Any Billy Joel fans in the house?

[Disgruntled Worker]

Billy Joel makes a rare appearance on Jimmy Fallon's late night talk show: http://www.billyjoel.com/news/billy-...my-fallon-show

[Douggo]

Wow, popular thread.
You got one here.

[tennisnj]

Die hard Billy Joel fan & not embarrassed to say so. I've seen him about 2 dozen times included the Millennium Concert @ MSG.

[stringertom]

Seen him several times in concert and once close-up in a Long Island motorcycle shop...nice guy and unpretentious in my chance encounter. I also used to eat regularly at Christiano's Restaurant in Syosset, supposedly the place he wrote a song about...lots of dollar bills hang from the ceiling there and everyone asks how they get up there (it's a neat trick).

[Disgruntled Worker]

I started off as more of an Elton John fan. But nobody beats Billy when it comes to lyrics. His somber, melancholic approach to writing is up there with the best.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by Disgruntled Worker

I started off as more of an Elton John fan. But nobody beats Billy when it comes to lyrics. His somber, melancholic approach to writing is up there with the best.

Indeed. Some of it reminds Poe and, sometimes, Dickenson. A touch of Yeats as well.


I'm in love with an uptown girl
You know I've seen her in her uptown world
She's getting tired of her high class toys
And all her presents from her uptown boys

[Mick]

my favorite Billy Joel song has always been Piano Man

[Disgruntled Worker]

Originally Posted by Mick

my favorite Billy Joel song has always been Piano Man

He's sittin' with Davey who's still in the Navy and probably will beee for LIIIFFFEE!

[sphinx780]

I've always been torn between 'vienna' and 'summer highland falls'

[heycal]

Originally Posted by Disgruntled Worker

He's sittin' with Davey who's still in the Navy and probably will beee for LIIIFFFEE!

Clearly a reference to two gay men, btw.

[stringertom]

New York State of Mind was my anthem for years after relocating from Long Island to Central Florida. Sandy's devastation of my former neighborhood in Rockaway and Billy's reworking of the lyrics of Miami 2017 for the benefit concert last month has displaced NYSoM as the top on my list!

[The Meat]

I wasn't born in that era and am extremely jealous of anyone who was, I hate the music that my generation has created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

My favorite

[sphinx780]

Originally Posted by The Meat

I wasn't born in that era and am extremely jealous of anyone who was, I hate the music that my generation has created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

My favorite

That's what checking out the back catalogs of these artists are for! Your vid is the first I had ever heard of Billy Joel as a kid. My favorite album of his came before I was born.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H7mQm7BvtY

[sphinx780]

Double Post

[heycal]

Originally Posted by The Meat

I wasn't born in that era and am extremely jealous of anyone who was, I hate the music that my generation has created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

My favorite

Ah, yes. "We didn't start the fire". Perhaps one of the worst Billy Joel Songs ever -- and that's saying something!

For the record, Billy Joel's 40 years of music making have produced exactly four worthwhile songs as far as I can tell, as opposed to four hundred horrible ones.

These worthwhile songs are, in order:

Captain Jack - brilliant song, and the best Joel song of all.
Piano Man - excellent song
New York State of Mind - Very good song
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Good song

And that is IT. And you may be right -- I may be crazy. But it just might be a lunatic this thread is looking for.

[tricky]

Active discussion between Billy Joel and Elton John (i.e. who sucks more.)

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelec...threadid=39955

I dislike Piano Man greatly, but I like New York State of Mind.

[mikeler]

I was always partial to Scenes from an Italian Restaurant and Goodnight Saigon. I got to see Elton and Billy play for 4 hours with 65,000 other fans in a football stadium. Best concert I've seen to date.

[woodrow1029]

This is a great video. The members of this band must have had the time of their life during this session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es3wqZhvXLU

Btw, I'm a huge Billy Joel fan. I have seen him 6 times (3 solo and 3 with Elton John).

[r2473]

Originally Posted by heycal

Ah, yes. "We didn't start the fire". Perhaps one of the worst Billy Joel Songs ever -- and that's saying something!

For the record, Billy Joel's 40 years of music making have produced exactly four worthwhile songs as far as I can tell, as opposed to four hundred horrible ones.

These worthwhile songs are, in order:

Captain Jack - brilliant song, and the best Joel song of all.
Piano Man - excellent song
New York State of Mind - Very good song
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Good song

And that is IT. And you may be right -- I may be crazy. But it just might be a lunatic this thread is looking for.

I agree that Captain Jack and Piano Man are by far his best. Not sure I care for the other two.

Funny thing is that, he himself has said that his pop music is all crap, but it paid really, really well.

He now composes instrumental classical music. Is it any good? Some say yes, some say no (the 1-star review by Greg Savino is interesting):

http://www.amazon.com/Billy-Joel-Fan.../dp/B00005Q6KS

He has a brother Alexander of some fame that is a conductor in Europe. People **seem** to suggest that he is 10 times the musician that Billy is.

I just read that his father was a classical pianist.

Billy is a talented entertainer. No one can argue that. Is he an "amazing musician and songwriter"? Who cares. He is adored by his legions of fans. Most would take that over "amazing talent" any day (though some wouldn't).

[stringertom]

Many more than four chestnuts...River of Dreams from his later career stage mixes a lively rhythm with some soul-searching lyrics...She's Always A Woman and the wedding song staple Just The Way You Are are classic love songs...Allentown is a solid socioballad...Only the Good Die Young flat out rocks and begs me still to turn up the car radio. The guy's creative range speaks for itself!