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[biodiscography]

Billy Joel

1. Cold Spring Harbor (1971)- In a sense, Billy Joel didn’t quite sound like Billy Joel yet here. He definitely hadn’t established any sort of unique style on this album, and it 100% sounds like it fits right in with the entire 70s soft singer-songwriter thing. That being said, he actually does it pretty well, and I think this album is probably better than it gets credit for. At times, he does the James Taylor thing better than James Taylor. Songs like “Why Judy Why” on one hand sound like they could be by any 70s singer-songwriter, but showcase a little extra young angst and edge that I found pleasantly surprising. Still, I’m glad that I know he’ll promptly move on from this sound. “She’s Got a Way” is definitely the song that best embodies the style he’ll begin to formulate after this album, and it slots in well with many of his classics. 

Favorite song: “Why Judy Why” 

2. Piano Man (1973)- Okay, we’re starting to establish Billy Joel’s defining characteristics now. Some of the cinematic and theatrical elements that he goes on to draw on heavily at times in his career start to build a foundation here, and his style of storytelling both gets its launch and potentially reaches its peak with the title track. “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” really jumps out to me as a defining moment. Kid from the Bronx sings about the wild west really reaches an impressive level of inauthenticity, and yet it totally works for me— I think this sort of sums up his whole career. This song is so silly, but the melodies rip and the way he draws on cinematic music writing in combination with song and storytelling sheds light on both what Joel’s gift is and why some are so put off by it.  

Favorite song: “Piano Man” 

3. Streetlife Serenade (1974)- Now this really sounds like an artist finding their footing, and it doesn’t come together here. He seems to take his penchant for cinematic scoring and go the whole nine yards with it. It sounds like a movie soundtrack (there are two instrumentals), but most of them don’t really stand out as songs. He seems to try to go a little early Springsteen with these urban flavored stories, but I can’t imagine many of these songs sticking with me. 

Favorite song: “The Entertainer” 

4. Turnstiles (1976)- This is a huge step forward and an underrated album. This one is fantastic, top to bottom. From the start, he starts to bring in a more of the 60s pop/Phil Spector sound with the “Be My Baby” beat of “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” to open the album. Right after that, “Summer, Highland Falls” goes back to the softer 70s songwriter sound but does it better than Joel ever had. This album covers a lot of territory in short amount of time but manages to mostly remain cohesive with so many standout tracks like “Prelude/Angry Young Man,” “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” and one of his signature songs, “New York State of Mind.” I imagine this is in the conversation for his best. 

Favorite song: “Summer, Highland Falls” 

5. The Stranger (1977)- Well, this is his best. Whether it’s the big stand out singles like “Only the Good Die Young” and “Just the Way You Are” or some of his best album tracks like “Vienna,” these songs all show him at his best. The more story oriented, rich in the flavor of the city style songs stand out to me: his best rock song to this point- “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” and his best multi-tiered epic “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” are astounding fears of songwriting. He’s just at his best in all the different types of songs he writes here. 

Favorite song: “Vienna” 

6. 52nd Street (1978)- With the songs have bigger arrangements and more instrumentation, he gets a little more rock and roll and a little more showtune-y on this one. “My Life” and “Big Shot” feel like they could contend for the big opening number of a musical. This is a good batch of songs, well arranged and well executed, but I don’t think it quite hits the highs of the previous two. 

Favorite song: “Honesty” 

7. Glass Houses (1980)- I think this is his punk album?? There are definitely elements of punk and new wave, and they don’t sound out of place. This is the least piano man-y album so far, but songs like “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and “Sleeping with the Television On” hold up as straight pop rock jams. “You May Be Right” is definitely in his top tier of songs. The album could do without the pretty silly “C’etait Toi (You Were the One).”

Favorite song: “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”

8. The Nylon Curtain (1982)- Billy Joel had a hell of a first decade with those first 7 albums, but man, it comes to a hard end here. This is album is bad. His voice sounds really strangely different on this. It’s hard to imagine revisiting this one as a whole. 

Favorite song: “Allentown” 

9. An Innocent Man (1983)- What a return to form! He goes all in on that 60s pop/Spector sound that he’s touched on at times and produces great results. This might be his catchiest album with hooks all over the place. He takes influence from various individual sub-genres of the era like the doo wop vocal groups (”The Longest Time”) or the more early days of R & B sounds (”Easy Money”) and nails most of them.

Favorite song: “Uptown Girl”

10. The Bridge (1986)- This gets off to a decently promising start. He gets with the 80s with the decade appropriate groove of the opener “Running on Ice.” Joel starts to get really into the electric guitar and it pays off decently on “A Matter of Trust.” Then this album falls off of a cliff. The duet with Ray Charles, “Baby Grand,” is truly atrocious, and nothing in the second half of this album comes close to working. 

Favorite song: “A Matter of Trust” 

11. Storm Front (1989)- The late 80s production makes this one feel especially dated— the drum sounds, the synths, etc. Still, “We Didn’t State the Fire” gets a bad rap; it’s actually pretty cool. It’s the right kind of silly for Billy Joel. The album sounds a little too of the era at times, but the songwriting is better overall than the previous album, albeit with some duds like the title track. I don’t think we’d realize how great a song “Shameless” is if he hadn’t passed it on to Garth Brooks— Joel’s version is just okay. Lyrically, I can’t think of an album that deals so directly with The Cold War? This is an album to pick and choose a few songs from and leave the rest behind. 

Favorite song: “We Didn’t Start the Fire” 

12. River of Dreams (1993)- This is not good. From the cringe worthy guitar theatrics on “Great Wall of China” to what in the world is happening on “Blonde Over Blue.” And yet, the title track completely rules— beyond infectious. 

Favorite song: “The River of Dreams” 

Ranking:

12. River of Dreams

11. The Nylon Curtain

10. The Bridge

9. Storm Front

8. Streetlife Serenade

7. Cold Spring Harbor

6. Piano Man

5. 52nd Street

4. Glass Houses

3. An Innocent Man

2. Turnstiles

1. The Stranger