Somewhere Along The Line
Song: Somewhere Along The Line
Album: Piano Man (1973)
Maybe I’m experiencing Billy Joel fatigue after listening to him every day for the past three weeks but I feel like this song is a snooze.
For the last three weeks I’ve followed the same basic routine: I go to work, I come home, say hello to my wife and then I head into my fortress of Billy Joel (A.K.A. - The second bedroom in my house) where my dog and I listen to songs and I write about them. The listening and writing process has been much more fun than I anticipated and the interaction with readers has been even better.
This song has been something of a grind for me to get through. I feel like I owe you* more than a pithy dismissal of the song but I can’t bring myself to get excited about it. To me, “Somewhere Along the Line” feels like a step down from the best songs on the record but not in an embarrassing or misguided way, just in a “they can’t all be winners way.” It’s one of those songs that is pleasant but does nothing for me.
One thing I have learned about early Billy Joel songs is that some of them are better experienced live. Billy Joel toured nearly non stop in support Piano Man so live versions of all of the songs including “Somewhere Along The Line” are plentiful and while the live versions of this song have more energy it still doesn’t make me like it. This may be due to the arrangement because here is a piano only version that I enjoy more than any other version I’ve heard.
This is one I’m going to have to pass on. After enjoying the last three songs this is a little bit of a letdown but there’s still one more song on the record and it’s one you might be familiar with. It’s called “Captain Jack” and I’ll get to it next.
* Speaking of owing you something: When I set this thing up I included an ask feature, it’s the link at the top of the page that says “Don’t Ask Me Why” (see what I did there?). Each day I have been lucky enough to find a number of comments and questions in my mailbox including a number of alternate critiques of songs each day. I don’t have time to respond to every one, I appreciate it and I will answer as many as time allows.
