A Year Of Billy Joel

I Am On Board With This

2012 is the year of billy joel’s comeback. i can feel it in my bones. #hicksville

— maura johnston (@maura) May 30, 2012

I’ve Loved These Days (Live)

Song: I’ve Loved These Days (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic

For Billy Joel, Songs In The Attic may have felt like something of a victory lap. The live record gave him the chance to introduce older material to a new audience and Billy and his band came through with outstanding performances of many of his best songs. At the start of the record I was worried that it might be a lazy cash in live record but this fear was completely unfounded.

Songs In The Attic is a great live record and and interesting one too. It’s full of challenging song choices, perhaps none more challenging than “I’ve Loved These Days” which closes out the album.

When I think of live album closers I think of raucous celebrations or sentimental goodbyes. This song is neither of those. “I’ve Loved These Days” is a good song but a bleak and cynical one. I expected an upbeat song or at least something sweet like “Souvenir.”

While Billy Joel has made an unusual choice to close out the record it’s not a surprise based on what I’ve learned from his records. If there’s a takeaway message from his songs it’s that happiness is fleeting and that darkness is waiting just around the corner wrapped in an sweet melody. 

I’m Certain This Will Happen

If you’ve been following this project since January you already know about the thing I’m about to discuss hits but since people have been getting on board as this thing has been rolling I periodically have to restate things so here goes:

I think Billy Joel and I should sit down and talk over lunch sometime.I’m 100% serious about this.

I first proposed this in January, then again in February and one more time in March. I’m not surprised he hasn’t accepted my offer yet, he’s a busy man and probably doesn’t want to commit to plans that he may not be able to keep. I get this, I’m pretty busy too but I think I’d better ask again just because we’re almost halfway through the year already. 

Dear Billy Joel,

Hey buddy, I don’t want to be a pain but what’s up with not responding to my previous invitations? Don’t act like you don’t have a Google Alert set up for “Billy Joel Lunch Invitations” because we all have those set up for our names. How else do we know where to get free food? Just last month I got two free lunches, a brunch and a coffee just because people on the Internet said they were willing to buy me stuff.

I’m not mad that you haven’t said yes to my offer yet; you needed to find out if I’m a fan first. Nobody wants to go to what they think is a friendly lunch only to end up in some weird debate about the merits of their work. You could have lunch with Robert Christgau if you wanted that, but who wants that? Nobody.

Well I think I’ve made it clear that I’m 100% on board the Billy Joel train so come on, have lunch with me.

Like I said earlier this year I’ll pay but don’t pick a crazy expensive place; I get by but I’m not rich. For the purpose of this lunch I’ll waive my standard: “place must have a soft serve machine” rule. Although if you’d like to get ice cream afterward I’d be cool with that.

I don’t want to take up too much of your time so just let me know when you are available. Please email me at ayearofbillyjoel@gmail.com so we can arrange this. Remember to include LUNCH PLANS in the subject line so I don’t miss it.

Sincerely,

Will

P.S. I’ll be on Long Island his summer if you want to get lunch and then maybe go to Carvel.

The Ballad Of Billy The Kid (Live)

Song: The Ballad Of Billy The Kid (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic

Another  song I enjoyed live more than the version heard on the Piano Man album. This comes as no surprise when you consider how theatrical the song is. The sing feels tailor made for a live audience and knowing that it’s being played for one adds to the enjoyment for me. It’s still as bonkers as the original version but it’s slow build and multiple tempo changes make it feel feel more like a musical theater showstopper than a rock song. If you didn’t know better you might think this was being performed in a Broadway theater.

The setting in this case was actually New York’s Madison Square Garden which explains the cheer for Oyster Bay Long Island that comes from the cheap seats on the final verse.

The local boy has really done well for himself.

You’re My Home (Live)

Song: You’re My Home (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic

Monday was the Memorial Day holiday here in the US. Since I was lucky enough to have the day off I spent some time trying to work through the remaining tracks on Songs In the Attic.

After spending some time giving one more listen to the final three songs I realized something important about myself: The process of reviewing an artist’s entire catalog has changed the way I think about analyzing music.

The best way to describe this change is to say that I’m less of a dick than I used to be.  

The slightly more complex explanation is that I realize that anyone making music and putting out records has a skill set that I do not have. So, rather than looking for reasons to dismiss someone’s creative output, I’m trying to get inside of it and place it in it’s proper context. Most of all I’m looking for reasons to enjoy something instead of reasons to dislike it. This is not just a Billy Joel thing for me; I’ve used this thinking to dig deep into the solo Paul McCartney catalog.

