go To Extremes: 7.2
  • 5. Shameless: 5.5
  • 6. Storm Front: 4.9
  • 7. Leningrad: 6.0
  • 8. State Of Grace: 6.1
  • 9. When In Rome: 5.9
  • 10. And So It Goes: 7.3
  • Song Average: 6.5
  • Score: 57%
  • Comment: And nothing had been done about it yet.

  • River Of Dreams (1993)


  • 1. No Man's Land: 7.8
  • 2. The Great Wall Of China: 7.6
  • 3. Blonde Over Blue: 6.5
  • 4. A Minor Variation: 6.2
  • 5. Shades Of Grey: 7.0
  • 6. All About Soul: 6.2
  • 7. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel): 7.5
  • 8. The River Of Dreams: 9.5
  • 9. Two Thousand Years: 7.6
  • 10. Famous Last Words: 7.1
  • Song Average: 7.3
  • Score: 70%
  • Comment: The title track is brilliant and the album itself showed Billy was on the right track again. Too bad it was his last. Who knows, maybe he would've broken the rule again.
Author Comments: 

Rankings

1. The Stranger ****1/2/*****
2. The Nylon Curtain ****1/2/*****
3. 52nd Street ****/*****
4. Piano Man ****/*****
5. Glass Houses ****/*****
6. An Innocent Man ***1/2/*****
7. Turnstiles ***1/2/*****
8. Cold Spring Harbor ***1/2/*****
9. Streetlife Serenade ***1/2/*****
10. River Of Dreams ***1/2/*****
11. The Bridge ***/*****
12. Storm Front **1/2/*****