BJisgreat’s Profile

My Reviews & Blog

  • Re: Turnstiles

    In my opinion, Turnstiles is the only Billy Joel album that stands even with The Stranger as his magnum opus. Liberty Devitto, who would become the Billy Joel band's permanent drummer, was admitted in time for this record. His power is clearly evident on "Say Goodbye To Hollywood", Billy's au revoir to life in California. A compelling ballad is found in "Summer, Highland Falls", written as creatively emotional as possible. A hit-and-miss was included on the album; this was the slow and forgettable "All You Wanna Do Is Dance".

  • 52nd Street

    In the ecstatic wake of The Stranger, Billy Joel released 52nd Street in 1978; I believe the album is one of his best collections. Unusual enough for him, the guitar-heavy rockish "Big Shot" opens the album with a bang. "Honesty" follows as the highlight track; a powerful but meloncholy ballad in which Joel displays some of his cleverest songwriting ("I don't want some pretty face to tell me pretty lies"). The entire album seems edgier than his previous efforts, as evident in the mood-swinging "My Life".