Post Beatles McCartney was another thing I have long dismissed without really giving it a fair chance and you know what? It’s great. I’ve gone from McCartney to Ram and through the Wings stuff and it’s really great. Sure it’s not The Beatles but nothing is. McCartney’s 70’s output is an outstanding run of records, among the best of the decade.

So what does that have to do with “You’re My Home?” 

Earlier this year I mentioned that I didn’t like this song because the sex imagery made me uncomfortable in the same way that seeing a sex scene in a movie that your watching with your parents does. This is because I don’t like hearing people talk about their actual sex lives, not because the song was bad. If a young Billy Joel wants to get a little too specific in a song he’s written about a woman he was married to at the time I should just accept that and judge the song on it’s merits. This live version has given me a chance to revisit the song and revise my previous findings.  “You’re My Home” is a much better song than I gave it credit for back in January, it’s a sweet and well written song about finding comfort with the one you love, regardless of where you are. I’m on board with that.

Captain Jack (Live)

Song: Captain Jack (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic (1981)

In the interest of full disclosure I’m going to admit something that some of you may have already figured out: I don’t have a whole lot to say about Songs In The Attic.

Listening to a good live album, which Songs In The Attic certainly is, can be a rich and rewarding experience. 

Analyzing a live album is like looking up an ex on Facebook. You have an idea of what to expect but you’re mostly just trying to find out if things have gotten better or worse since you last saw them.

Since Songs In the Attic was recorded over multiple dates it’s tough to find a through line to unify the songs except for: “These sound better or worse than the other version.” I’m interested in seeing if the later, single performance live albums better lend themselves to analysis.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

“Captain Jack” is a song I had very few nice words for back when I first heard it on Piano Man. Back then I found it incredibly dark and lacking in empathy. I also said that I hoped I never heard it again. Well, so much for that because I just played the live version 10 times in a row.

Now that the Captain Jack marathon is over I can tell you that I like this version much better. Once again, playing with his band instead of studio hired hands makes all the difference. The live version feels like it’s been turned up several notches from the Piano Man version, especially on the verses and perhaps it’s the additional energy that makes it seem like the singer has some kind of feelings for the person he is singing about. Perhaps not empathy; more like sympathy, but thats better than nothing.

The audience at the live recording of “Captain Jack” on Songs In The Attic probably disagrees with me they seem to be having a great time. This version was recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum and according to Billy Joel himself “Captain Jack” always went over big in Philly. This comes as no surprise since it was a Philadelphia radio station that first put the song in regular rotation.

Give a listen to the version linked above and keep an ear out for the following:

• The small portion of the crowd that can be heard cheering the word “masturbate”. 

• The slightly larger portion of the crowd that can be heard cheering for the phrase “Smoke your pot”. 

Fans of The Best Show on WFMU can listen extra closely to hear if “Philly Boy” Roy Zeigler can be heard in the crowd.

Say Goodbye To Hollywood (Live)

Song: Say Goodbye To Hollywood (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic (1981)

First things first: “Say Goodbye To Hollywood” is a great song. In my opinion it’s one of the best songs in the Billy Joel songbook and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

I don’t know why I’m making threats. I’m not a violent person; I just feel strongly about “Say Goodbye To Hollywood”.

A big reason why “Say Goodbye To Hollywood” is so good is the fact that it effectively recreates the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” all the way down to the echo on the vocals and the big booming Hal Blaine drum sound. This is a sound that plays great over the radio or a jukebox but because it’s so reliant on the studio it doesn’t translate well to a live setting. There’s a reason you don’t see a lot of Ronette’s live albums.

Because there’s no way to recreate the studio environment in an arena Billy Joel and his band start out behind the 8 ball on this one. They deliver a solid version of the song but it merely reminds me of how much I like the studio version. This doesn’t mean the live version is bad, it means that the album version is pretty special.

Everybody Loves You Now (Live)

Song: Everybody Loves You Now (Live)

Album: Songs In The Attic (1981)

“Everybody Loves You Now” was the first song I heard as part of A Year of Billy Joel that made me consider that I might have been wrong about the guy all this time. It was the darkly humorous song that made me want to hear more like it or at least a better version of it.

Like the other songs from Cold Spring Harbor that appear on Songs In The Attic, this one makes it easy to forget the original, which is fine with me and probably fine with Billy Joel too. I feel like this was the way he originally intended the song to sound.

Thanks to the magic of video you can see how it looked too.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about listening to this album is that I’ve been digging into a lot of live performances. It’s disappointing that I won’t be able to see Billy in concert as part of this project. Hopefully he’ll hit the road again and give me a chance to see the live show.

Yes, I’m as surprised as you are to hear me say that.